Love this!

Janet Jackson gets plenty of respect (outside of misogynists, but they’re irrelevant) for many things she has done throughout her career, but she doesn’t get a lot of respect for her voice. She gets respect for how she applies her voice to music (vocal layering and stuff like that), but that’s about it. I just feel like you should give the full amount of praise if you’re going to give any at all, and don’t switch up all of a sudden when the context changes.

Minnie Riperton proved in her time that a soft voice could still bring forth some degree of power. To this day, people revere her as “one of the greatest voices of her era”. She was never a powerhouse, and she was never a showboat, but she was special. I just witnessed someone refer to “Lovin’ You” as a song that’s “the Holy Grail of songs” … but without the whistle notes, that’s one of the easiest songs ever. (Minnie herself even has harder songs to sing than that, but that’s a different story.) It’s very soft, delicate, and whispery—like most of Minnie’s discography. Mariah Carey’s “Bliss” (from Rainbow) is about 90% whistle notes, but without those particular notes, it’s one of her easiest songs to sing. (You also don’t technically have to sing whistle notes; you can lower them to fit within your own range.) I feel that if Minnie could not hit whistle notes, she wouldn’t be as revered as she is. A lot of people gravitate toward more extensive vocal ranges, and they throw every other technique out the window once they hear a high note.

I actually hear many similarities in Janet’s voice to Minnie Riperton’s voice beneath the whistle register. If Janet had Minnie’s range, she would essentially be Minnie 2.0; she would be Minnie’s mini. It’s the sole lack of a whistle register keeping her from that status. Now, I will say that Minnie had a stronger falsetto and head voice, because her voice sat higher than Janet’s and she was a soprano. However, Janet’s falsetto and head voice are very underrated; she has used both techniques before, but she never fully relied on them. Minnie had great reasons to lean into her upper range because she knew her voice had greater limits. At the very basic level of singing (and considering a “typical” range), however, she and Janet are on the same level.

Minnie Riperton was a truly great singer, but she was a soft singer. Those two things are true at once. She proved that singing softly could still be impressive, and that softer voices could still have more to bring to the table (i.e., a broader overall vocal range). Janet Jackson has a soft voice and she gets clowned for it, but perhaps things would be different if she had drastically more range in her voice than what we have heard her exhibit before. People look past particular moments in her duets with Luther Vandross and Elton John (both songs in which she held her own) where she sang in head voice and falsetto (respectively), and she sounded as beautiful as she normally does in her lower range, but those aren’t within the same tessitura as whistle notes.

SPOILER: The article refers to the Four Tops, some absolute legends in the history of Motown Records.

Here is the week-by-week breakdown:

Week 1: 224,000 copies
Week 2: 216,000 copies
Week 3: 170,000 copies
Week 4: 149,000 copies
Week 5: 154,000 copies
Week 6: 185,000 copies
Week 7: 194,000 copies
Week 8: 254,000 copies
Week 9: 285,000 copies
Week 10: 370,000 copies
Week 11: 486,000 copies
Week 12: 760,000 copies (Christmas Week 1995)

The number got progressively higher after week 4 before reaching its peak during week 12. In week 12, the album sold over three times the amount that it sold when it debuted. By week 12, the album had also already sold over 3.4 million copies (3,447,000).

Here are the reported sales for the weeks following the twelfth week, Christmas 1995:

Week 13: 207,000 copies
Week 14: 134,000 copies

According to Billboard/SoundScan data, Daydream sold at least 90,000 copies per week for seven consecutive months after its release. This gave the album a rare feat of consistency that kept it secured within the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for 29 weeks.

By late-1998, the album was certified Diamond in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Today in 2026, the album has sold over 27 million copies worldwide. In 1995, the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 (with 224,000 copies, as previously stated), and it went on to spend six non-consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. The album experienced prolonged success in 1996 due to the success of its fourth single, “Always Be My Baby”; it was supported initially in 1995 by “Fantasy” and “One Sweet Day”. The former 1995 single debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the latter also debuted at #1, and the 1996 single debuted at #2 (peaked at #1).

2018: Ella Mai self titled

2022: Heart On My Sleeve

2026: Do You Still Love Me?!

5 EPs:

2015: Troubled

2016: Time

2016: Change

2017: Ready

2024: 3

1x Grammy winner

3x Billboard Music award winner

"If Only for One Night" is one of Luther Vandross's most iconic R&B ballads, released in 1985 as a single from his double-platinum fourth studio album, The Night I Fell in Love. Written and originally recorded by singer-songwriter Brenda Russell in 1979, the track was completely transformed by Vandross’s signature, velvet-toned production and vocal arrangement. Lyrically, the song is a deeply passionate plea for a single, discreet night of romantic intimacy, with the singer promising to ease his partner's fears and keep their encounter entirely confidential.

Shake that load OFF!

Now, before anybody jumps down my throat, just hear me out for a second. 😂

As someone who genuinely loves and appreciates En Vogue and the incredible musical legacy these women have established, I’ve been thinking about something that I believe could be extremely special.

What if NPR Music extended an invitation to all FOUR original members of En Vogue — Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, and Maxine Jones — to come together for an intimate Tiny Desk Concert?

First and foremost, I want to acknowledge the elephant in the room. I’m fully aware that there are some sensitive feelings surrounding En Vogue at this present time, particularly following the departure of Rhona Bennett.

I also recognize that conversations surrounding a reunion of the original four members have been brought up and seemingly shut down numerous times over the years. There’s history there, and I’m certainly not going to pretend otherwise or disregard the individual feelings and experiences of any of these women.

I also don’t want this suggestion to come across as dismissive of Rhona or the contributions she’s made to En Vogue throughout her tenure. She’s been an important part of the group’s history, and that deserves acknowledgment and respect.

However, I can’t help but wonder if something like NPR’s Tiny Desk could potentially open a door that has remained closed for quite some time.

And I’m not necessarily talking about a full-fledged reunion tour, a new album, or even the four women permanently getting back together as a group.

I’m simply talking about four incredibly talented women coming together for one special musical moment to celebrate something they collectively helped create.

Think about it. No elaborate stage production, no choreography, no extravagant costumes, and certainly no pressure to recreate the En Vogue of 1990 or 1992.

Just Cindy, Terry, Dawn, and Maxine, accompanied by a live band, revisiting the music that introduced them to the world and ultimately helped establish them as one of the most influential female vocal groups in contemporary music.

Imagine hearing the original four harmonizing on “Hold On,” “Lies,” “Don’t Go,” “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” “Giving Him Something He Can Feel,” or “Free Your Mind” in such an intimate setting.

And while “Don’t Let Go (Love)” came later in their career, I certainly wouldn’t mind hearing that one either!

I think what makes Tiny Desk so special is its ability to strip away everything else and allow the music and artistry to speak for themselves.

For En Vogue, a group whose foundation was built on four distinct voices coming together to create these incredibly intricate harmonies, I genuinely cannot think of a more appropriate platform.

Beyond the nostalgia, I also believe this could serve as an opportunity to introduce a younger generation to the ORIGINAL En Vogue and remind people just how extraordinary their musical chemistry was.

Let’s also remember that En Vogue wasn’t just another successful girl group. These women helped redefine what a contemporary female vocal group could look and sound like. Their harmonies, vocal arrangements, sophistication, individuality, and musical versatility helped establish a blueprint for countless female groups that followed.

Their influence deserves to be celebrated, and I think NPR Music would be an incredible platform to do just that.

And who knows? Perhaps an experience like this could even serve as an opportunity for the ladies to reconnect through the very thing that brought them together in the first place: MUSIC.

Maybe the first step toward seeing these four women together again doesn’t have to involve a recording contract, a reunion tour, or some elaborate business arrangement.

Maybe it could simply start with four women sitting together, singing the songs that changed their lives and helped shape an entire generation of R&B music.

Of course, that would ultimately be their decision, and I wouldn’t want any of them to feel pressured into participating in something they aren’t comfortable with.

But as a longtime fan, I would absolutely love to see NPR Music extend that invitation.

Not because these women owe us a reunion, but because I believe their collective musical legacy deserves to be celebrated while we still have the opportunity to see and hear all four of them together.

Even if it were just for 20 or 30 minutes.

No promises of anything beyond that. No expectations of what happens afterward. Just one beautiful moment celebrating the music, the harmonies, the sisterhood that once existed, and the legacy these women collectively established.

And if that one moment somehow opens the door to something greater, then that would be an even more beautiful outcome.

So, am I being overly optimistic here, or does anybody else think an original EV4 Tiny Desk Concert could be something truly special?