Reunited: Dawn Robinson Returns To En Vogue For Tobago Performance

90's R&B girl group En Vogue had its original members reunited for the first time since 2005 at the Plymouth Jazz Festival in Tobago.

The female quartet, made up of Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones and Dawn Robinson, performed for the near-capacity crowd on the beach front festival just before headliner Shakira took the stage on the second day.

Wearing animal print tops and fitted denim jeans, the Funky Divas started the show with their hit, 'My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It).'Though anticipation for seeing the reunited originals was high before the group hit the stage, crowd reaction was lukewarm upon realizing that they had opted to perform with music tracks in lieu of bringing a live band.

Not having musicians was a major faux pas at a festival of that magnitude, particularly since En Vogue had to follow the energetic reggae band Steel Pulse in the show lineup.

Overall, the group's harmonies were flawless and stage presence was solid.

The crowd had warmed up to them by the time Ellis brought the house down by singing lead on their closing song, 'Hold On.'

Backstage, organizers held a brief press conference where the ladies discussed their appearance in Tobago.

"Just all of our personalities come out when we are back together again. It's always the same way. We're like sisters not seeing each other again coming back together," said Robinson about the experience.

"It's natural! Very natural," Jones chimed in.

When probed about why the group originally split and had they resolved their previous differences, things got a little tense.

Robinson spoke first.

"Uh, it was a little complicated," she began.

Ellis interjected: "There was never a breakup. Dawn wanted to go solo and we were all pursuing different things at the time. That's just what it was."

In 1995, Ellis released a solo CD called 'Southern Gal.'When Robinson left En Vogue to pursue a solo career in 1997, the newfound trio released 'EV3' that year and later 'Masterpiece Theater' in 2000 before being dropped by Elektra Records.

In 2001, Jones departed the group to spend time with her family and was replaced by a singer named Amanda Cole. The revamped En Vogue then released a holiday CD called 'The Gift of Christmas.'

After the CD bowed, Cole vacated the group and was replaced by singer/actress Rhona Bennett, who was previously signed to Epic Records and was a recurring cast member on 'The Jamie Foxx Show.'

Dawn Robinson performing onstageAround the same time, Robinson – having been ousted from the R&B collective Lucy Pearl by its founder Raphael Saadiq – released her solo self-titled opus, which basically went unnoticed.

In 2004, the Cindy-Terry-Rhona combined En Vogue released an independent CD called 'Soul Flower.' Jones returned to the group sporadically around this as well.

The original foursome reunited for the first time in 2005 when the recorded vocals for Stevie Wonder's song, 'So What the Fuss,' on Wonder's 'A Time To Love' release.

That year they also performed 'Whatta Man' on VH-1's 'Hip Hop Honors' as a tribute to honorees Salt-N-Pepa.

Robinson did not remain with the group after what appeared to be a rekindling, but the group remained a quartet with Bennett still onboard.

With Robinson now back in the picture, where does that leave Bennett?

"Rhona is also still with the group," Herron offered. "She will be working with us as we need her. It's all about balancing everything. We have to work our shows into our family life. But balance is the key."

The group was unable to provide any insight as to whether they will record again or if this reunion was just a trial situation.

"We'll take it from here. We'll do the show for now I guess and take it from there and see how things go," explained Robinson.

"Right," Ellis confirmed.

"We're blessed to be together right now," Robinson closed.

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For more on the Plymouth Jazz Festival in Tobago, read also: 'Houston There's A Problem: Whitney Houston Disappoints Tobago Fans.'

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