Crystal Jones: 10 Unknown Facts About The TLC Singer

Crystal Jones is an American singer and co-founder of the 90s girl band known as ‘TLC’ (Tender Loving Care). The group was formerly known as ‘Second Nature’ before the change in management.

Jones formed the group while still a teenager. She was barely 18 years old at the time and she was able to pull it off with the help of her friend and manager known as Ian Burke. Jones formed the group with Tionne Watkins (T-Boz) and Lisa Lopes (Left Eye).

However, things spiraled out of control a few years into the group’s formation and this led to a change in the name as well as the replacement of group members.

Although Left Eye passed away in 2002 at the age of 30, the group is still active as other members are still alive.

Here Are 10 Things That Have Been Revealed About The Singer

1. Growing Up, Crystal Jones was Surrounded by Music

Born Crystal Selene Jones in the United States of America, she grew up in Atlanta. However, owing to the fact that she was born into a family of music, she was introduced to entertainment at an early age.

Her mother was a ‘Classical’ trained pianist who was wont to play music in the house. While still a teenager, Selene had gone on tours across the United States. She spent some time touring in New York as well as other cities and would perform with groups and artists.

Although she started school, she did not complete her education and at a point worked in clubs. She also did odd jobs in other to support herself before she began her singing group.

2. She Was Initially a Dancer

Given that Selene was surrounded by music, she found herself tilting more towards the performance. However, she said she was interested in both forms of entertainment. While still in her teens, she worked with the likes of DJ Chuck Chillout and Kool Chip. While she was in New York, she also worked as a Vixen and appeared in some videos.

3. How the Idea for the Formation of the Group Started

Crystal Jones conceived the idea of forming the girl band some time in the 1990s. She was watching some music videos and the idea struck her and then she reached out to her friend and manager at the time.

Upon speaking to Ian Burke who was the young lady’s manager then, he admitted that he had a similar idea. With this, they both started the process of getting the group together. The idea for the group was to start a movement. The most important characteristic of the band was that they were going to be ‘Tomboyish’ wearing baggy clothes in other to make them unique.

The group essentially was to be comprised of a singer, dancer, and rapper. Upon these laid down ideas, the plan to start ‘Second Nature’ began. Next up after this was to find the ladies who would fit the bill.

The first person who was to join the group was Lisa Lopes as she was a rapper but upon her meeting with Ian, he rejected her. According to the manager, Lopes did not look at the part and so wouldn’t have fitted the idea. However, Selene insisted that he listened to her first which he did, and was impressed. She eventually joined the group and her dress style which was a problem was reformed.

Next up to be part of the girl band was Tionne Watkins who is a singer, producer, and author. She was unable to make the scheduled meeting with the founding members of the group. However, Burke, Crystal, and a couple of other people went to Tionne’s house to audition at about 2 am. She impressed them and that was how she became the third member of ‘Second Nature’.

4. Crystal Jones Started Singing Upon the Advice of Her Fiancé

While still in pursuit of her career as a girl group member, Crystal Jones got engaged and had a baby. As a new mother, she had issues with back pain and couldn’t dance as well as she used to.

As a result of this, she was advised by her then-fiancé to pick up singing. Singing around the house had showcased how good a singer she is and she was encouraged to start singing.

5. She Was the ‘C’ in ‘TLC’

After being under the management of Ian Burke and producer Jermaine Dupri, the girls were connected to Perri ‘Pebbles’ Reid who was a singer and songwriter and had started her own artist management company. She was interested in the girl group and began to lobby to get them signed to her management.

With this new management, the name of the girl band changed from what it was initially known as to ‘TLC’. Known as ‘Tender Loving Care’ it actually also stood for the first letters of the names of the members. While ‘T’ meant Tionne, ‘L’ depicted Lisa, and ‘C’ stood for ‘Crystal’.

To date, the group still goes by this name even though two of its founding members are no longer part of it.

6. Jones’ Fall-out With Peebles and the Group

Founder, Crystal had a fallout with the new manager, Pebbles because she had questions concerning their contract. According to the singer, Peri was trying to buy the girls over with clothes and fancy meals.

However, upon presenting a contract to the girls, Crystal, who did not understand what was on the paper asked if she could take it home to her mum to read. A fact to note was that the girls were still teenagers and so needed directions.

Pebbles refused to let Crystal have another eye go through the contract and so she didn’t sign it. As a result of this, the other girls began working closely with the new management and left Crystal out of it. As time went on, she was totally exempted from TLC and eventually got replaced with Rhonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas.

7. She Stopped Singing a Long Time Ago

After the fallout with the group, Selene went on to pursue an ‘almost’ solo career. She wrote songs which were given to other singers but she didn’t get enough reward for that. However, she stopped singing and decided to focus on other things.

Jones Crystal even became homeless, devastated, and traumatized especially when she saw her band flourishing. She was unable to get back into the entertainment scene as she lost what was so dear to her.

The mother still sings in church but that is all the singing that she does. Nothing professional.

8. Crystal Selene Jones Is an Author

The former TLC band member is an author who published a book about her life and journey. The book titled ‘TLC…My Story: The Awakening of a Shattered Dreams’ is a collection of memoirs and was published sometime in 2014 on Amazon.

In the book, she told her story through the journey of her time with her band members and the aftermath of her exit from the group.

9. She Was Wrongly Portrayed in the Movie ‘CrazySexyCool’

The movie ‘CrazySexyCool’ which was released in October of 2013 told the story about the formation of the girl band and how they progressed from their teenage days to where they were.

However, the movie portrayed Crystal as someone who was terrible at singing. It was because of this that Jones was supposedly dropped from the group. This decision to let the founder go was supposedly done by the new manager, Pebbles.

10. Why It Took Her Over 2 Decades To Tell Her Side of the Story

Crystal Selene Jones had been quiet about the reason for her being ousted from the group. She didn’t speak up for over 2 decades and when she eventually did, she debunked a lot of claims.

The movie which was released in 2013 prompted the former performer to speak up. In a bid to explain her part of the story, she had interviews and debunked some parts of the movies that showed her in a different light.

One of the most important things she tried to debunk was the claim that she couldn’t sing. Something else she clarified was the point that she and the initial members of the band auditioned for L.A. Jones said that they did not audition for L. A bur It was just Pebbles and her husband she and the group auditioned for.