Divine

From Correspondent Mark Scheerer

Web posted on: Tuesday, October 20, 1998 5:07:48 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Alone, they are gifted singers. But when you put together Tonia, Kia and Nikki -- the members of the R&B group Divine -- they are, well, divine.

The teen trio answered a casting call from producers who wanted to form the group. It's paying off. Divine currently has their first single "Lately," from their debut album "Fairy Tales" (Red Ant Records), resting at No. 10 on Billboard charts.

"'Lately' sets the tone for the album," says Nikki Bratcher. "It is about a couple when they were young. The guy is moving away and she is remembering everything."

Hear a clip of "Divine" Audio clip: 120k MPEG-3 Audio clip: 165k WAV Video clip: 925k QuickTime File format info Please enable JavaScript

To see success come so quickly has been exciting for the singers. Tonia Tash says she remembers seeing their video on TV.

"When I first saw the video, I was talking on the phone and I heard (it)," Tash says. "And I said wait a minute, because I saw the video before it aired on TV, but it is different, because you know millions of people are watching it everywhere. And that is such a good feeling. I cried."

The girls say they realize the pitfalls that can break up bands, but they say they get along well, and enjoy singing together -- in just about any venue.

"I mean, we walk through subways singing," says Bratcher. "People are looking at us like we are crazy, but we are having fun.

"We all come from totally different backgrounds, three different areas, but surprisingly when we got together we just clicked," says Bratcher. "I know a lot of people say girl groups break up, they have their catfights, and all that stuff. We are like sisters."

Tash agrees.

"We are like Baskin and Robbins, except we have twelve flavors," says Tash, referring to the number of tracks on their album. "Something for everyone. We are funky and wild, sexy, simple, sweet. You know, all the elements of Divine."