1989–1997: En Vogue In July 1989, Robinson auditioned for a female group. Robinson was one of four women selected to become part of the group, which became
En Vogue. In August 1989, the four began recording their debut album, and completed it in December 1989. In 1990, En Vogue released their first single "
Hold On", which became a number-one single. In April 1990, the group released their debut album
Born to Sing, which went platinum. In 1992, the group released their next multi-platinum album,
Funky Divas. Robinson sang lead vocals on the album's top-charting singles, which included "
My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)", "
Giving Him Something He Can Feel", and "
Free Your Mind", which remains one of their signature songs. "Free Your Mind" won two
MTV Video Music Awards, for "Best R&B Video" and "Best Dance Video". In September 1993, En Vogue released an EP, titled
Runaway Love. The extended play featured Robinson's lead vocals on the number-one hit "
Whatta Man", for which she was nominated for Best R&B performance in 1995. The song featured
Salt-n-Pepa and appeared on Salt-n-Pepa's
Very Necessary album. In 1996, En Vogue recorded "
Don't Let Go (Love)", with Robinson singing lead vocals. The song featured on the soundtrack to the New Line motion picture
Set It Off. Released in the autumn, it became the group's biggest hit to date, going number one worldwide. It sold millions of copies and was certified platinum by the
RIAA. It was the last En Vogue single to feature Robinson. One of Robinson's last performances with the group was in October 1996, when the group sang the last
national anthem rendition in the history of
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, which came in game five of the
1996 World Series. In response to the large commercial success of "Don't Let Go (Love)", the group steadfastly went to work on its third album. In March 1997, as the album was nearing completion, Robinson chose to leave the group and sign with
Dr. Dre's label
Aftermath after difficult contractual negotiations reached a stalemate. Despite Robinson's abrupt departure, En Vogue resolved to continue as a trio. Later in 1997, Robinson contributed to
The Firm on their song "
Firm Biz" which sampled
Teena Marie's single "
Square Biz".
1999–2000: Lucy Pearl In 1999, Robinson appeared in and recorded the
jazz classic "
Drop Me Off in Harlem" for the Wyclef Jean-composed film
Life. Later in 1999, Robinson joined
Lucy Pearl. In May 2000, the group released their self-titled debut album
Lucy Pearl on
EMI Records, which sold over a million copies worldwide. The album's lead single "
Dance Tonight" charted at number five on the R&B singles chart and at number 35 on the
Billboard Hot 100. Following the release of their album, Lucy Pearl toured in the United States and overseas, making several television appearances on talk shows, including
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
The Chris Rock Show and
Later with Jools Holland. In October 2000, Lucy Pearl released the second single "
Don't Mess with My Man", which became the group's most successful single in the UK, peaking at number 20 in the UK Singles Chart. It garnered success in France where it peaked at number 14. In the United States, the song was just as successful as their debut single "
Dance Tonight", peaking at number 35 on the
Billboard Hot 100. Shortly after the release of their second single, Robinson left the group due to the lack of fair compensation within the group. After unsuccessfully trying to negotiate a fair agreement with her bandmate
Raphael Saadiq, Robinson quit the group and was replaced by
Joi. Lucy Pearl disbanded in 2001 and did not release a second album.
2002–2006: Dawn and return to En Vogue In January 2002, after leaving
Aftermath, Robinson released a solo album titled
Dawn, on "Q Records", a division of
QVC and
Atlantic Records. Robinson went on several national telecasts promoting the single. In 2005, after an eight-year absence, Robinson reunited En Vogue. With Robinson part of En Vogue, completing the original line-up, they signed with one of the industry's largest management firms, The Firm Management Group. In September 2005, they joined
Salt-n-Pepa for the girl groups' first-ever joint public performance of their 1994 hit, "
Whatta Man" at ''
VH-1's Hip Hop Honors''. They earned another
Grammy nomination for the single "
So What the Fuss", which featured
Stevie Wonder and
Prince on guitar. The group appeared in the single's music video. After failing to agree on business terms, Robinson again chose to leave En Vogue and was replaced by
Rhona Bennett. As a result, En Vogue was let go from Firm Management.
2008–2011: Solo career and final return to En Vogue In April 2008, Robinson started touring and doing private events, performing songs she recorded with En Vogue and Lucy Pearl. Later in 2008, Robinson reunited with En Vogue and performed at the 2008
BET Awards along with
Alicia Keys with fellow 1990s R&B girl groups
SWV, and
TLC. In 2009, Robinson joined En Vogue for their "20th Anniversary Tour". In 2010, all four members appeared on the cover of
Jet magazine to promote their reunion tour. Following their reunion tour, Robinson decided not to record on the new En Vogue album due in the autumn of 2011 after failing to reach an agreement. In September 2011, Ellis, Jones & Herron, without Robinson, debuted their new single "I'll Cry Later" from their forthcoming album that was planned for a December release. Negotiations for the album release resulted in Robinson leaving En Vogue. Jones discussed this with
Access Hollywood in October 2012. Robinson and Jones talked about the contract issues and poor management of En Vogue.
2012: Heirs to the Throne In October 2012, Robinson and
Maxine Jones appeared on
Access Hollywood to announce they are forming a new, two-piece girl group named Heirs to the Throne. The duo launched their website, Twitter, and Facebook for the new group. They also performed at several venues. In 2013, Robinson and Jones parted ways. Jones formed her own group called "En Vogue to the Max". It was later announced that the former group mates
Cindy Herron and
Terry Ellis sued
Maxine Jones for use of the En Vogue name, and demanded $1 million in damages. However, Ellis and Herron could not demonstrate harm done to the company from Jones' use of the name. Robinson participated as a witness in the trial but ultimately stated that she was not directly involved in the dispute, as she had surrendered her rights to use the name herself when she departed from the LLC years earlier.
2013–2018: R&B Divas and solo career In 2013, Robinson joined the cast of
R&B Divas: Los Angeles. The series premiered on
TV One in July 2013. Throughout the series, Robinson participated in several performances but chose not to appear on the reunion episode. Robinson was to begin touring with selected cast members from both
R&B Divas LA and
Atlanta within the United States. In November 2014, on TMZ Live, Robinson threatened to sue
Lifetime if it did not change its marketing which falsely claimed the four original members were involved in
An En Vogue Christmas, a film with only two original En Vogue members (
Cindy Herron and
Terry Ellis) and
Rhona Bennett. In 2017, Robinson told Hollywood correspondent Noreen Lanie she is working on a new album. A release date was not been confirmed.
2019–2025: The Funky Divas, retirement from music In October 2019, Robinson reunited with En Vogue for an on-stage performance to salute music industry executive
Sylvia Rhone at the
City of Hope Gala 2019. This marked the first time where all five members performed together. == Personal life ==