Groove Theory is an American duo, with former member, singer-songwriter

Amel Larrieux Amel Eliza Larrieux (née Stowell; born March 8, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Larrieux rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a founding member of the duo Groove Theory along with Bryce Wilson. After leaving the group in 199 ...

and songwriter/producer/actor, Bryce Wilson. The group is best known for their 1995 hit " Tell Me", which reached the top five of '' Billboard''s Hot 100 and the US ''Billboard'' R&B chart.

Early years

The group formed in New York City in 1993, when Amel Larrieux met Bryce Wilson while she was working at

Rondor Music Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram. Universal Music Publishing is the wor ...

as a receptionist. Larrieux had been working at the music publishing company since the age of 18. A publisher at the company had signed Wilson as a producer, and knew he was interested in forming a group. He approached Larrieux, who he knew was a singer-songwriter, with one of Wilson's production tracks, saying "look, you wanna try writing a song? You know I can give you one of the tracks, and you can do it, and if you don't mind, you can demo it." Wilson hoped to use the group as a chance to utilize his production talents, while Larrieux wanted a chance to shine in R&B. Wilson also found it useful for Larrieux to both write, sing, and arrange each song instead of shopping around for different singers and songwriters.

Career

Commercial success

The group signed a recording contract with Epic Records, and in 1995, they released their self-titled debut album '' Groove Theory''. The album featured the gold-selling hit single, " Tell Me", which reached number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number three on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. "Tell Me" peaked at No. 31 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in November 1995. Other charted singles included "Baby Luv" and "Keep Trying", which reached numbers 18 and 36 on the R&B chart, respectively. The album also went on to be certified gold.

Break up

Larrieux left Groove Theory in 1999 to pursue a solo career, being replaced by Makeda Davis. The group signed with Columbia Records and recorded a new album, 'The Answer', which was expected for release in 2000. Displeased with Columbia's track record at the time with urban projects, Wilson asked for a release from the label, causing the album to remain unreleased. A single entitled "4 Shure" was released from the album to minor chart performance. Larrieux began her solo career in her absence from the group, forming her own independent record label, Blisslife, to distribute her music. Wilson appeared in the films ''

Beauty Shop ''Beauty Shop'' is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Bille Woodruff. The film serves as a spin-off of the '' Barbershop'' film franchise, and stars Queen Latifah as Gina, a character first introduced in the 2004 film '' Barbershop 2: Back i ...

,'' ''Trois'' and ''Hair Show,'' and produced music for Beyoncé,

Amerie Amerie Mi Marie Nicholson ( Rogers; born January 12, 1980) is an American singer. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she gained an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother Mi Suk Rogers and of music from her father Charles Rogers, and ...

and

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

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Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

* {{Authority control American contemporary R&B musical groups American musical duos Contemporary R&B duos Columbia Records artists Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups reestablished in 2010 Musical groups from New York City Male–female musical duos