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En Vogue to Star in Taraji P. Henson’s Directorial Debut of ‘Empire’ (EXCLUSIVE)

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En Vogue will be musical guests on the March 17 episode of “Empire,” which also happens to be star Taraji P. Henson’s directorial debut of the show.

The group — Cindy Herron-Braggs, Terry Ellis and Rhona Bennett — will appear as themselves when Cookie (played by Henson) books them as a musical guest on her talk show “Tea Talk.” The show, titled “Come Undone” after an En Vogue song, is the third of 10 final episodes of the series, which premiered in 2015.

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“We’ve been fans of ‘Empire’ from its inception,” Ellis tells Variety. “We love the infusion of performance and soundtracks — that’s been a great launching pad for upcoming artists. Being on set with Taraji brought back memories of how far we’ve come.”

Herron-Braggs compared the power-broker Cookie to Epic Records Chairman & CEO Sylvia Rhone, one of the pioneering female executives in the music industry, who steered En Vogue to superstardom as head of Elektra Records in the 1990s.

“We were fortunate to have someone like Cookie — Sylvia Rhone — who personally was committed to every aspect of our career from A&R, artist development and imaging,” she said. “That’s been the cornerstone of our 30 years in the industry.”

The drama, about a family dynasty set within the glamorous and dangerous world of hip-hop, revolves around the Lyons and their media company, Empire Entertainment. From Imagine Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television, “Empire” was created by Academy Award nominee Lee Daniels and Emmy Award winner Danny Strong, and is executive-produced by Daniels, Strong, Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, Sanaa Hamri, Dennis Hammer and Matt Pyken.

En Vogue formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989 and originally comprised Ellis, Herron, Dawn Robinson and Maxine Jones. The group’s hit run began in 1990 with the single “Hold On,” from their debut album, “Born to Sing” (which is being released in a 30th anniversary edition, featuring nine new remixes, on Rhino Records on April 3). It continued through the decade with “Free Your Mind,” “Never Gonna Get It,” “Giving Him Something He Can Feel,” “Don’t Let Go” and “Whatta Man” (featuring Salt N Pepa). In 2018 the hard-touring group released “Electric Café,” their first new album in 14 years, which features contributions from Ne-Yo, Raphael Saadiq and Snoop Dogg.

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