TLC is an American girl group that was one of the most popular groups in the 1990s with sales exceeding 65 million records worldwide. The original members were Tionne Watkins, Lisa Lopes, and Rozonda Thomas. They are regarded as one of the best-selling female groups in music history and a dominant force in the R&B genre of the 1990s. TLC ceased to perform after the death of Left Eye in the early 2000s, but in 2015 the group declared that they would be going on tour for the first time in over a decade.
The Return of TLC Tour was revealed in 2015 as the first tour of the group since 2000. It was mentioned that the tour would feature both US and international dates in the latter half of 2015 to early 2016. The tour was the first time TLC had performed together since 2003. There was much controversy when the tour was first announced on whether the group would be replaced with Left Eye or use a hologram of her during their shows. However, T-Boz and Chilli expressed that this arrangement would be only the two of them out of respect for Left Eye during the tours.
It began in October 2015 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Gigs took place in other cities across the United States including Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington DC, Detroit, Philadelphia, and many others. This first part of the stadium tour ended in May 2016, with the last American concert held in Honolulu, Hawaii. By this point, the tour had been met with positive responses from the critics and the fans who were thrilled to see the girls back together with TLC performing many of the band’s hits in live concerts.
Due to positive reception in the US dates, additional shows were scheduled to turn the tour into a world tour in 2016. The European run commenced in April 2016 with dates in the UK before proceeding to other European countries. Some of the countries toured were Ireland, France, Netherlands, and Germany with shows being performed in areas such as London, Manchester, Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam among others. The energy of fans and their response in Europe proved that even after such amount of years, people remained interested in TLC’s music.
Australia and New Zealand were the next stations of the world tour which took place in the autumn of 2016. These concerts Down Under also signified the first ever tour in those countries for TLC. Despite the advertisement that this was the group's last visit to Australia and New Zealand as they had never been there before, fans expected that this would not be the last opportunity to catch them live. As was the case in the European part of the tour, fans in Australia and New Zealand eagerly filled the venues to embrace the group decades after their popular '90s productions.
Besides the countries that the band visited in 2016, TLC stated that they would be coming back to North America for another tour in the winter of 2016. The 2015 dates in the United States were heavily prioritized in theaters and mid-enge venues, but the 2016 tour saw the group headline arenas for their comeback tour. These were among the cities visited: Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, and others. The success of the tour meant that the group was still relevant in American pop culture and that their concert power had not waned with time.
The ambitious world tour came to an end in November 2016, with TLC performing in Honolulu, Hawaii, just like they did for the last show in the United States earlier in the year 2016. During the concert at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena, T-Boz and Chilli again announced the show would be the last ever by the groups in Hawaii. In total, the 2016 U. S. /world tour for TLC lasted over a year with more than 70 shows across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and more.
In total, the tour grossed around $18 million in ticket sales during its run from late 2015 through 2016. The success and enthusiasm for the world tour also raised speculations as to whether TLC will tour again with their music and perform more concerts in the future. Although they promoted it as their last tour, fans of the group continue to speculate that the group might change its mind and perform more shows in the future. However, there has been no action towards announcing any live concerts or a new tour apart from their successful 2016 tour that accompanied the album.
Whether or not they go on tour together again, the 2016 dates were an incredibly successful comeback to the stage for TLC’s remaining members after more than a decade. They were once again allowed to feel the love of millions of fans across the globe who got a chance to dance to their favorite TLC songs such as Scrubs, Unpretty, Waterfalls, and Creep, among others performed by the girls. To those fortunate enough to be present, it was a journey back to the 90s and an exciting night with one of the best groups of that year in RnB and pop music. Years later without Left Eye, both T-Boz and Chilli showed that they still have the same chemistry on stage as they previously used to.
