"Dear Lie" is a song by American group

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

. It was written by

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Kenneth Brian Edmonds (born April 10, 1959), better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 12 Grammy A ...

and band member

Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26, 1970), better known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer and actress. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of the girl-group TLC. She has won four Grammy A ...

for the trio's third studio album ''

FanMail ''FanMail'' is the third studio album by American girl group TLC, released on February 23, 1999, by LaFace and Arista Records. The album title is a tribute to TLC's fans who sent them fan mail during their hiatus. ''FanMail'' debuted at number ...

'' (1999), featuring production by Edmonds. The song was released as the album's third and final single on December 6, 1999, peaking at number 51 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and reaching the top 40 in several other countries. "Dear Lie" is included on the group's 2009 compilation album, '' We Love TLC''.

Background and composition

The idea for the song initially came from a poem written by

titled "What's My Name", which was published in her book of semi-autobiographical poetry called ''Thoughts''. The poem was later turned into a song with the help of

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

. Watkins discussed that her father constantly lied, which put a strain on their relationship. Watkins stated that the song began with the group's vulnerability and transformed into "a place of strength". Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas enjoyed that the song played out as a metaphor for power, stating that

You can hear a lie that somebody says about you and it's not true. But it can really have so much power over you and that is why it sucks. But you've got to take that power back. We get so caught up sometimes in being upset about things and the person that we're allowing to have that type of power over us are doing just fine and as they say these days, living their best life.

Commercial performance

The song reached the top 40 in several countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It also reached number 51 on the US ''

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Dear Lie", directed by

Bille Woodruff Bille Woodruff is a director of film, television and music videos, noted for directing many videos for a number of R&B and hip-hop artists since the mid-1990s. These artists include Joe (singer), Joe, for whom Woodruff has directed 9 music video ...

, was shot on September 26, 1999. This video features solo parts of both Thomas and Watkins in an apartment, confronted by hyperactive and overconfident alter-egos and trying to tune them out, and performance shots of Watkins,

Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper and singer. She was a member of the R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Besid ...

, and Thomas in a hallway. At the end shot, Lopes is shown running down the hall, knocking at the doors before running out of the frame. Reportedly, none of the performers were on speaking terms with each other during the video shoot due to Lopes' frustrations with the ''FanMail'' album. Lopes stated in an online interview in 2001 that none of the members of TLC liked the video. The video was only released in foreign countries, and aired exclusively on

MTV UK MTV is a British pay television channel focusing on reality TV and music programming operated by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. The channel launched as part of MTV Networks Europe localisation strategy in 1997. MTV UK (previously MTV UK & I ...

on December 9, 1999.

Track listings

Australian CD single # "Dear Lie" (radio edit) – 3:55 # "Dear Lie" (album version) – 5:10 # "

Unpretty "Unpretty" is a song by American group TLC, released on May 17, 1999, through LaFace and Arista Records as the second single from the band's third studio album, ''FanMail''. It was written by Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and the producer Dallas Austi ...

" (

MJ Cole Matthew James Firth Coleman, better known by his stage name MJ Cole, is an English garage DJ, record producer and remixer. Career Born in London, England, in his youth, Cole was classically trained on the oboe and piano, and won scholarships ...

mix vox up) – 4:46 # "Sleigh Ride" (album version) – 3:43 European CD single # "Dear Lie" (radio edit) – 3:55 # "Sleigh Ride" (album version) – 3:43 UK CD single # "Dear Lie" (radio edit) – 3:55 # "Dear Lie" (album version) – 5:10 # "Sleigh Ride" (album version) – 3:43 UK cassette single # "Dear Lie" (album version) – 5:10 # "Sleigh Ride" (album version) – 3:43

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from album liner notes. * TLC: vocals * Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins: writer, background vocals *

Debra Killings Debra Killings (born July 7, 1966) is an American singer and bass guitarist, notable for extensive session and background vocal work for LaFace Records and Rowdy Records-based artists such as TLC, Monica, and OutKast. Killings appears on the ...

: background vocals * Babyface: writer, producer, keyboards, drum programming, electric and acoustic guitars *

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...

: Wurlitzer *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

: bass * Michael Thompson: electric guitar * Paulinho Da Costa: percussion *

Paul Boutin Paul Boutin (born December 11, 1961 in Lewiston, Maine) is an American magazine writer and editor who writes about technology in a pop-culture context. Boutin, who began writing for ''Wired'' in 1997, wrote for ''The New York Times'' from 2003 ...

: recording * Vernon J. Mungo: assistant engineer * Jon Gass: mixing * Ely’k: assistant mix engineer * John Hanes: Pro Tools engineer * Ivy Skoff: production coordinator

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dear Lie 1998 songs 1999 singles Arista Records singles Bertelsmann Music Group singles LaFace Records singles Music videos directed by Bille Woodruff Songs written by Babyface (musician) Songs written by Tionne Watkins Song recordings produced by Babyface (musician) TLC (group) songs