Former En Vogue Member Finds Freedom In Lucy Pearl

Now that "Dance Tonight," the first single from Lucy Pearl's self-titled debut album, is rising on the R&B and pop charts, it's easy for singer Dawn Robinson to laugh about the fact that she almost missed out on her chance to join the group.

Robinson's tale began when Raphael Saadiq, formerly of Tony Toni Tone, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, formerly of Tribe Called Quest, thought of the ex-En Vogue member when trying to round out their new trio with a female singer.

"Ali and Raphael had worked together in the past and formed a relationship," Robinson said. "They needed a third member and couldn't think of anyone else. They called my manager and she said, 'Thanks but no thanks, I don't think she'd be interested.' I heard about it and said, 'You're crazy. It's a great opportunity,' and I got rid of my manager."

"Lucy Pearl" is due in stores on May 16. "Dance Tonight," in addition to blowing up on radio, is featured in Spike Lee's new film "Love & Basketball."

Saadiq and Muhammad wrote most of the music for the 16 songs on "Lucy Pearl." Robinson wrote her own verses and vocal parts. The collaborative songwriting process was a marked contrast from the way that En Vogue worked and recorded.

"In En Vogue, I didn't create as much as I did with Lucy Pearl," she said. "In En Vogue, the songs were written for us by producers and you were supposed to sing the songs they told you and sing the way they wanted you to sing. With Lucy Pearl, I produced a lot of my vocals myself. I was actually scared I had to do it on my own at first, but the freedom to write was wonderful."

Lucy Pearl recorded at a couple of studios in Los Angeles before moving operations to San Francisco's Toast Studios, where Third Eye Blind was working on its latest LP in the next room.

Rather than stick to samples, Lucy Pearl included live bass and guitars on many of the songs, in addition to Ali's work on the turntables, which Robinson said should translate easily to the live show. "It's funny, when we were recording the album, Raphael looked at the songs in a live way and pictured each song being played live, which to me is such a creative thing. All the songs are set up for live except 'Can't Stand Your Mother' ... It's going to be great [touring]. That's where I thrive the most. We all thrive on stage live. It's going to be great."