En Vogue were, by far, the best of the girl groups to emerge in the late 1980s. You have to admit they had a pretty good run:
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They were at the heart of the “new jack swing” style of R&B, along with acts like Bobby Brown and Salt ‘n’ Pepa, but En Vogue were by far the most interesting. Interesting because their songs were as immaculate as their hairstyles, stirring and memorable; and interesting because their harmonies could tingle the most hardened of spines.
Hold On begins with an a capella cover of Smokey Robinson’s Who’s Lovin’ You that is so indelibly burned into my consciousness that I can’t hear any version of that Motown classic without wondering when Hold On will kick in. The guitar part is a James Brown sample.
Hold On gave En Vogue a number 5 hit in the UK and a number 2 placing on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1990.
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