This girl is an American singer and actress best known for formerly being one-third of the R&B trio 3LW.
Naturi Naughton was born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, her musical talent first emerged at the age of 5 years old, when she joined the choir at her Baptist church. She attended St. Joseph's Catholic school for a brief period of time before being discovered. She sang the national anthem for various events in New Jersey.
When she was 14 (in 1999) Naughton joined Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams to form the group 3LW. Their first single, 'No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)', was released in the fall of 2000. 'No More' was a success and was followed by the second single, 'Playas Gon' Play' in early 2001. The group's debut album, 3LW, was released on December 5, 2000. The album went platinum, selling 1.3 million copies in the US. In the summer of 2001, the group went on the MTV TRL tour along with Destiny's Child, Dream, Nelly, Eve, and Jessica Simpson.
3LW spent the first half of 2002 in the studio, recording an album tentatively titled Same Game, Different Rules. The album and its intended lead single 'Uh Oh' were presented to the label, who felt it did not have enough urban radio appeal. The tracks from Same Game, Different Rules were leaked to the Internet in MP3 format, and Epic considered dropping the band. A fan support campaign for 3LW named 'Never Let Go Of 3LW' after their song 'Never Let Go' spread to the radio, and the act was retained.
Recording a new set of tracks, 3LW returned in late summer of 2002 with the P. Diddy-produced single 'I Do (Wanna Get Close To You)', featuring Loon. By August, the group was set to release its newest LP, A Girl Can Mack, when Naughton announced that she was no longer a member of the group. Naughton alleged that the other two girls and their management had forced her out of the group after attempting to for months and even degraded her. Naughton says that she had left after a heated argument with Williams, Bailon, and their manager. Naughton had tried to settle with the group and give into their demands for months leading up to the argument, deciding it was not worth leaving the group after a few fights and that it would have been a shame to end a group that had so much hard work put into it. However, during the heated argument, Williams allegedly threw a hot plate full of KFC food at Naughton, proving to be the final straw. After Naughton's departure, Bailon and Williams resumed as a two-member group and released the single Neva Get Enuf, which did not feature Naughton's vocals. The single was unsuccessful, failing to make a dent on radio or the Billboard Hot 100.
