R&B girl group TLC get a throwback feature with No Scrubs, the lead single from their third album, FanMail.
Kandi Burruss first wrote it on an envelope while sitting in her car. She and Tameka Cottle, both Xscape alumni, planned to record it together. Then Dallas Austin gave it to TLC as the lead single for FanMail.
Producer Kevin She’kspere Briggs had written the track first, with different lyrics. Burruss found her angle while swapping stories about exes, and scrubs was big slang in Atlanta. Lisa Left Eye Lopes also shares a writing credit. The finished record runs just over three and a half minutes and lands fifth on FanMail.
Chilli sang lead on No Scrubs, so it marked her first time leading a TLC single. The record spent four weeks at number one on the Hot 100 and became TLC’s third chart-topper. Billboard ranked it second for the whole year, behind Cher’s Believe. In the UK, it reached number three, still TLC’s highest placing there.
Sporty Thievz answered with No Pigeons, and it climbed to number 12 while sending radio back to the original. Ed Sheeran later credited its writers on Shape of You.
Play No Scrubs loud and tell us in the comments who in your circle needs to hear it.
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