3LW

Lore & Background

3LW was formed in 1999 by Michelle Williams and Tse Williams, with Kiely Williams as the first member, joined by Adrienne Bailon and Naturi Naughton. Their debut single 'No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)' peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a top ten hit in several countries. The self-titled debut album was released on December 5, 2000, peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200, and was certified platinum. In 2001, the group appeared on teen sitcoms Taina and The Jersey, toured on the MTV Total Request Live Tour, and contributed to the charity single 'What More Can I Give' after the September 11 attacks.

In 2002, the group released the single 'I Do (Wanna Get Close to You)', featuring Loon, which peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. Following its release, Naturi Naughton left the group after an altercation involving a plate of food from KFC, citing conflicts with management. The group continued as a duo, releasing the albums A Girl Can Mack (2002) and Naughty or Nice (2002), the latter being their first without Naughton's contributions. Neither matched the success of their debut. In late 2002, the group held auditions for a new third member, selecting Jessica Benson in December 2002.

With Benson, 3LW signed with So So Def in 2003. However, Bailon and Williams became involved with the film The Cheetah Girls (2003), and as that project expanded into a real girl group, 3LW releases were placed on hold. The group released the single 'Feelin' You' in 2006, which failed to find much success, and they split in 2007.

Reader's Guide

3LW's significance lies in their brief but notable impact on early 2000s pop and R&B, particularly with their platinum-selling debut album and the hit single 'No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)'. Their story also illustrates the volatility of teen girl groups, as internal conflicts and management disputes led to Naturi Naughton's departure and a shift to a duo format. The group's legacy is further complicated by the parallel success of The Cheetah Girls, which absorbed two of its members and effectively ended 3LW's momentum. While their later releases failed to replicate early success, 3LW remains a reference point for discussions of group dynamics, management issues, and the transition from traditional girl groups to multimedia franchises.

Did You Know?

• Alicia Keys was briefly considered for the group during formation.
• Naturi Naughton filed a lawsuit against the group and management in October 2002 for loss of income, though Bailon and Williams later said there was 'no lawsuit'.
• After Naughton's departure, the press jokingly referred to the duo as '2LW'.
• 3LW appeared as bonus characters in the 2001 video game NBA Street.

Formation & Debut Breakthrough

3LW came together in 1999 under the guidance of sisters Michelle and Tse Williams, who served as the group's co-managers. Kiely Williams, Michelle's daughter and Tse's niece, was the first member locked in, and the lineup was completed when Adrienne Bailon and Naturi Naughton joined. Alicia Keys was even briefly considered before the trio solidified. Signed to Epic Records, the group struck a major chord with their debut single "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)" in fall 2000, climbing to number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and cracking the top ten in several international markets. Their self-titled debut album, released December 5, 2000, reached number 29 on the Billboard 200 and earned platinum certification from the RIAA, moving 1.3 million copies domestically. The momentum carried them onto the 2001 MTV Total Request Live Tour alongside Destiny's Child, Nelly, and Jessica Simpson. They also appeared as bonus characters in the video game NBA Street, contributed to the post-9/11 charity track "What More Can I Give" alongside Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey, and recorded a cover of "Parents Just Don't Understand" with Lil' Romeo and Nick Cannon for the Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius soundtrack.

The Naughton Split

The summer of 2002 brought mounting tension within 3LW. During rehearsals for a TEENick Summer Concerts special, management introduced an understudy exclusively for Naturi Naughton, a move that upset her fellow members before the three eventually made amends. The concert aired in August, but by mid-month Naughton had departed the group following a confrontation with Kiely Williams that involved a plate of KFC. Williams initially denied the incident, later acknowledging it but insisting "it was so much more than that." Naughton pointed to ongoing conflicts with the group's management, particularly Michelle Williams, and alleged she was pressured into pursuing a relationship with a member of St. Lunatics in exchange for a tour spot. Williams and Bailon countered that Naughton had been unhappy and lacked ambition. Naughton filed a lawsuit in October 2002 seeking compensation for lost income, though by March 2003 Bailon and Williams publicly stated no such lawsuit existed and they had never been served papers.

The Duo Era & the Search for a Third

With Naughton gone, the press playfully dubbed the remaining pair "2LW," and they pressed forward as a duo. Naughton's vocals and image remained on the sophomore album A Girl Can Mack, which Kiely Williams defended by noting she "participated on the album just as much as we did." After several tracks leaked online, the duo recorded five new songs, and the album finally dropped on October 22, 2002, debuting at number 15 on the Billboard 200 with 53,000 first-week sales. The follow-up single "Neva Get Enuf" underperformed, and the Christmas-themed third album Naughty or Nice failed to chart on any major Billboard list. The group also made an appearance on Nickelodeon's All That that November. By late 2002, 3LW launched nationwide auditions to find a new third member. Fifteen-year-old Jessica "J" Benson was selected in December, and in 2003 the group signed with So So Def, signaling a fresh chapter.

The Cheetah Girls Diversion & Dissolution

The most consequential disruption to 3LW's trajectory came from outside the group itself. In 2003, both Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams became involved with the film The Cheetah Girls, a project that rapidly expanded into its own live girl group. As that venture consumed their creative energy and label attention, all 3LW releases were placed on indefinite hold. The group's next and final single, "Feelin' You," did not surface until 2006, and it failed to generate meaningful chart traction. With momentum long lost and the members' professional lives increasingly diverging, 3LW officially split the following year, in 2007. What had begun as a platinum-certified trio in 2000 ultimately dissolved not with a dramatic final performance but with a quiet fade, leaving behind a catalog of three studio albums, a handful of singles, and a brief but notable chapter in late-1990s and early-2000s R&B pop.

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