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Blaque ( ) is an American girl group; they had songs chart from 1999 to 2004. Outside of the United States and Canada, they are known as Blaque Ivory. Their self-titled debut album Blaque sold more than 1 million copies and was certified Platinum. The group's debut included the platinum-selling lead single "808"; a second single, "I Do"; and the international pop hit "Bring It All to Me". In 1999, Billboard named Blaque the 4th Best New Artist of the year, with "Bring It All to Me" landing at number 30 on the 2000 Year End Chart. In 2002 and 2003, the group released three less successful singles, "Can't Get It Back", "Ugly", and "I'm Good", the latter appearing in the film Honey.
Blaque worked on two unreleased albums in the mid-to-late 2000s before they disbanded in 2008. The group attempted a comeback in 2012, but it was cut short by Natina Reed's accidental death. In 2019, Blaque's intended third album Torch was released under the label Blaque/The Move Entertainment.
After her parents' divorce, Reed again began pursuing secular music and met Talent scouts Ronald Lopes, brother of Lisa Lopes, while singing jingles to earn extra cash. Lopes, the co-owner of a production company named Blaque House, agreed to manage her and hired Reed to write for his sister's band TLC. In the meantime, he was looking for "an outlet" for Reed, who suggested that he make her part of a new girl group and asked Fears to join the group. In turn, Fears inivited Williams to join. Named after Lopes' company, Blaque was officially formed in 1996. In hopes of securing the trio a jump start to their career, Lopes looked to his sister who began mentoring the group and arranged demo recordings and photo shootings for them. Six months after their formation, Left Eye had them audition for Sony Music CEO Tommy Mottola who offered Blaque a deal with Columbia Records.
Their self-titled debut debuted at number 23 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and at number 53 on the official Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by RIAA. The album's lead single "808" was a success in the U.S. reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and earning Gold certification. The follow-up single "I Do" was not a success like the previous singles, reaching number 73 on the R&B/Hip-Hop single chart. The music video for "I Do" was nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Best Editing. The last single "Bring It All To Me", which featured JC Chasez, was a hit song that made the number 5 position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and topped the Rhythmic charts in late 1999 to early 2000 for six weeks.
In mid-1999, Blaque toured as one of the opening acts for boy band NSYNC. Blaque also performed as one of the opening acts for TLC's FanMail Tour later that year. In 2000, the group starred as cheerleaders in the film Bring It On and went to the studio and recorded the Shelly Peiken and Guy Roche song "As If" for the soundtrack that same year. A remixed version of the Blaque song "Bring It All To Me" appeared in the film, with added rapping by 50 Cent.
On July 28, 2012, Blaque reunited for the Left Eye Music Festival in Decatur near northeast Atlanta. At the event, Blaque performed their single "808". Shortly after, the group contracted with artist manager Inga "Nandi" Willis, and started working on an album and a reality television show. Reed died on October 26, 2012, after being hit by a car near Atlanta. The group broke up shortly after her death. Months later, "Cut You Off", a song intended for their album, leaked via the internet.
Torch was scheduled to be released exclusively to iTunes in 2008, nearly five years after its completion by Mathew Knowles, but that was canceled. It has been confirmed that Mathew Knowles owns the rights to the albums Torch and Blaque Out. On May 31, 2019, Blaque released Torch under the label Blaque/The Move Entertainment.
| + !Date !City !Country !Venue | |||
| May 3 | Chicago | United States | River Oaks Center |
| May 5 | Boston | Square One Mall | |
| May 6 | New York City | Willowbrook Mall | |
| May 7 | Washington, D.C. | Landmark Mall | |
| May 13 | San Francisco | Bayfair Mall | |
| May 15 | Los Angeles | Westminster Mall |
| 2000 | Nominated | Best Editing In A Video For: "I Do" |
| 2001 | Nominated | Best Female Group For: "Blaque" |
Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards
| 1999 | Nominated | Best R&B/Soul Or Rap New Artist For: "808" |
| 2000 | Nominated | R&B/Soul Album Of The Year, Group, Band Or Duo For: "Blaque" |
Billboard Video Awards
| 2000 | Won | Best New Artist-R&B For: "Bring It All To Me" |
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