It seems like it was just yesterday that R&B singer Toni Braxton appeared untouchable. Her eponymous debut album dictated how the game was supposed to be played. She was pretty and talented – vocally and on the piano.
Record executive LA Reid and singer Babyface knew they had a gem on their hands (she signed to their LaFace Records). And over the years she proved them right, but nothing lasts forever.
Her last album, Pulse (2009), had some fine cuts, but is a long way from the Un-break My Heart (Secrets, 1998) or He Wasn’t Man Enough (The Heat, 2000) days.
Her success was so great even her siblings were envious and formed a band, The Braxtons, which excluded Toni.
Granted, they are as pretty as Toni, and a dream for the naughty-minded, but their group was always viewed as a failed attempt at being their sister.
That said, through hard work and determination, the girls have managed to have some sort of careers other than in music. Still, you would have to look hard to find out who the Braxton sisters are and what they are up to.
If you are curious then their reality show The Braxton Family Values comes to your rescue. All the girls – Toni, Traci, Towanda, Trina and Tamar – come together to give us a taste of their lives at home and in the entertainment industry.
Before you frown at the idea, at least these ladies had some sort of success, though mild, and were known for the right reasons before the show, unlike the Kardashians.
Toni, as we know, is the most popular and successful of the group. She has had a very successful music career and if she planned her finances right then she does not have to work for a day longer. We’ll assume she is helping out her sisters in this series.
After Toni comes Traci, the one they call the wannabe, because at 42 she is still trying to make it in the music industry (like seriously, it is not every day anyone pulls a Susan Boyle).
Interestingly, this show will also take us through her musical journey and what you will find interesting is that there are a lot of similarities between her music and that of older sister Toni.
Perhaps Traci’s hunger for the limelight comes from the fact that she was not in the sisters’ band, The Braxtons. So essentially she is the odd one out when it comes to having an established music career.
Next in line is Towanda who studied music at university. She is considered the most organised of the bunch.
She has had her chance at fame with The Braxtons, the Broadway show Dreamgirls and she starred in Starting Over, an Emmy Award-winning show. So unlike the others she does not need to milk Toni’s name in conversations.
We will also be introduced to Trina, the other member of The Braxtons. She does backing vocals for big sister Toni and performs at wedding gigs.
Having had her first child at 17, Trina has always been the party girl. She may now be raising two teenagers, but sometimes you can tell she, too, needs to do some growing up.
Finally there is Tamar, the youngest and fairest of them all. She, like Trina, took part in Toni’s band and was only 11 when she started out.
She has tried, and failed, at going solo, but her acting career is worth mentioning as she has featured in big movies such as Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes To Jail.
With the ladies having different strengths and weaknesses, it should be interesting to see how this show pans out.
• The Braxton Family Values airs every Monday at 7.30pm on Vuzu (DStv channel 123).