As requested by our Patreon crew member, Kevin, our latest POP 101 episode is about the iconic 90s British girl group, Eternal! We didn't know much about Eternal before this episode, but we really enjoyed it and are now huge fans! What's your favorite Eternal song?

Of course, we've created playlists for you to follow along and listen to all their singles and discography highlights!

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd_MfDbJG3bYnVUfZKFhyx1RAL8Lq6L2- 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0kfGQVgMMbSx3JlLoHJv5a?si=cc33373a3c9949bc 
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/eternal-101-a-guide-by-cctv/pl.u-11LoF2bxKBR 

One of our favorite fun facts that we learned during our research is that the original version of "Angel of Mine" was actually Eternal's! Monica's version, which is what us Americans know so well, was actually the second version.

Hope you enjoy this class - and let us know if you have any requests for future POP 101 episodes!

References:

• “Stay” MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12q2SZTHsCo 
• “Stay” acapella: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GXy9bYEiTo 
• “Save Our Love”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKf7qfJTE3k 
• “Just A Step From Heaven”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rso1JBb0gE 
• “Just A Step From Heaven” Live at TOTP: https://youtu.be/lbyXtbs2nts 
• “Oh Baby I…” MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s374QzglSjE 
• “Crazy” Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wo5bTAu0Co 
• Louise - “Just A Step From Heaven” Solo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvt1Sb1pGl0 
• “Power Of A Woman” MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-q1_6TPAE4 
•  “I Am Blessed” MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MkwugGSxDs 
• “Good Thing” MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WViViFCz4Sg 
• “Someday” MV (The Hunchback of Notre Dame): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVSoCXQphRk 
• All 4 One - “Someday” MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok7ikZaoko4 
• Solid - “Someday” MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbdRsGFBWVs  
• “Don’t You Love Me” MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Pj9zMGQm04 
• “I Wanna Be The Only One” feat. Bebe Winans MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WItFGucXT4&ab_channel=AndyHastings 
• “Angel of Mine” MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS5pOA-k1Z0 
• Kéllé Bryan - “Higher Than Heaven” MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEhDJOIIf18 
• “What’cha Gonna Do” MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV0VXz9AAyk 
• “Don’t You Love Me” / “Power of a Woman” Big Reunion 2014 Concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZxa8H1_8Ko

Viewer discretion is advised your fave will be criticized that's Chan that's Chris and this is CCTV the nonstop pop show and today we're heading to Pop 101 class and learning about the iconic 90s British girl group Eternal [Music] looking for an awesome Global pop music podcast well look no further because Shannon and I have the inside scoop with extensive experience performing on stage and working at record label you can join us on patreon at patreon.com CCTV pops and become a part of our amazing crew which include Lysette Lily Emmily Kevin and Juliette and please click that subscribe or follow button and we can explore the world of pop music together and one of the perks of being a cctv crew member as a producer is helping us decide episode topics so as requested by our crew member Kevin today we are heading back to Pop 101 class to discuss the iconic British RnB girl group Eternal one of the most most influential girl groups of the 1990s before we start the class though do you like Eternal you know I didn't know I did until I realized who they were I was like oh that's who they are because I know stay let's dance again it got lumped in the VH1 Soul when VH1 Soul used to play all the old girl groups and stuff like that I used to watch it um that song probably came I didn't even realize it but they sounded a lot like um jade until I'll go away like even their harmonies just the stacks sound very much like that like a lot of 90s girl groups but I enjoyed them for sure I don't I didn't know exactly who they were I even know they had a white girl in a group um but I was too young to even know first of all and then second of all by the time they swung around in my mental frame I'm still in peep until we did this episode oh my God that's right the white girl in the group and the you know yeah yeah yeah yeah I think we're I mean we're both a little young I think for Eternal um yeah I was also barely born when they when they first came out um so I didn't really know about them really either I knew the name like I knew that they were a very influential uh group in their time for a lot of my favorite artists including the Spice Girls they always name them it's kind of one of their big influences so yeah I had heard a few of the hits like powerful woman and a few of those but I really hadn't taken the time to do the Deep dive so thank you Kevin for suggesting this because I actually really enjoyed um going through their videos and we did it together as well we went through some of their stuff and that we had a lot of fun so yeah uh before we get started we have created playlists for you to follow along on YouTube Spotify and apple music if you want to listen to the full tracks or watch the music videos and the links are in the description so let's do this class is in session

in the beginning chapter one by the success of American girl group in Vogue Dennis in goldsby a producer and manager started scouting the British club scene for stars in 1992 where he found sisters Esther and Vernie Bennett and also Louise nerding after working a bit as a trio Louise introduced her friend Kelly Bryan and eternal was born fun fact Louise and Kelly actually met at the Italia Conte performing art school which was also attended by other famous British pop group members including Lisa from steps Joe from S Club 7 and Lee Ryan from Blue Eternal signed to Emi records in 1993 and quickly released their first single a cover of Glenn Jones's 1990 hit stay [Music] received critical Acclaim and achieved success globally hitting every chart in the world including number three in Australia number four in the UK and number 19 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 the song also went on to be nominated as well in a lot of awards so yeah what do you think of stay home you know I am I could totally hear in Vogue on this I mean Esser is the only one holding it down for leads but the harmonies are good and they actually have an acapella version like um someone uploaded it from gmtv and they sounded really good and you can hear like it's actually the girls it's not just a bunch of Esters and then the girls kind of like lip sync Milli vanilliing it um which is nice um I love the harmonies in the I don't know like the huh I'm not gonna sing it but only one person can't do purple army but uh but yeah like the I don't knows and like the it just really nice and smooth for as powerful as um Esther was singing everyone else sounds really smooth and it's really cool has a nice Groove to it again it sounds like Jade it sounds like in Vogue it just feels really nice and sounds American right which is really important it doesn't smell like UK pop trying to become on it just y'all know the difference and if you don't listen closely um I like it fits right in with those girl groups like I said um how did you hear this on have you heard the song before we started talking about eternal don't worry definitely I don't know if I knew it was them you know um but yeah I feel like it's just one of those that would just kind of be played on rotation kind of you know even though we were again like it would have been later on in the 90s for sure but yeah definitely this one's up there it's a classic example of that early 90s sound that kind of r b pop with some New Jack Swing in there like it's so so good um yeah and this whole sound is really making a comeback now and current oh my God music so it if you just updated the production a little bit this could probably work again honestly um but yeah the course is so simple obviously with the stick um but super super catchy and yeah like he mentioned the harmony sounds so good and Esther wow her voice it is such a beautiful tone it's really got a nice husk to it there's a thickness to it um and she makes it look so easy when you watch her those ad lips she's just she's still doing those you know the jump thing and all that and she's belting her butt off so it's really really impressive um and yeah I really really enjoyed this one this one has been added to a lot of my playlists he said playlists plural games yes all right so with the release of their debut album always and forever in November 1993. the group was catapulted into success especially in the UK where it hit number two in the albums chart and became one of the biggest selling albums of a 1994. the second single from the album was save our love which proved the group was not just a one hit wonder [Music]

yes and honestly this this song is interesting because it definitely has a little bit of like a darker tone in the beginning like the Bell Tolls and the drum machine and all of a sudden it gets really bright um I've gotta say I love the way uh goes spring is that instead of saying spring I have to sing it like that no with her too it's like low spray you know uh I think it's a testament to like her training as well too like if I'm not mistaken the two sisters are very much like church girls you know and then the other two were quote-unquote secular so it's a good balance I think they were a good balance even looking at them in this video like they're they're wearing the typical like tomboy outfit of course but invoker wearing dresses and Vogue was like you know giving you old Motown girlies but with with tets and you know and hair flips and songs about premarital Bliss if you catch my drift you know um this one is kind of just like we're in love like let's just continue to hold on to to it um but yeah I mean pop songs like this about loving and cherishing love you don't get that much even at r b you don't get that much anymore really like especially with these kind of vocals it's either like some he broke up with me you know this one's like let's let's make that's a preview of one of Sam's new songs everyone it's okay again like this is like this is a testament to the caliber of artists especially with the video it's literally just them on a fashion catwalk and LED screen legit is a fashion show it's almost like we're done with it y'all want this they danced it on it and that's it no fit 11 changes just one set and performance so again they were on it yeah I really like this one it's very I like how it is does start very dramatic like The Plea of it but then you get to the verses that she's just very sweet and nostalgic Esther like with the way she does it and the course is then very hopeful and then you get those like signature like 90s like Bells at the back as well like the whole dynamic of the song is really fun I have to give a shout out to Vernie who does a lot of the high harmonies on the verses um I mean obviously being a sister sisters with Esther helps with the blend already but they have a really great Dynamic and it just sounds really really good um and yeah the dancing like I mentioned yo it is athletic man like there's so much jumping it's all jumping oh my God yes yeah oh my God it's giving Fly Girl for sure screaming fly girl um and speaking of flat girl these girls did nothing but fly to the top of the charts um because the group released four more successful singles from the album just a step from Heaven which I love so good oh baby I and crazy which all hit the top 20 in the UK with oh baby hitting the top five and giving the group the longest their longest chart run so far

[Music]

foreign

[Music]

much Dancing Yeah I mean all that singles up to that point were pretty upbeat so it made sense to then do a ballad and I have to say I've been quite nostalgic about the 90s ballad I think because yeah I've been I've been listening to a lot of Whitney because you know the movie just came out um then you know I've yeah then Celine Dion I kind of had a moment with her too and her news came out and you know the ballad was so important almost charted better than the upbeat songs back then so it's really interesting now like ballads aren't really a thing um at least in the pop charts you know so I miss the drama of it all a little bit um but yeah the harmonies are really pretty and oh baby I and um the course is very sweet it's just the right amount of cheesiness you know every every 90s ballad is pretty cheesy usually but this isn't too cringe-worthy in my opinion um Vernie does also again get a little ad Libby moment here which is nice as you can tell I'm not a huge fan when when there isn't a lead vocal I mean there is a lead vocalist I mean um and the other three don't really get a chance to shine um but like you said in these cases you can actually hear all four of them within the harmonies yeah um like Kelly and Louise's thinner tones do complement the thicker tones of the sisters very very well and their blend is really strong just even from the beginning from what I can tell it's Kelly that handles the lows is that correct yeah yeah and it's interesting because you know listening to her kind of solo stuff later on like it's she gets a much um more warm when she sings in her lower tone and it's a little thin when she kind of sings higher so yeah um just a smart choice I guess in terms of the blend yeah I you know I'll get to the blend in a second but honey if you know a slow jam you know a slow jam okay it's four minutes long it's about maybe like 2bpm you know the slow jam for the snails okay the snails are back the whole point of songs like this is love you know like to love someone to be like oh my gosh this is like the baby making kind of like ballad this isn't just like oh baby ah we're walking down the aisle you could do that but that's more Brian McKnight but again you know when I look think about my dad's CDs and what he had on the CDs songs like this one um and I think like you said Kelly is holding it down I think um this is one of my favorite vocal performances from the group because you can actually hear these members have Personalities in their vocals um you can hear the textures and tones like you said um and the video was neutral the backdrop is just it's nice because you can actually see the members because like with save our love and all the other videos it's almost like girl standing in the back yeah uh you know I did watch a couple performances from all these songs there are some where only Esther has a microphone like literally are the three are just dancing in the dark in the back um so so yeah speaking of that though the final single from the first album was crazy which did feature lead vocals from the other three members in addition to Esther so that did prove that they are all competent singers they all did get a moment here which is nice um yeah but it's interesting I mean Eternal fans correct me if I'm wrong but I haven't seen much discussion about um any drama regarding who would sing lead and stuff it doesn't seem like that was a big issue for them like maybe Esther's position was kind of just accepted in this particular case I don't know but it makes sense Esther's amazing yeah you know like if Esther was my my girl group member I'd be like oh I mean but there there was this one instant though I do believe maybe it was it was me who actually wrapped on one of the songs on the album um if you want my love or if you want some love tonight not me forgetting the title of the song but one of them actually raps which is interesting because at the time like rap was in and they didn't rap the costume promotion and Touring that came with eternal success was grueling and the members were feeling the strain in addition to being exhausted and longing for home they were also experiencing increasing tensions amongst themselves Kelly revealed years later that from the very beginning she did not feel welcomed by the sisters Esther and Vernon and she revealed very early on in their career that she was just there for the money a comment I don't really appreciate well but this Revelation only added to this growing tension within the group and additionally as a girl group made up of three black women and one a white woman Eternal faced obstacles in certain countries including the U.S and South Africa where their diverse makeup was seen as unusual or not accepted which impacted their ability to promote their music and appear in magazines and on television shows bananas yeah I mean again we have to remember we're at the we're in the early 90s at this point and I think racism has come a long way in the music industry since then but does still have a long way to go we had mentioned Eternal actually and the situation very briefly in our pop history episode about members leaving groups um but I think now we both have done a lot more deep Research into this group and there's a lot more layers to all of this than just like one white member and three black people yeah um I mean I find their dissection about how different countries reacted to the diversity is interesting like you have a lot of these commonwealth countries like all the UK all the previous like UK colonies like in Asia and Australia and everything that seemed more accepting of it like they were very big in Japan like they were really big in Australia and they didn't run into this issue and they did really call out the us as the one that was like I mean I think they ran into this in their home country as well but I think in the U.S it was like okay black radio is completely different from you know white radio um black magazines are completely separate from White magazines um yeah and so that whole separation I'm sure really hindered their success because I think after this album they never really tried again in the U.S I think they probably ran into just too many obstacles and it wasn't worth it um right and this all this whole situation does also make me think of of you know multi-racial groups later on as well like you have Danity Kane where a lot of those members have come out and said that there was a lot of there then you have Melody from Pussycat Dolls or she was the only black member and she has mentioned having you know problems in with that as well so you know America definitely seems a bit behind a little bit because then at the same time you had the sugar babes launching in 2000 where this whole kind of United Colors of Benetton thing was like actually embraced and was scene is really cool you know so it's just interesting kind of globally looking at the situation how it affected their success in different countries yeah oh my God uh as a black woman who makes pop music I couldn't care

um but yeah them being biracial is like really ridiculous I mean even now there's a group called now United and it literally has multiple countries of young teens dancing and singing together but again I mean it's a sign of the times but also like you were saying the media was really separated separate separated yeah and even when like I said John B was coming out people thought this dude was either like light-skinned like DeBarge or like a Latino guy because they used to put him in sepia like Babyface and them are like listen man you could sing but they're gonna have you out here you be white even the way his haircut was like it was like typical of brown and black people right so I mean like even though the medium was like really separate we had Source magazine we had like Vibe where does Louise fit in that right um so it was kind of difficult I can see that being an issue um even now I don't even know if this that kind of group would work now like I know that sounds really weird but people aren't ready for it like we can't even get an Asian artist to freaking like be big unless they're backed by other Asian people like 88 Rising right so America still has a little bit more to get around and they're more accepting of it as long as that person is hey like beautiful or if they've got really talented you can't just be like a subpar one black member you can't be like the subpar I mean Armani a group of white women passing light-skinned white women whatever and she's only black girl she got the ridicule you know I'm saying she got berated so it's it's like no matter what you do it was never going to be right it's never going to be perfect so I'm not sure if you want to get better um we have boys world as one black girl but predominantly black with one non-black member haven't seen it and I think that's why they stood out which was why I wish they would have made it here because it would have been like yo the white girls holding it down shoot but maybe it would have changed their whole image and their makeup as a group though but we'll get into that a little bit late definitely yeah well so despite these obstacles that they were facing Eternal was hitting new highs in their home country of the UK getting four Brit nominations in 1994. however before releasing their second album member Louise decided to leave the group uh she stated she was unhappy and wanted to pursue a solo career and there have since been reports saying that Louise had actually signed a solo record deal with Emi six months prior to her officially leaving the group which is interesting and we can get into that a little bit um but she would actually eventually become a very successful solo pop star in her own right um we're not going to get into that in this episode because there's so much with the group but let us know if you'd like us to do a little Deep dive into Louise's solo career um as well and also we have to give a shout out to Steve Anderson who we've interviewed on this show before because he has actually worked with her and is currently working with her actually on her solo material and on her tours as well um but yeah so in addition to this whole situation Kelly has actually revealed that there was also this idea to actually have her leave with Louise to form a Duo um but she ended up deciding to stay with eternal even though we know she actually wasn't very happy either so that's interesting as well lots of layers but yeah what do you think of this whole situation so Louise who is the white member or was the white member um she did decide to leave what may have happened in the U.S like the whole sexing it up thing like I said En Vogue was not and Vogue was they were out here they were looking real hot you know what I'm saying um even TLC got a little bit sexier uh you know it was just sexy right V and Esther weren't about that right and whatever the talks were over the conversation was as they were forming the group and like developing and performing it wasn't sexy I mean even there are some interviews where people say don't you think you're a little too pure like you know people want their pop stars to be a little bit more raunchy like you know you're giving like you know Bible toting Britney Spears before Rolling Stone cover um why are you doing this you know and it's tough because Esther Envy are Church girls they are you know their gospel and then Kelly and Louise brought the quote-unquote secularness or like they were stage school girls they weren't like going to church I'm not trying to be funny but it's true and the group was giving the Tomboy look with the stylistic variations but you could totally see the stylistic choices like Louise wearing the skirt in um uh um Heaven I'll just call it heaven real quick um you can see who's wearing the shorts who's wearing the skirt even when she went solo it was more like I'm bearing my soul and then one of her songs are called naked I mean it is it is what it is there's nothing wrong with her being sexy but I just think personality wise what she may have wanted to explore as an adult woman was not cohesive with what the lead vocalist and her sister wanted you know what I'm saying okay that's an interesting angle I mean we'll definitely get into that as the group kind of develops as well so that's interesting for sure or I think going back to kind of just the racial implications of everything you know she got offered a solo deal by the record label you know would if Kelly had you know Kelly was clearly vocal about her not loving it either she didn't get a solo deal she only got an offer to be a duo with Louise right so then you get into this whole thing of like you know does did Louise get preferential treatment because she's white like she got she got a chance to go solo you know and use eternal just as a stepping stone I don't know there's a lot to this right there's a lot of layers this I'm not saying anything bad about Louise at all you know you know she wasn't happy but you know it is interesting kind of just looking at all the different layers of this onion here um come on onion but yeah I mean Louise has actually spoken very fondly of her time in Eternal since then and she's actually covered a lot of their songs on her own as well like through the years I watched her like she had a cover just on YouTube I think that was filmed during the pandemic of her covering just a step from heaven and she sounds really really good so I mean she didn't really get to show her chops either in the group so I mean you know it kind of makes sense that she was like I could do more than the oozing Oz you know um yeah so yeah it's interesting I mean the group and her both found bigger success after she left so at the end of the day maybe this just wasn't meant to be right right whatever works for each with each member and I guess the personality exploration and such um and with Louise's departure the three members went back into the studio to work on their second album power of a Woman released in October 1995 with the lead single of the same name [Music] yes so for the second album the group worked with some new producers and explored a more traditional r b sound compared to their first release and with that new sound came a new image too so we can get into kind of what you were talking about but power of a woman did hit the top 10 in the UK and Australia and the album went on to sell over 2 million copies worldwide so what do you think of powerful woman and the new image and do sound okay so oh yeah so this song gave me like Mariah's emotions yes um totally I was like it's not a bad thing we'll give it to the UK production when I was coming up they were really like kind of Teeter in that line of like inspired by you know um but I do like the the subject matter of it it gives very much I'm every woman but yeah this video is everything we love about the 90s and um we got the technique it's got some pirouettes in the video got some commercial dancing we have handography oh my God there's this one extra dancer who got split in her legs in the chorus in the end they go

she's on the floor and it pisses me off because I'm like how y'all go from no we're not gonna be raunchy to this girl's spread eagle you know like in the video um the silky jammies we love those in the 90s right the the front lick the front lit glamorous sides you know like everything was very much like uh pop 90s and it's interesting like I said how sexier they got but so we're like covered up so the song was more powerful as opposed to like I love you I'm not begging you to stay it's like do you know what I have do you understand what's in front of you it was more revealing and more body forming for sure but it wasn't like sensual right like it was still just like yeah yeah yeah but yeah it was more revealing though for sure and the hair got a lot bigger oh my God yes yes um so they had actually mentioned on the big reunion years later that this single album was kind of like them going from caterpillars to butterflies which totally makes sense like it is a big change and the confidence level is is up um it is interesting because they were wearing like the jerseys and like the you know the baggy pants and stuff and then you go to this where the PPC and the yeah the silk and all that is all up there um but yeah this one's a really fun one it like you said it fits right up there with all the female empowerment anthems that all the Divas were making at the time um and I love in the video that all the dancers and the band are all female that was cool the second single from the album was I am blessed [Music] another huge hit for the group that was even performed for the pope at the Vatican in 1995 and I've gotta say can I tell you the pope-like r b UK r b acts like it because he actually Cleopatra to perform too he said uh them girls in the UK I kind of can snap to it I got a cassette in the you know yeah it's interesting unfortunately I couldn't find the footage of them performing for the Pope I don't know if it was filmed but if anyone has it though let us know leave it leave a comment with the link um yeah it is interesting I mean you've mentioned right that the two sisters are Church girls right and so it makes sense and even then like in the 90s gospel was a big influence in pop music as well so it makes sense you know this song isn't explicitly about God but you know it might as well be right and you know so so that's always interesting but yeah I will say this video is actually quite sexy you know them kind of like writing around on the rotating platform with each other and I was kind of like this doesn't microwave but you know this doesn't fully work with the song though it was kind of like I don't know didn't really really sitting yeah I feel like yeah it was a little odd um and yeah the stock is okay you know I don't think it's as good as as other ballads that I've heard from them or other ballads that were out at the time um you know it's pretty but that's kind of it yeah um yeah I agree I'm thinking about the video of them like spinning on the microwave dish um I would say it's just been sitting down just sit down uh with this song it's just very like ballad-ish in nature and I do like the second verse with the into the second half of the song because it gets a lot more full so it doesn't sound like complete gospel it doesn't it sounds like Christian music like open my eyes and My Heart Lord that kind of not like black gospel like just so I think that's kind of like also it makes it super pop and not all the way gospel music um and not kind of deceptive as well if you're just listening to it you're like oh this has a good little ring to it oh wait it's about God um I can hear Whitney in those verses the way she came in I was like is this The Greatest Love of All honey and then she goes and die yes yes oh my God yes and I said interesting that's a choice but she can hit the notes she could hit the notes she can hit the notes totally you know when I heard I heard am I'll say you better say am unless you won't get hit with that big fat copyright

yes I totally heard that too that's so funny oh man you know EnV didn't come from the church and it makes sense but like you know back in the day a lot of like a lot of r b pop singers and a lot of singers in general they were doing some seriously thinkable hours in the church like back in the day they were singing at choir at school choir at church they mama and the daddy wasn't part of the it's just different it's just different especially a lot of black singers like they sing more gospel back in the day like it was a sign of the times and the vocal prowess because a lot of us are a lot of pop singers now are heathens um and don't go to church apparently because no one's belting like this that's a terminology for those who don't you know a subscribe you know so anyway um but yeah it's true it's just like the the time it was being put in the charts and singing to the Lord and you know anointing voices like that person oh she's touched she's blessed like that kind of thing you don't hear that anymore um so it's again super interesting to hear the difference in influence in in everything even compared to now for sure yeah for sure and the group went on to release a few more singles from the album including good thing and secrets and who are you was actually released exclusively in Japan and that's a good one so that should have been a worldwide release honestly [Music] during this era Eternal also got a huge opportunity in 1996 to record a version of someday from The Hunchback of Notre Dame the Disney animated films

life will be prepared forever

[Music]

[Applause] and for those of us in other parts of the world other artists were chosen including all for one in the U.S Luis Miguel in Latin America solid for South Korea and Alex do in China so that's kind of cool yeah I gotta tell you something I was CEO for all of this but ah but uh I think I think this song is interesting like I know solid I thought you said that and not all for one I know right listen when you have multiple influences in your life go from anywhere all right so I don't know their version but I know solid as a group like I know all for one totally but solid was the one I was like oh yeah oh my God it makes sense honestly I feel like this song is just interesting to hear the different choices of like um for each cards like each Regional person was like yo yo listen get your best and bring them to the stew like that's what it gave me yeah I mean the production was different though so I find that interesting because they could have easily just used the same track for all for one and eternal and just been like go for it that's my point though they were like get each region make your own way yeah appreciate that yeah well first off I find this whole soundtrack thing very interesting like Disney loves to do this right they get random pop stars from every different territory to record pop versions of their songs that are in the movies so I think it's cool um I knew the all-4-1 I actually love the Hunchback Notre Dame like I kind of want to watch it again you know after doing this but yeah Esther though I have to say she kills this like I may actually prefer the Eternal version to the all for one one um oh yeah totally yeah the US missed out sorry all for one yeah um yeah the music video though is so funny because it's so because okay so the all for one one is just them like on the street and you just see like projections of like the movie and the clouds and stuff it's all like really pretty and subtle but no for for Eternal though they went full Disney Channel they're wearing these crazy bright blue outfits and then you have these people in the background dressed as like jesters and other people from the movie making like weird faces and doing tricks and stuff so it's all a bit silly and doesn't really match the song but it makes sense for Disney Channel I guess you know what that gets on my nerves I'm like hi everyone I mean they did feature a lot more footage from the movie like yeah yeah all for one even solid who used all for one's footage um by the way I want to throw that out there if they do yeah the thunderclouds and stuff they used it love it these are more somber and gray but the Eternal video had more color so I guess they were like blue and cleavage go off says like I don't understand um but you know what this is what happened you're the biggest girl group in in the UK at the at that point or one of the biggest you can do whatever the heck you want and in 1997 Eternal would reached New Heights in their career they released their third album before the reign in March 1997 with the lead single don't you love me a track about child abuse and featuring vocals from the London Community Gospel Choir which hit number three in the UK singles charts [Music]

don't you love me no more I think I appreciate don't you love me for the message more than the actual song I think that I think it's a hook that do you love me do you love me you know like with the with the with the um

um you know it's it's catchy but like it's repeated so much you know in this song and there's no real structure it's just like Esther singing this line they do that hook and then you know there it's just not much structure to it um yeah so yeah it just gets it's just kind of like where is this going which by the end you know I think production wise you know then you you the horns come in the strings come in you get this like Bongo situation too which is interesting um but then when the kids come in like the Children's Choir comes out that's when you can really feel it like that's what when I think it gets really powerful with that hook um so it built really nicely but I think it's just the song is just like okay as a whole for me it does add I think it does add something different to the discography like something a little darker um and I appreciate obviously getting light to the situation of child abuse but yeah I don't know what do you think of the song you know I actually liked it but like when I say I liked it it doesn't mean I like no word for word what's happening um thinking don't you love me with the hip heads don't and the yeah and the the hands and the leather jackets yeah um I do like the the horns and the the wind instruments as you mentioned um some of the key choices like some of the keyboard choices they're a bit meh like it took the coolness out of the song for me a little bit um but I do like you said appreciate the message like 90s songs with a message like like this it doesn't really happen anymore and I feel like they aren't as special like we had Earth song back in the day and and this one you know it just doesn't feel like that anymore like no one does anything like this really but um I do appreciate like you said what they were trying to do um I think sonically you know I don't know the words sonically like you said I think the drama of it all is what makes me go oh I like this song A few months later in May of 1997 Eternal finally got their first UK number one single with I wanted be the only one featuring American gospel singer BB Winan [Music]

[Music] and this song was nominated for best single at the Brit Awards and achieved huge success all across Europe so they went back to the gospel for this one um yeah yeah what do you think of I want to be the only one you know this This song reminds you rom-com soundtrack and weddings um it's quite bright um the video also looks like the what a man video um again the invoke parallel is just getting a little bit Mike okay oh yeah it was the 90s but it was just getting like okay I can see it now right now um they weren't riding on the ground like the girls were like swimming in bathtubs but they were like communicating with the BeBe Winans crew you know um but yeah back to the whole like the way it sounds I feel like this kind of song is like what is a formula for like a hit I guess like you know it's sweet it's about pure love I would be interested in hearing a more r b derived version and not so much like the choir I found the love of my life delivery um it's not bad they sound really good vocally but again because they are such powerful singers and they're singing about something like what kind of love that they found it almost sounds a little bit too bright like I wanted to get it just I don't it sounds a little bit like a little like you know hunky-dory to me I just don't know I don't not my favorite um but I do enjoy enjoy the song like much like a power like the power of a woman um it has like a step up in like not a modulation like a step up where the vocals kind of bring it up a little bit more come up a little bit like half stiff I'm about mistaken and the energy gets wad up a little bit more but again just sonically speaking I feel like it could have been a little bit more Soulful yeah I mean I will say it's very joyful it's a great kind of like Sing-along song it's very happy and yeah I could totally see it at like weddings and things like that um but yeah I have to be honest after Hannah hammering the Eternal discography over the past few weeks like this is very far from being a favorite of mine among their singles um yeah yeah I don't I don't know maybe this whole thing just isn't really for me and maybe it's just a little too cheesy for me um but I just think they have you know better within their discography but great for them that did so well uh I will say Bibi has a great voice and his Dynamic Esther is really really good I think you know I'm saying the chorus together sounds really good I mean the other two kind of got you know they're kind of in the back with the choir unfortunately

um but yeah you know we yeah we've been mentioning this whole gospel thing like I'm curious if that will kind of come back along with the rest of the other 90s influences that kind of seem to be coming into culture now this whole you know charger crystals on the windowsill generation I don't think so um but that's fair

no T no [ __ ] I just wanted to crack a joke but it's true I'm not sure if it's gonna make a a comeback in that sense but I think in the sense of spirituality being put into Pop I think it's instead of spirituality people are taking intellectualizing their emotions right more psychology words like even with you know hold the girl in Marina sabayama she's talking about her inner child as opposed to a higher power so it is coming back in a way but not maybe not in the way shoot if someone decided to do that Tori Kelly is a good example yeah of how it could be done if it's done like that then I could not forcing I thought like the Bible the Bible like like that even just incorporating a gospel choir into a song because I mean I want to be the only one that's a love song you know but it just it obviously has a Nick Jonas feel to it MC Jonah said it and jealous I

[Laughter] oh my God that song those lyrics though it's like why is it gossip buyer singing about being jealous um anyway listen I've been reaching we're reaching we're trying I'm trying y'all I'm trying for pop at the height of their success Eternal revealed that they would be releasing a greatest hit compilation and plans were canceled for additional singles from the before the Rain album and a U.S release in order to focus on the best of compilation which was released in October 1997. the lead single from The Greatest Hits was Angel of Mine which would eventually become a huge hit for American singer Monica the following year [Music] foreign

[Music] I had no idea that that wasn't Monica Monica wasn't the first singer to have this song you know this goes back to obviously in those times and that was shown by someday as well like music releases were so territorial you know yeah we have artists releasing the same song in various territories that you wouldn't even know about it right like because you didn't have the exposure we didn't have the internet like that um so very interesting um first before we even talk about angel of mine though what a weird Choice from the label or management or whoever to jump straight to a greatest hits album after they just hit number one for the first time and they only released two singles or if you include someday three singles from the third album like that's very odd to me like I wonder what the Dynamics or choices were behind that like I guess business-wise Greatest Hits albums used to do very very well um it'd be almost a guaranteed seller so it's possible that they just want to take advantage of the fact that they were hitting new peaks in their career and they had enough singles to fill an album or were they already planning to fire Kelly as we'll get into shortly where they were kind of like we gotta Rush this along because this group is going to implode so let's just go with the greatest hits album you know what I mean anyway very interesting situation so if anyone knows anything more about that let me know but yes Angel of Mine Monica's version is is very huge like I think people now at least in our generation they all know this song I don't know if it's the test of time I don't know if the kids now know that one no but I think even Kelly Clarkson like recently she covered it on her show like this song is very much in like pop music culture I think so hearing that wasn't the original and that Eternal was actually the original it's very interesting and I will have to say I may actually prefer eternal's version I'm sorry Monica but yeah y'all can't see me I gave Chris like a very perplexed look yes because I actually love the way Esther sings it and pardon the pun but it's actually more Angelic than Monica no I I will not be part of that to me I will not pardon that but like the production is also just overall just a bit dreamier and I think Monica's had it's just more grounded I think it's just the way she's saying it's just her vocal tone and just the way it's produced like the whole but yeah I think as a concept as a song The Eternal one's really beautiful I agree with you in the sense of like her her breath thing her breath thing her singing is a lot more breathier on more popified with the harmonies I liked Monical's a little bit more only because of the I guess because of the US kind of appeal to it um but yeah I like that one uh this one's this one's nice I think would kind of like takes me away is that it was hang on before I get into my own thing I know I noticed that a lot of fans like this song because it's very Universal in nature we're calling someone else an Angel um like conceptually it's more of like a gospel again uh or almost a tribute kind of song because a lot of people I've seen kind of say rip to someone or something they really like touch their lives so the song has a lot of emotional stake in that sense um but Monica's version is complementary by calling this man her angel um and like the song went from like I think lyrically and eternal it was um going to love you till the end of time where Monica says gonna love you boy you are so fine angel of mine um so yeah made it a little bit more personal like to your loved one like to your lover or whatever as opposed to your loved one excuse me um but yeah I mean they're both good but I grew up with Monica's version but it'd be very very curious to know what the fans or even people who don't know Eternal like what do you think because you have two black artists literally black art is covering it into two completely different ways so I think that's really interesting definitely drop a comment or let us know in the podcast platform of your choice you can you can leave a comment there too we'll definitely read them so speaking of hits and such the greatest hits was a massive success and is one of the biggest selling girl group hits compilations in the UK but despite this says remember all the tension we mentioned between Kelly and the other members well that came to a head uh and uh those never went away actually they were building this whole time to the point where they were barely speaking off the stage with Kelly even recording her vocals for the last album separately and in 1998 tensions hit a Breaking Point and Kelly received a fax informing her that she had been fired and was no longer an eternal due to the breakdown and professional relations the sisters have been told that she wanted to leave but Kelly didn't actually feel this way but the communication had broken down so much at that point that they never even had a conversation to clear the air and what was done what is done is done you know um the kind of just it was finalized at that point could you imagine just [Music] and you see like seeing the letter I mean let's uh fax like you really can't get more 90s than a facts I think um and it still amazes me sometimes that fax machines are still used at all like what anyway um I did watch a few of their performances from this era and I have to say they did a great job faking the chemistry because there was still eye contact they were still giggling with each other like they were still touching each other you know they did a great job you know we talk a lot about pop groups in General on this show and this whole breakdown of communication tends to be the like it's always a similar reason for breakups right it remembers leaving um yeah and it's just really crazy to me that labels and management they just didn't understand basic group dynamics back then and they even encouraged the drama and the competition between the members you know you always hear of people like oh like they don't like you they're a better singer than you uh you know like all this stuff and they almost encouraged this like I don't know this weird tension which is just bizarre um I will say like when I was at the record label obviously this is much later but you know I still worked with a lot of groups and heard about a lot of drama within groups but now yeah you know people do kind of get on top of it and bring in mediators or group therapists and stuff to at least try and fix the situation but you know clearly yeah that wasn't happening back then oh yeah heck no I mean I don't again I will never understand the whole like fostering and environment of hostility I'll never get that I've never been part of a girl group even though I would love to be one being one um but I've been to dance teams and I usually had to be the buffer and the mediator that doesn't mean like you know you have to sit there and pick a side but they someone should have been there to hold counsel regardless um so it's just someone should have been like yo sit down because y'all messing with our money you know I'm saying like uh it's just I think about when I think of it the facts you're fired think of Back to the Future when he got fired um but yeah uh it's really crappy to get fired that way in case out of a group like again it hasn't happened to me and I'm hoping that it never happens like Chris will ever send me an email like a zoom it shows all over CCTV is done can you imagine and I would sort of thing like he kicked me out by an email a Google invite that'd be crazy dude like oh my God it's so terrible I mean yeah please don't do that to me either oh no it's terrible like I'm gone bad you know oh God I feel so bad for her I know I know um yeah so speaking of Kelly um she did quickly kind of just take advantage of the situation though uh and she had plans for a solo career and she did release one solo single called higher than Heaven which was eventually covered by Australian girl group Bardot um so I know if you haven't heard our interview with Bardot member Belinda Chapel where we do discuss higher than heaven and many of their other songs definitely go check that out after this class is over because that was a great conversation um but back to Kelly so after the release of that single she was unfortunately diagnosed with lupus and it took many years to manage the symptoms and she had to cancel the release of her album years later she did become an actress on popular British soap opera hollyoaks and she since also um been on TV shows and things like that so she's managed to keep her career going but she did have many years of suffering with lupus and and the symptoms of it poor girl oh well Esther and Vernie did go on and they asked a singer TJ Arlette to join the group but she left after a few days

I mean how do you get how do you join this like huge pop group and then leave after a couple of days I don't know whatever I wonder what happened to tjr lead does anyone know let us know she probably heard the song that they released right out the one we want to get into right now um in the fall of 1999 Esther and Bernie released the album Eternal as a duo with the single what you gonna do

[Music] um honestly at this point the Two Sisters should have just become a new group like just start fresh at this point like I think using the Eternal name as a Duo just really didn't work and it was kind of doomed from the start a little bit um but yeah the song is okay um you know it's interesting because you know now is when we really know you know the music of this time because we're in the late 90s now and they really The Producers were on that kind of dark childy kind of sound you know but at the same time though it did still sound like an eternal song I think maybe because Esther's voice is quite recognizable and and so kind of when she kind of leads it it kind of already kind of gives it that kind of whole vibe that the group had the whole time anyway I will say the video they look really good I thought the whole trick with the bungee cord with them with the way they were kind of coming forward and bouncing back and going down and bouncing back and stuff was really well done um but unfortunately the song just isn't good enough I think I agree with you in terms of like sonically what they were doing and also as a group name they should have gone like by EV maybe not because now it's like electricity dog but like oh oh you're so right okay okay okay okay how about this one Evie hyphen e would have been like e and V of Eternal see I'm good at Brand ending like I could totally the eve it looks like Eve you know the Eve you know like like Adam and Eve because God and stuff look at me I'm with it I'm already with it right so I mean speaking of God and whatnot they talk about God in this song and unfortunately due to the way the soundscape was no one was talking about it at this point they were like listen we're talking we're trying to hook up we're trying to kiss we're trying to find the love of our lives and dance at a club we're not thinking about God and it's a little unfortunate um in terms of like because the song's not bad it's just lyrically speaking if you get to that second verse you're like oh that's what this song's about okay I mean it just doesn't do anything for them I mean for a lot of people and the song is not that different from what was out at the time like you said I think it would have been a cool gospel track um they could have gone for like a Mary Mary type of thing where like two sisters singing like there's so many sister groups that excel in gospel and they would have killed it like out here we had Kirk Franklin switching up gospel making it more hip-hop making it more like fun and like really energetic in the sense of like contemporary music they could have done something like that for sure but lyrically and conceptually the song was not going to survive in the soundscape for sure all right girls yeah and unfortunately the group didn't have many opportunities to promote the project and both the single and album had underwhelming success despite the critical Acclaim with the album hitting only number 87 in the UK albums chart with the muted response from the public Emi dropped Eternal after releasing a Spanish version of free to live in Spain so yeah well from my understanding they also this might have also been the Fulfillment of the record contract as well like maybe it was like the number so it's possible that the label already kind of stopped believing in them at this point it was like just released an album as a Duo and let's just get this contract over with and like they didn't even put any marketing money into it I could see that um but you know I will say the album actually isn't bad as a project at all um I will say there are better songs than the single so that's an interesting choice but yeah I think like I said they they did update the production to match kind of this late 90s Vibe but yeah like you said they kept a lot of these same kind of more kind of spiritual influences and the lyrics like I think it's there was still that Eternal kind of essence in there um so it is unfortunate that this album didn't get very much attention um but I would like to know from the fans like just from this time like what was the situation and how did people look at it when Kelly left like were they all on Kelly's side so the support for the Sisters was already not there but I don't know I was curious kind of what the situation was because like we said the pop music scene was also just very saturated so they may have just gotten lost in the shuffle as well right right but you're right I think those that that does play a part for sure yeah that makes sense um you know this album was actually full of a lot of sensual songs and even has one called Pillow Talk um I mean thinking about where they started at this point they probably were like what like their late 20s it's only been like what eight years eight years is a long time to be running in in music you know so they start around like early twenty yeah late 20s maybe early 30s so I mean it makes sense in terms of just growing up and like you know falling in love and such um but again it's so interesting to see what kind of Direction they took and even so this being a single being it they're like top gospel kind of thing um was interesting like you said doesn't stand out in terms of like songs um but it does does still sound like Eternal I mean they didn't sacrifice the song The Sound excuse me you know they lost members like songs like your love makes me weak it's a nice one nice one and it really shows like again they were sitting there just the two of them layer after the mayor after stack after stack of Harmony and I appreciate that um and yeah speaking of um they're they're um they're free to live song they actually have a Spanish version uh oh yeah honey they sound good in Spanish I would have loved to hear her stay any of them songs that they had on that album in Spanish Spanish just make things extra spicy and goliathi a little Picante um but yeah they sounded really good and their Annunciation was really good so I'm like really impressed well after a few years of pursuing other endeavors in their personal and professional lives with Esther recording a few tracks and writing for other artists and Bernie pursuing a law degree it was announced that Eternal would reunite in 2006 for a tour with other r b artists including Boyz II Men and invo however Nostalgia wasn't there at the time and the tour was canceled due to poor ticket sales Fernie was actually pregnant at that time too so only Esther and Kelly would have appeared ooh goodness there isn't too much information about this time but clearly they've felt that they were on good enough terms to at least perform together again or the paycheck was high enough

but yes so it finally in 2013 the three members of Eternal without Louise of course who was actually now known as Louise redknap uh were announced to appear in series two of itvs the big reunion and the group got to tell their story and clear the air about all the drama they had experienced during their career this culminated in a few songs performed at the series finale which was filmed at the Hammersmith Apollo in London they finally got to perform again and actually clear the air we did watch the big reunion together so we could experience these conversations um so what did you think of the big reunion and the performances well it is too sassy every story no matter how flat you make a pancake you know my mom always says that and it's true you never know because because it's interesting hearing how one side was like well she didn't really want to be in a group I did you know and it's like I mean by the time they did speak to each other everything seems to be remedied um so I do appreciate that there wasn't any kind of like well we're gonna appear in in two separate tour trucks and two Vans because like even with new edition when they got back together that was a crap show too and I was so disappointed in them like now they're good which I appreciate because I think they're too old to fight each other well boy that first for you back in the early 2000s you could what they were rough together okay um but yeah I think it was really sweet that they got back together to actually do this and they sounded well they sounded really good Esther was giving it I will say yeah it's great to see the three of them genuinely enjoy performing with each other I think just watching all the performances like they the smiles are so genuine like when they would look out at the audience and yeah they just seem to genuinely be enjoying it which is good um and yeah of course the dancing is toned down a little bit because like we mentioned it was very athletic back then but you know there's still some jumps in there and Esther's still doing it with all those ad-libs too so Props to her um and and yeah I think the few times we did get full kind of live vocals from them because there was a lot of backing track use in the in this and and they did that you know throughout the career as well which it makes sense but um the blend was there like it was really really good um so yeah I really enjoyed it I like that they managed to get baby to come out for I want to be the only one again as well oh yeah maybe maybe one thing maybe we're gonna do is Gonna Come saying now it's BB and CeCe they're siblings they actually they can say their little faces off if they're good following the big reunion the members of Eternal have continued their friendship and as recently as March 2022 Kelly has mentioned that there are always talks about a reunion and that she would be open to it so the story of Eternal may not be over just yet but for now we are caught up to the present day which for us is the beginning of 2023 and now let's give you all some of our discography highlights yes but before we get our own recommendations we have to give another shout out to Kevin our CCTV patreon producer who is a huge Eternal fan and he wanted to highlight the song treat me like a lady from the fourth album eternal [Music]

dreaming like a lady so he felt that the sisters were really underrated as a Duo and that this album deserved to have more success yeah I mean honestly I heard that song I like that one okay here's the thing I like these two songs for two different reasons um so I'm gonna pick my final one but I wanna let you guys know that I like this love is for Real uh from the always and forever album and also if you need me tonight I think I'm gonna pick if you need me tonight

should be true [Music]

it does feature that rap and it's just so much fun her go ting tingling I'm like I love that like back in the day rapping in like love songs and the girl group was all there you can hear it now in kpops I appreciate that and it just remind me of love to iron TLC but not too much where I'm like she sounds like a little mouse like like less I did I like that song it's just really cool and then it balances that whole like if you need me I'll be there for you but also like I'll plenty for a full now like I have like I'm here for you but like if you're gonna be playing games I can be gone just as quickly so I appreciate that nice what about you yes I will choose Faith In Love from the power of a woman album look at us choosing stuff from all the different albums [Music] [Applause] [Music] so this is the final track on that album and I just think it's cool because it gives just something different to the others to the singles and stuff it's a mid-tempo Bop and the lyrics are still kind of cheesy and hopeful but then the melody in production is kind of sensual so it just kind of has a cool Dynamic to the whole thing and just it just really stood out to me every time it came up when I was kind of shuffling through their discography nice that being said it would appear that a class is dismissed

so what do you think of Eternal also let us know which artist you'd like to hear us do at Pop 101 class about you can comment below or message us at CCTV pops on social media you can also join us on patreon and help us decide what to cover in future episodes don't forget to like subscribe and turn on notifications for our YouTube channel and if you're enjoying the show please give us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform until next time that's Shan how's Chris signing off from CCTV the non-stop pop show