One Halloween Night with En Vogue at Top of The Standard

When En Vogue took the stage at our wild annual Halloween bash at Top of The Standard and the opening notes of "My Lovin'" played, everyone lost their minds (picture a crowd full of drag Britneys, Barbies, and Tippi Hedrons screaming their lungs out). The iconic girl group bewitched the room with all their hits, and their messages were much-needed (free your miiiiiiind!).

We caught up with En Vogue's Rhona Bennett, Terry Ellis, and Cindy Herron in the green room right before the show and basked in their magic. 

THE STANDARD: Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Terry: We pray, for sure. And we always like to look at each other and say, "Have fun with your friends." 

What's your favorite accomplishment as a group?
Terry: Consistency. Longevity—which remains to be seen as we continue—but it's been a blessing to be consistently working and recording. Just being able to be here 27 years has been really cool.

Any songs of yours that have changed in meaning for you over time?
Terry: It's interesting you say that, because when I think about our music…I'm not trying to boast, but it was a revelation for me to realize that the lyrical content in our music has been timeless. All of our songs are still very prevalent today, given some of the issues that are going on in the world. That's been really, really cool. 

Cindy: I think you're right. For me, you'd think after this many years that the message to "Free Your Mind" would be passé, that we as a people would have evolved and that would've just been history. There's just as much prejudice today as there has been and it's still very relevant to the issues today. When we perform that song, it still has a very strong meaning, even a renewed meaning, because it embraces so much of what's going on in our culture today with our people. 

The wildest night you've ever had on tour?
Rhona: We're so boring! We're always just really goofy, but we don't have any wild nights.

Cindy: That's how we've lasted so long!

Any favorite memories you can share?
Rhona: We just created some great memories.

Cindy: We sure did! We just got back from a tour in Australia. It was really a lot of fun, it was a great tour for us. We were out there with several other artists and had a great time. And also earlier this year we toured Europe for a month. It was great connecting with our fans there, so we made a lot of great memories just in this year alone. 

Any advice you can impart to other girl groups?
Terry: I would say respect the differences. Understand that you're all individuals. Learning each other and respecting those differences, because those differences are what makes it work as a whole.