BET assembling all-girl R&B supergroup

One-of-a-Kind music experience is called BET Presents The Encore

BET brings together nine of the most memorable solo artists and girl groups from the 1990s and 2000s to form the ultimate R&B supergroup in the new original series, BET Presents The Encore. Shamari DeVoe, Irish Grinstead, LeMisha Grinstead, Nivea Nash, Felisha King, Fallon King, Pamela Long, Aubrey O’ Day, and Kiely Williams have signed on to the one-of-a-kind music experiment to become the next big musical sensation. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, these talented singers turned wives, moms, and entrepreneurs, will move in together, write new music, learn choreography, record an album, and put on a live performance. The catch? The songstresses must achieve this in only 30 days, with none of them knowing who their bandmates will be ahead of time. Faced with fun twists and unforeseen constraints, the ladies will need to stretch beyond their musical and personal comfort zones to succeed as a team. An esteemed roster of music industry experts will drop in each week to prepare them for their big debut and deliver a chart-topping record, including music producer Kosine, choreographer Aliya Janell, songwriter Elijah Blake, and vocal coach Cynnamyn. Will their artistic differences or egos get in the way of forming a group? Or will these powerhouse women show the world that they still have what it takes to make a major comeback? Only time, and the music, will tell.

BET Presents The Encore premieres Wednesday, June 9th at 10 pm ET/PT on BET and BET Her.

Known for hit singles “808”, “Bring It All to Me,” and “I Do,” Shamari DeVoe is the lead vocalist of platinum-selling group Blaque and also appeared in the cult classic film Bring It On alongside Gabrielle Union. DeVoe was recently part of the hit show The Real Housewives of Atlanta next to her husband, Ronnie DeVoe of New Edition.

Sisters Irish and LeMisha Grinstead were part of the R&B girl group, 702, named after the area code of their hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. They released their debut single “Steelo” with great success along with the chart-topping ladies anthem “Where My Girls At?”

The only solo artist in the cast, Nivea Nash, is known most for her Grammy-nominated hit “Don’t Mess with My Man” as well as “Laundromat” and “Okay.” She was recently featured in the popular BET Digital series Finding, where she got candid about her professional and personal journey, including her relationships with Lil’ Wayne and The-Dream.

“Do It to It” and “Unappreciated” are two of Cherish’s singles that were met with critical and commercial success. Twin sisters Fallon and Felisha King are also successful songwriters and producers. Fallon wrote and produced the 2 x RIAA platinum certified single “Easy” ft. Chris Brown for DaniLeigh. Felisha co-wrote Sevyn Streeter’s “Before I Do,” which went to No. 1 on Billboards R&B Charts, and Justin Bieber’s “Peaches,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart. Both sisters co-wrote and produced over 30 songs for FOX’s hit TV Show Empire.

Pamela Long was a member of Bad Boy Records’ first girl group, Total. Hailing from Edison, New Jersey, the girl group deliver top hits such as “Kissin’ You,” “Can’t You See,” featuring The Notorious B.I.G., “What About Us?” and “Trippin’.” Her sultry voice will forever be engraved in music history for being on one of the biggest Grammy Award-winning songs, “Hynoptize.”

Singer, songwriter, producer, creative director, editor, and reality television personality, Aubrey O’Day is best known for being a member of the 2x platinum girl group Danity Kane created on the reality show Making the Band, formed by hip hop icon Sean “Diddy” Combs. With top hits that include “Damaged,” “Show Stopper,” & “Ride for You,” the band became the first female group in Billboard history to debut their first two albums at the top of the charts. Beyond her solo projects, O’Day also created pop duo Dumblonde, which went No. 1 on the charts and was named in the Top 20 best independent albums of the year by Rolling Stone Magazine. She also starred on Broadway in Hairspray, Peep Show, and her own TV show, All About Aubrey, as well as many others, including Celebrity Apprentice, Famously Single, Ex on the Beach, and Celebrity Big Brother.

With over 14 million record sales, singer, dancer, actress, and songwriter, Kiely Williams, is known for being a former member of girl groups 3LW and The Cheetah Girls with chart-topping singles “No More (Baby I’ma Do Right),” and “Playas Gon’ Play.” She has also starred in popular films The Cheetah Girls 1-3 and The House Bunny, starring Anna Farris and Emma Stone. Williams has also developed music acts for Epic, Sony Red, and Mary J. Blige.

BET Presents The Encore is executive produced by Kingdom Reign Entertainment with Carlos King, Scott Jeffress, Alicia Martino, Brent Nisbett and Scott Shatsky serving as Executive Producers.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com