Toni Braxton, 42

Then: Her low, sultry voice dominated airwaves with hits like Breathe Again (1993) and, of course, love anthem Un-break My Heart (1996) - which went on to be the second best-selling single by a female singer in Billboard history.

Her first two albums, Toni Braxton (1993) and Secrets (1996), sold over 35 million copies worldwide.

Now: The multiple Grammy-winner has been caught in legaland financial tussles.

In 1998, she sought to terminate her contract with record company Arista Records.

She also filed for backruptcy and was reportedly US$3.9million ($5.7 million) in debt.

Her last album, Libra (2005) sold just 431,000 copies.

Braxton, who is married to musician Keri Lewis and has two children, recently appeared on US' Dancing With The Stars. Unfortunately, this television dancing competition is better known for B-list participants than nifty footwork.

A new album is scheduled for release later this year.

TLC

Then: Consisting of Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins, Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes, and Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas, this US R&B girl group, which was formed in 1990, has been hailed as one of Billboard's greatest trios of all time, with hits like Waterfalls and Creep from second album CrazySexyCool (1994).

TLC is also the most successful R&B girl group with over 22million album copies sold in the US.

Now: In 1995, TLC was US$3.5 million in debt and filed for bankruptcy.

In 2002, Lopes was killed in a car accident.

In March this year, surviving members Watkins and Thomas announced a reunion tour in Japan but dates have not been released.

Thomas will release her first solo album, Bi-Polar, later this year while Watkins' album is still in the works.

There is also talk of a TLC movie.

Sade

Then: The Grammy-winning quartet, fronted by Sade Adu, debuted in 1982 and is known for its soulful and jazzy sounds.

Hit songs include Smooth Operator (1984), No Ordinary Love (1993) and By Your Side (2000) and the group has sold nearly 17 million albums since its 1985 debut album.

Now: Nine years after last album Lovers Rock was released, band member Stuart Matthewman recently told Billboard the group is recording new material but the project will be finished only 'later in the year'.

En Vogue

Then: The sexy quartet, formed in 1989, has churned out No. 1 hits like My Lovin' (1992), Free Your Mind (1992) and Don't Let Go (Love) (1996).

In its 20-year career, the group has won seven MTV Video Music Awards, afeat never achieved by any other female group in MTV history.

Now: The last decade has seen several line-up changes, including the departures of original members Maxine Jones and Dawn Robinson.

The original quartet will regroup for the release of its 20th-anniversary CD later this year and will embark on a US and Europe tour.

This article was first published in The New Paper.

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