Editing TLC (group) (section)

===1997–2000: ''FanMail'' and members feud===
Preliminary work on TLC's third studio album was delayed when friction arose between the group and their main producer [[Dallas Austin]], who was romantically involved with Thomas and had had a child with her in 1997. Austin wanted $4.2 million and creative control to work on the project, resulting in a stand-off between the producer and the artists. During this period, Thomas appeared in the [[Miramax]] independent film ''[[Hav Plenty]]'', while Watkins co-starred with rappers [[Nas]] and [[DMX (rapper)|DMX]] in [[Hype Williams]]'s 1998 film ''[[Belly (film)|Belly]]''. Lopes started her own production company, Left-Eye Productions, and signed [[Blaque]], an R&B trio. Under her guidance, Blaque released [[Blaque (album)|their 1999 self-titled debut album]], which was certified platinum and contained two top-ten singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Lopes also hosted the short-lived [[Music Television|MTV]] talent series ''[[The Cut (1998 TV series)|The Cut]]'' (1998), which featured then-unknown recording artists [[Ne-Yo]] and [[Anastacia]].
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:TLC-Grammy2.jpg|250px|thumb|TLC at 2000 Grammy Ceremony]] -->
TLC eventually began working with other producers for their third album, until finally negotiating with Austin, who produced the bulk of the album. Lopes always had an idea of a futuristic feel for the project, which Austin incorporated into the album. Titled ''[[FanMail]]'', the album was released in February 1999, another critical and commercial success. It debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and was certified six-time platinum by the RIAA for six million copies shipped in the United States. Worldwide the album exceeded over 10 million copies sold.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/43433/1/tlc-fanmail-20th-anniversary-retrospective|title=Lessons on self-worth and self-care from TLC's FanMail|work=[[Dazed]]|date=February 22, 2019|access-date=May 10, 2022|archive-date=May 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510015232/https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/43433/1/tlc-fanmail-20th-anniversary-retrospective|url-status=live}}</ref> "[[No Scrubs]]" was released as the lead single and became a worldwide hit, topping the singles charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. The album's second single, "[[Unpretty]]", incorporated [[contemporary folk music|folk]] and [[alternative rock]] influences and became TLC's fourth number-one hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.<ref name="FanMail20">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8499567/tlc-fanmail-interview-20th-anniversary-dallas-austin|title=TLC's 'FanMail' Turns 20: A Track-By-Track Retrospective With the Girl Group and Behind-the-Scenes Collaborators|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|last=Gracie|first=Bianca|date=February 22, 2019|access-date=October 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223013401/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8499567/tlc-fanmail-interview-20th-anniversary-dallas-austin|archive-date=February 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="BillboardTrio"/> The other three singles also received decent radio play: "[[Silly Ho]]", "[[I'm Good at Being Bad]]", and Edmonds-written ballad, "Dear Lie".

At the [[42nd Annual Grammy Awards]], ''FanMail'' received eight nominations, and won three awards: [[Grammy Award for Best R&B Album|Best R&B Album]], [[Grammy Award for Best R&B Song|Best R&B Song]] and [[Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals|Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals]], the last two for "No Scrubs". At the [[Soul Train Music Awards|Lady of Soul Awards]], the group was honored with the Aretha Franklin Entertainer of the Year Award.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soultrain.com/stlos/library.html|title=1998–4th Annual Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards|publisher=soultrain.com|access-date=May 11, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724104331/http://www.soultrain.com/stlos/library.html|archive-date=July 24, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> TLC went on a worldwide tour called the [[FanMail Tour]]. The group had a PayPerView special of their tour, which at the time became PayPerView's highest-grossing televised special.

During and after the release of ''FanMail'', Lopes made it known to the press on multiple occasions that she felt that she was unable to express herself in TLC fully. Her contributions to songs had been reduced to periodic eight-[[Musical notation|bar]] raps, and there were several songs in which she had no vocals. Studio session singers such as [[Debra Killings]] often sang background vocals for the group's songs, something Lopes also wanted to do on songs in which she did not rap. In late 1999, Entertainment Weekly published a letter written by Lopes that challenged her groupmates Watkins and Thomas to all record solo albums and see which album performed the best:

{{blockquote|"I challenge Tionne "Player" Watkins (T-Boz) and Rozonda "Hater" Thomas (Chilli) to an album entitled ''The Challenge''... a 3-CD set that contains three solo albums. Each (album)... will be due to the record label by October 1, 2000... I also challenge producer Dallas "The Manipulator" Austin to produce all of the material and do it at a fraction of his normal rate. As I think about it, I'm sure LaFace would not mind throwing in a $1.5 million prize for the winner."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ew.com/article/1999/11/26/tlc-three-tangle/|title=Three To Tangle|last=Sinclair|first=Tom|date=November 26, 1999|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=May 11, 2009|archive-date=April 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425212903/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,271844,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

The members eventually settled the feud, and ''The Challenge'' was never taken up. After the conclusion of the successful ''FanMail'' tour, they took some time off and pursued personal interests. Lopes was the first to begin recording her solo album, ''[[Supernova (Lisa Lopes album)|Supernova]]''. The album was released in Europe, and the first—and only—single "The Block Party" reached the Top 20 on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. The song was released in the United States a few weeks before the scheduled album release. However, when the song did not perform well, the album's release was canceled for North America, and no further singles were promoted. In 2000, [[Spice Girls]] member [[Melanie C]] collaborated with Lopes on the single "[[Never Be the Same Again]]"; it became an international hit reaching number one in many countries. On August 1, 2001, the group performed "Waterfalls" at MTV's 20th anniversary party in New York City, which would be their final performance as a trio before the death of Lopes.