Upon release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented the band's vocal performances and their commercial appeal as well as Foster and McElroy's modern production. It became a commercial success as well. While initial sales were slow, the album reached the top thirty of the US Billboard 200 and was certified 3× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), selling over 3 million copies in the United States. Born to Sing experienced similar success in the United Kingdom and Canada, where it was certified silver and gold respectively.
In the late-1980s, Oakland-based production and songwriting duo Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy were looking for singers to sing on their 1988 compilation project FM2 for Atlantic Records.[2] During the audition process, they conceived the idea of a modern-day girl trio in the tradition of the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Ronettes and other commercially successful female bands which had flourished in the late 1950s and early 1960s.[3] Foster and McElroy envisioned an entertainment unit with interchangeable but not identical parts in which every member would qualify to take the lead on any given number.[2] Thus, their plan was to recruit singers who possessed strong voices, noticeably good looks, and intelligence.[4] Approximately 3000 women attended the auditions held in 1988,[2] with Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones making the final cut.[5] Originally conceived as a trio, Foster and McElroy decided to refashion their group as a quartet after Terry Ellis auditioned late due to a delayed flight from Houston, Texas.[6] At first, they named the group "4-U" but soon shifted to the more mature-sounding "Vogue"; upon learning that another group already used the name, they changed it again to "En Vogue".[7]
Born to Sing received generally positive reviews from music critics. In his review for AllMusic, Jose F. Promis called the work "a winner" though remarking that he felt tracks such as "Just Can't Stay Away" and "Part of Me" were duds.[1]Los Angeles Times writer Dennis Hunt found that "unlike most female groups, these four R&B singers can really sing– and do some passable rapping too [...] En Vogue admirably performs a batch of mostly well-crafted ballads and medium-tempo songs. Grating, dissonant vocal blends do spoil a few otherwise strong songs."[9]BBC Music's Daryl Easlea called Born to Sing "immediate and infectious. The group's vocal blend and succulent choice of songs was designed for maximum commerciality, a silky antidote to the gangsta rap that was then so prevalent in the US."[12]
Spin magazine writer Kevin Westenberg felt that "those girls are some of the bad-dest things around; they are phenomenal in harmonizing. That's the kind of stuff you don't even hear anymore. You used to hear it in the Moonglows or the Five Keys. As a matter of fact, I can't think of a girl group of that era that could sing that perfect."[13] Jan DeKnock, writing for the Chicago Tribune, found that "throughout the ups and downs of this promising but ultimately frustrating album, it's evident that each voice in the new four-woman group was clearly born to sing. And at times, [...] En Vogue's tasty harmonies are supported by an equally intoxicating groove. But then there are such wasted offerings as "Hip Hop Bugle Boy," a silly 54-second "updating" of the `40s classic "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"; and "Party," a one-minute rap that goes nowhere."[8]The Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that, "what carried Born to Sing wasn't the vocalizing so much as Foster and McElroy's slick New Jack grooves."[11]
Chart performance
In the United States, the album peaked at twenty-one on the Billboard 200 and reached the third spot on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.[14] It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in June 1990 and platinum by October that same year.[15]Born to Sing was ranked 53rd on the Billboard 200 year-end chart,[16] and also ranked eleventh on the R&B Albums year-end chart.[17] Within its first two years of release, it sold 1.7 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[18] In Canada, the album peaked at number 30 on the Canadian RPM Singles Chart during the week of September 1, 1990.[19] On March 28, 1991, Born to Sing was certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), denoting shipments of over 50,000 copies.[20]
^"En Vogue ARIA chart history". ARIA. Retrieved July 20, 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
