En Vogue is the the four-lady R&B group responsible for such hits as "Free Your Mind" and "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)," which a high-school friend of mine cold-heartedly put on a mix tape for a girl who liked him but whom he didn't like back. Harsh.
And being the 18th most successful act of the 1990s isn't the only feather in En Vogue's cap, according to Wikipedia. Among their accolades: they've won more MTV Video Music Awards -- seven! -- than any other female group in (MTV) history. Eat that, Salt N Pepa.
All of this is highlighted in a press release announcing En Vogue's appearance sent out by the GLBT Community Center of Colorado, the organization behind PrideFest. We called spokeswoman Heather Draper to ask her about snagging En Vogue and rib her about the fact that they're hyped as "the 18th most successful act of the 1990s" -- not a bad showing, but not a ringing endorsement, either. Draper was quick to respond.
"We were thinking, who was the 18th most popular group of the 1990s? Lets get them!" she said. Then she put us in touch with the person who actually does the booking, volunteer DeMarcio Slaughter, who's been wanting to bring En Vogue to Denver for years.
Slaughter made some good points about En Vogue's appeal. "There's that unique sex appeal," he said. "They have an incredible style that relates not just to the gay audience but to the straight audience, as well. I could have screamed about [booking] Donna Summer, but I didn't want to pigeonhole my audience. I wanted an entertainer with songs that reached a broader audience."
And that entertainer just happens to be En Vogue, which just happens to be the 18th most successful act of the 1990s. Need more proof of said (sex) appeal? See below.
Shameless plug: And don't forget, just down across the courtyard from Civic Center park, there's, ahem, this other insanely stacked little festival happening in case you're itching for some of the best music around or want to head over afterward.
