R U The Girl With T-Boz & Chilli, an upcoming UPN series which will follow the two remaining members of the all-female TLC music group as they search for a female performer to join them for an upcoming concert and recording studio sessions, has begun conducting open casting calls.
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First reported in June 2004 only days after reality uber-producer Mark Burnett disclosed plans for his upcoming Rock Star series, R U The Girl will feature TLC's Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas putting a group of aspiring performers through an eight week competition similar to UPN's currently airing The Road To Stardom With Missy Elliott.
However, while Rock Star will journey the world seeking to find a new lead singer for Australian rock band INXS, R U The Girl is remaining vague regarding exactly how long its winning performer will be associated with TLC's surviving members. The show was originally reported as effort to find a new third member to replace Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes (who died in a 2002 car accident), resulting in a negative backlash from fans who felt that T-Boz and Chilli were reneging on earlier promises to never replace Left Eye. As a result, the show's prize is now simply being termed a "lifetime opportunity" that will select one female performer "who will join them in an upcoming concert and record with them in the studio."
A four-time Grammy Award-winning group, TLC originally formed in Atlanta in 1991. Riding a blend of pop, hip-hop and urban soul to superstardom, they became one of the biggest-selling female R&B groups of all time, selling more than 33 million albums sold worldwide and landing nine Top 10 singles, five #1 singles, and two #1 albums.
R U The Girl With T-Boz & Chilli's casting tour began this past weekend in Los Angeles, with upcoming stops scheduled for New York, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, Atlanta, and Miami. Mail-in applications are also being accepted and are available for download from UPN.com
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R U The Girl's casting tour dates and locations are:
FEBRUARY 5th, 2005
City: New York, NY
Time: 10AM to 6PM
Place: Hilton New York
1335 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019
FEBRUARY 8th, 2005
City: Chicago, IL
Time: 10AM to 6PM
Place: Renaissance Chicago Hotel
One West Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60601
FEBRUARY 12th, 2005
City: Dallas, TX
Time: 10AM to 6PM
Place: The Black Academy of Arts and Letters
Dallas Convention Center Theatre Complex
650 South Griffin St.
Dallas, TX 75202
FUTURE OPEN CASTING CALLS
Washington DC - 2/15/05
Atlanta - 2/19/05
Miami - 2/26/05