[Update 1/22: TLC has now surpassed its goal of $150,000 and is close to hitting the $200,000 mark with 27 days remaining.]
[Update 1/21: The Kickstarter campaign has so far raised more than $124,000, including a $5,000 contribution from Katy Perry .]
BY MELISSA RUGGIERI
TLC is planning its final album – and using fans’ pledges on Kickstarter to fund it.
The Atlanta-based group sold more than 65 million albums in its prime and hit No. 1 four times on the Billboard Hot 100.
But remaining members Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins are turning to their fans for their musical finale.
Thomas chatted with Billboard and said, "The only people we'll be talking to and asking their opinions is the fans. That's it. Doing stuff outside of the box is what TLC does…We did our research, met with the people at Kickstarter – they are brilliant, and they're excited to work with us. We feel very good about this collaboration."
Kickstarter pledges , which at the moment total almost $12,000 of the $150,000 the group is seeking, will provide fans with rewards ranging from handwritten song lists from Thomas and Watkins, dance move video tutorials, movie dates and album listening parties with the duo and a photo shoot
In the Billboard interview, Thomas said she and Watkins are in the process of putting the right team together for songwriting and producing.
And, while Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, who died in 2002 in a tragic car accident, made an appearance on TLC’s last album, “3D,” she likely won’t have a musical presence on this next release.
"[Before '3D'], Lisa was working on her solo stuff and she wanted to go in a direction that was different from Left Eye with TLC. And we totally understood, respected and supported her, but a lot of that is different from the type of music that we do. At that time we were searching really hard to find stuff to go with songs we were working on to finish the [3D] album. So to answer your question, probably not, but I'm not going to say "no" because we're open to it. But at the end of the day, everyone knows how much we love our sister. You go to our show, you feel her presence," Thomas said.
While there are no specifics yet about an upcoming tour, rumors have persisted for weeks that the ladies will hit the road with New Kids on the Block and Nelly. Stay tuned for a possible announcement on Tuesday.
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