Eternal were a British R&B

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

formed in 1992, with the line-up consisting of Easther Bennett and her older sister Vernie Bennett, with

Kéllé Bryan Kéllé Bryan (born 12 March 1975) is an English singer and actress, known as a member of girl group Eternal. In 2018, she began portraying the role of Martine Deveraux in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', a role she played until 2022. Sh ...

and her friend and classmate

Louise Redknapp Louise Elizabeth Redknapp (née Nurding, born 4 November 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and media personality. She was a member of Eternal, an R&B girl group which debuted in 1993 with their quadruple-platinum studio album '' Always & ...

, who were also recruited into the group by the label. The group became an international success, selling around 10 million records worldwide. Louise Redknapp left the group before the release of their second album to focus on her solo career with the same label. Kéllé Bryan left the group under undisclosed circumstances in 1998. Sisters Easther Bennett and Vernie Bennett were the only members left when they disbanded in 2000. Eternal made a brief comeback in 2013, with Kéllé Bryan returning to the group, only for the group to disband once again in 2014. They were considered the UK's answer to the American girl group

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single ...

. Eternal's 1993 debut album '' Always & Forever'' peaked at number two on the

UK Album Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

and went four-times platinum in the UK. In 1997, they reached number one on 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 ...

with "

I Wanna Be the Only One "I Wanna Be the Only One" is a song by British R&B girl group Eternal and American R&B/gospel singer BeBe Winans, released in May 1997 as the third single from the group's third album, '' Before the Rain'' (1997). Topping the UK Singles Chart, ...

", which won them the 1997

Mobo Award The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

for Best Single. They also received seven

Brit Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

nominations. In total they achieved 15 UK Top 20 hits between 1993 and 1999, with their other Top 10 hits including "

Stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

" (1993), " Just a Step from Heaven" (1994), " Oh Baby I..." (1994), " Power of a Woman" (1995), "

I Am Blessed "I Am Blessed" is a song by British girl group Eternal written by hit songwriter Mark Mueller and Marsha Malamet. It was the second single from the album '' Power of a Woman'' and peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The pop ballad s ...

" (1995), " Someday" (1996), " Secrets" (1996) and " Don't You Love Me" (1997). The group reformed as a trio without Louise Redknapp in 2013 for the second series of the

ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, ...

reality show '' The Big Reunion'', and performed a one-off concert In March 2014.

Career

1992–1993: Formation

Eternal were formed in 1992 by music manager Denis Ingoldsby of First Avenue Records, after which Eddie Gordon showed him how the success of

was built in the United Kingdom. Eternal were quickly signed to

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

and released their debut single, "

", in September 1993. The song was a success and it reached number four in the UK Singles Chart. Easther and Vernie Bennett were scouted in a nightclub in London and eventually found Louise Nurding. The trio began working together and recording until Louise introduced her longtime friend Kéllé Bryan to the management and joined the group.

1993–1995: ''Always & Forever'' and Louise's departure

Eternal released their debut album, '' Always & Forever'' in November 1993, and it reached number two in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. The album sold over one million copies in the United Kingdom, and confirmed as four times platinum, making it one of 1994's biggest selling albums and the year's biggest-selling debut album. They were named Best Group at the ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' Poll Winners Party and were nominated for four

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

. Nurding decided to leave the group before the recording of Eternal's second album, and went on to pursue a successful solo career. In a 2014 interview, Vernie Bennett stated that the group were "gutted" when Nurding announced she was leaving and it was suggested that Bryan also leave to form a duo with Louise, which Bryan stated she did not wish to do.

1995–1998: Trio line-up: ''Power of a Woman'', ''Before the Rain'' and Greatest Hits

Following the departure of Louise Nurding, the group decided not to replace her and carried on as a trio. '' Power of a Woman'' was the first album as a trio, and entered the UK chart at number six. It produced four hit singles, " Power of a Woman", "

" (which they performed for

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

at the Vatican in 1995), a remixed version of " Good Thing" and a remixed version of " Secrets". All continued Eternal's tally of Top 10 UK hits. In 1997, Eternal achieved their first ever UK number one, a duet with

BeBe Winans Benjamin "BeBe" Winans (born September 17, 1962) is an American gospel and R&B singer. He is a member of the noted Winans family, most members of which are also gospel artists. Winans has released nine albums, seven with his sister CeCe as Be ...

, "

", which became the second most played song on UK Radio in 1997, and stayed at the top spot for one week. It was taken from their third album '' Before the Rain'', which also included " Don't You Love Me". The album peaked at number three in the UK. Eternal's Greatest Hits package was released in the latter part of 1997 and became the highest-selling Greatest Hits package of the year. In 2013, Eternal's Greatest Hits album was confirmed as being the biggest selling "'' Best Of''" by a girl group in the UK, it peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. It featured their last Top 10 single " Angel of Mine", which reached number four. "Angel of Mine" became an EP that featured four different mixes, including a remix by veteran party producer

Frankie Cutlass Frank Javiel Malave (born January 16, 1971), better known by his stage name Frankie Cutlass, is an American award- winning platinum DJ, Artist, Producer, Writer and Remixer from Harlem, New York, United States. He is best known for his hits "Pue ...

and a cover of Fleetwood Mac's track "

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

" featuring

Grand Puba Maxwell Dixon (born March 4, 1964), known professionally as Grand Puba, is an American rapper and emcee, best known as one of the members of the group Brand Nubian from New Rochelle, New York. Biography He made his debut as Grand Puba Max ...

and

Sadat X Derek Murphy (born December 29, 1968), better known as Sadat X, is an American rapper, best known as a member of alternative hip hop group Brand Nubian. Originally known as Derek X, Sadat takes his name from former Egyptian president Anwar Sad ...

1998–2000: Duo line-up: Bryan's departure, self-titled album, and split

In 1998, a week after their Party in the Park performance, Kéllé Bryan was controversially dismissed by the Bennett Sisters via fax from their solicitor. Their reasons cited "a breakdown in professional relations". A short time later, Bryan was diagnosed with

lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Commo ...

and was forced to abandon plans for a solo career. "What'Cha Gonna Do" was released from their fourth album ''

Eternal Eternal(s) or The Eternal may refer to: * Eternity, an infinite amount of time, or a timeless state * Immortality or eternal life * God, the supreme being, creator deity, and principal object of faith in monotheism Comics, film and television * ...

'' and hit number 16. With lack of promotion, the album charted at number 87. The next single "I Cry Real Tears" was expected to be released in April 2000, with a new version of the song; however, the single was scrapped due to poor sales of the album and Eternal were released from their recording deal with EMI. Internationally, the track "Free to Live" was released and translated to "Libre para vivir", which had moderate success in some European countries. The last televised performance by Eternal was on ''

Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK. The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...

'' in 2000 where Easther and Vernie performed the track "He Is".

2000–2013: Post break-up

In 2006, it was announced that Eternal would be reforming for a live reunion tour alongside other acts including

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan ...

. Although only

Easther Bennett Eternal were a British R&B girl group formed in 1992, with the line-up consisting of Easther Bennett and her older sister Vernie Bennett, with Kéllé Bryan and her friend and classmate Louise Redknapp, who were also recruited into the group ...

and

would be part of the project ( Vernie Bennett was pregnant at the time and

was busy with her solo career). In an interview around the time Kéllé Bryan claimed that the band had been offered numerous record deals over the past few years since the group had split up. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the tour was cancelled. In 2011, Vernie Bennett joined online social networking site Twitter. This news gave hope to many fans that eventually Eternal would be making a comeback at some point in the future.

2013–2014: ''The Big Reunion'' as a trio

Eternal officially confirmed in late 2013 that they would be reforming for the

documentary '' The Big Reunion'', although original member Louise Redknapp would not be rejoining the group. Eternal is now Managed by ASM Damage (under their Television Roster).

confirmed in an interview with ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' that Eternal was reforming without her. Following the announcement of the group's reformation, their 1997 Greatest Hits album climbed to number 1 on the

ITunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

hip hop chart in January 2014. Following the group's episode airing, their Greatest Hits album entered at number 27 in the official ITunes chart. The group reformed to perform a concert at the

Hammersmith Apollo The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...

in March 2014, where they performed alongside

for their hit single "

Solo careers

Louise was the first member of ''Eternal'' to leave to pursue a solo career, releasing several Top 10 singles and albums and performing two UK tours from 1995 to 2003. She has also presented a number of television shows, including ''

The Clothes Show ''The Clothes Show'' is a British television show about fashion that was broadcast on BBC One from 1986 to 2000, and from 2006 on UKTV Style and Really. At its height, ''The Clothes Show'' had around 9 million viewers every Sunday night. It al ...

'', '' Something for the Weekend'' and ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and ha ...

''. Kéllé experienced minor success after leaving Eternal in the form of a no. 14 single called "Higher Than Heaven" in October 1999, but her debut solo album, ''Breakfast in Bed'', was never released. A second single, "I Wanna Know", was cancelled due to further health issues. She went on to launch her own artist management company, Red Hot Entertainment and finished as the female runner-up on the reality TV show ''

Love Island Love Island may refer to: Film * ''Love Island'' (1952 film), an American film directed by Adam Lloyd starring Todd Wathen and Eva Gabor * ''Love Island'' (2014 film), directed by Jasmila Žbanić Music * ''Love Island'' (album), a 1978 album ...

''. She also diversified into acting, appearing in the BBC sitcom series '' Me and Mrs Jones'' (2012) with Neil Morrisey, before joining the British soap opera ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...

'' as series regular Martine Deveraux. Easther teamed up with reggae band

Aswad Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one " Don't ...

to record a cover of Diana King's "

Shy Guy "Shy Guy" is a song by Jamaican recording artist and songwriter Diana King for the movie soundtrack album '' Bad Boys''. It also appeared on King's debut studio album, ''Tougher Than Love'' (1995). The song was written by King, Kingsley Gardne ...

", which was released as a single in August 2002 and peaked at No. 62 on the

. Easther also recorded a solo cover of the classic song "

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is a 1957 folk song written by British political singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, who later became his wife. At the time, the couple were lovers, although MacColl was still married to his ...

", which appeared on many "Love" themed compilations around 2002/3 including "The All-Time Classic Tearjerkers". She also features on the Peter Cox cover of the

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

song "Your Precious Love". Easther then decided to turn to songwriting and has written for many different artists, including

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...

. Easther also sings backing vocals on the Dina Carroll tracks "This Time" and "Don't Be a Stranger" (1993) along with her sister Vernie. Vernie stepped out of the limelight following the split of Eternal. She went back to finish studying law and, in 2006, gave birth to her first child. In August 2010, Bennett signed with ASM Artist Management. Vernie has performed with Easther at James Ingham's Jog On for Cancer event for

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

in 2015. She has also taken her first acting role on stage as Spirit of the Bean and appeared on ITV's ''

All Star Mr & Mrs ''All Star Mr & Mrs'' is a British television show which first began airing on 12 April 2008 on ITV. It is a celebrity revival of the original '' Mr and Mrs'' that aired on ITV from 1968 to 1988 with two separate revivals in 1995–1996 and 1 ...

'' with her husband Bryan.

Members

Additional member TJ Arlette joined the group for a few days in 1999 but left and the sisters carried on as a duo.

Awards and nominations

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, rowspan=3,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, rowspan=2, Themseleves , British Group , , , - , British Dance Act , , , - , '' Always & Forever'' , British Album of the Year , , , - ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, rowspan=2, Themselves , rowspan=2, British Dance Act , , , - , rowspan=2,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, , rowspan=2, , - , "

" ,

British Single of the Year The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Always & Forever'' (1993) * '' Power of a Woman'' (1995) * '' Before the Rain'' (1997) * ''

'' (1999)

Compilation albums

* ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' (1997)

References

External links

Eternal FansitePower of a Woman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eternal (band) Black British musical groups British contemporary R&B musical groups British R&B girl groups EMI Records artists English girl groups English vocal groups Musical groups from London Sibling musical duos