By Marcus Scott
It was a rags-to-riches Cinderella story: With the help of a record producer’s mother (whom they met through an associate), a trio of self-described home girls cut a demo to catch the eye of record execs. Three months later, they signed with RCA records in 1991, signing an eight album record deal. They are Sisters with Voices, known on both sides of the Atlantic as SWV. According to Taj in a September ’93 interview with People Magazine, they sent the demo tapes along with bottles of Perrier because “we couldn’t afford champagne.” After dark on Wednesday, January 15, 2014, there was plenty of champagne to go around as We TV with special guests SWV hosted the “SWV: Reunited” Series Premiere Screening and Cocktail Reception, in honor of the much-anticipated reality TV show.
The General‘s Jazz Room, located on New York’s Lower East Side, was filled to the brim with the city’s biggest movers and shakers, as well as up-and-comers like recording ingénue dujour Elle Varner. After quick schmoozing with the crowd, Cheryl “Coko” Clemon, Tamara “Taj” Johnson, and Leanne “Leelee” Lyons took the stage and introduced the first of six episodes from their new reality TV show to a crowd of friends, family, fans and photo snappers.
A lot has changed in the 15 years since their split in ‘98: Leelee, a single mother of two young Millenials (Khiry and Margaret) got a much tweeted-about butt lift and yearns for marriage and an empty nest; the tough-as nails-Coko is also a married mother of two kids and has gotten her tummy tucked; Taj has one child and is married to Eddie George of the Tennessee Titans. But they are still the city girls we fell in love with and some things haven’t changed:
“Lelee taught us everything we needed to [about] know how to get a man,”
“—And how to get pregnant—“
“—And how to have sex—“
“She introduced me to my dildo—”
“Well, they are pretty good at it now!”
“No, we are not!”
“Vroom…”
This is a common conversation between the ladies of SWV. Returning in 2012, the group’s fifth studio album I Missed Us was released. Fresh from a 2013 Grammy® nod for the Best Traditional R&B Performance, the group is vying for a come back. Things seem tighter than ever, but with the constant pressure of a high profile performance at Wembley Stadium in London—the same arena that legends like Queen, Led Zeppelin and Michael Jackson have sold out —Taj and Leelee have difficulty readjusting to trio life, while Coko is having a few health problems: One week after the show in London, she is scheduled for a biopsy to examine a lump in her breast that may or may not be malignant.
Straight from the airport, the gals are swamped in a day of back-to-back promotional appearances, including BBC Public Radio and that of Choice FM with DJ E-Plus where truths were revealed: lead singer Coko says communication was a factor in the demise of the group, while Taj believes that if Coko’s vanity and materialism didn’t get the best of her then perhaps the group wouldn’t have taken such a lengthy hiatus. What follows is a painful-to-watch rendition of “Weak,” where a nervous Taj bursts into laughter. It’s super-awkward for everyone involved. Even after Leelee’s very sexually-driven flirtation with the DJ inspires a few laughs.
But that’s not all, getting the three to rehearse is like pulling teeth from a jungle cat. Creative differences about choreography and the future of the group cause major eye rolling from everyone. When manager and Coko’s confidante Cory Taylor begins to correct this with disparaging put-downs, mostly towards Taj and Leelee, the ladies walk out after it becomes quite clear that Taylor also has his faults. While he is quite good at dishing out stinging criticism, he doesn’t have the experience that ace managers have – like knowing the basics about what interviews are scheduled for the group.
Can you blame Taj for tapping MBK Entertainment’s Jeff Robinson, manager of Alicia Keys and Elle Varner, for a meeting to steer the group in a different direction…without Cory’s knowledge?
Meanwhile Coko’s health secret threatens the group’s budding new bond, and she confides to Cory about the possible prognosis.
The day of the concert is fueled with tension, and despite arriving in the nick of time without warm-up for their much-anticipated sold out affair at Wembley Stadium (no doubt due to Leelee’s chronic lateness), the trio rocks the house with fan favorites. Supermodel Tyson Beckford, who received his first music video credit in “Anything” also made an appearance. The show is glorious and the crowd is enamored by the sounds. The night seems to end on the perfect note… that is until Cory decides to break the news backstage that Coko will be getting her biopsy a week later. Tears flow and all hell is about to break loose…
After the viewing, the ladies answered a few questions and performed classics “Right Here/Human Nature,” “I’m So Into You” and “Anything” to a roaring crowd of fans old and new. Welcome back, ladies!
Added to We TV’s Thursday night line-up, the new docu-series “SWV: Reunited” premiers Thursday, January 16 at 10PM ET/PT with six, one-hour episodes on We TV.