Government Name(s): Kia Thorton, Nikki Bratcher, Tonia Tash
Period of Relevance: 1998-1999
Claim To Fame: The idea of bringing complete strangers together to form a musical group can be hit (Danity Kane) or miss (Da Band), but when Ruben Rodriguez, owner of Pendulum Records, brought Thorton, 17, and Bratcher, 19, of New Jersey; and Tash, 19, of New York; together, it proved to be solid gold (and later platinum). The singing trio’s first single, 1998’s “Lately”, hit #1 and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts respectively; becoming one of the biggest and highest played songs of that year.
The Decline: Following the release of their album, Fairy Tales, the group released the follow-up single, “One More Try”, a song originally released by George Michael in 1988. While it was a modest success, peaking at #13 on the R&B chart, the ladies soon disbanded in 2000.
Last Seen: Nikki Bratcher (who is celebrating her 31st birthday today, August 10) is married and is reportedly working as an A&R rep for an independent record label. Thorton, now 29, tried her hand at competing in the sixth season of American Idol in 2007 (Jordin Sparks would go on to win), but was eliminated during the Hollywood round (see her audition video after the break).

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It’s been nearly 12 years, since mainstream has heard anything new from the ladies—collectively—making them officially #MISSINGINMUSIC.

TAGS: American Idol, Da Band, Danity Kane, Divine, George Michael, Jordin Sparks, Kia Thorton, Nikki Bratcher, Pendulum Records, Ruben Rodriguez, Tonia Tash