The Story Behind The Names Of 15 Of Your Favorite R&B Groups
Image Source: Motown
Zhané
According to former group member Renee Neufville per her interview with Wax Poetics:
“I sat down at my kitchen table in Brooklyn. I took out a piece of paper, and I started jotting down names,” she said. “I tried different names like Nah-jay, Fade to Black, and many others. I remember brainstorming about it by myself knowing that we had to sign this contract, but we didn’t have a group name yet. When I thought of Jah-nay, at first, it was a combination of her name and mine because they’re both French names. I used the J from her name and added to my –nay sound at the end of my name. However, I thought to myself that, if we happen to be famous one day, and we do autographs, the Z would look better. That’s how I came up with the name, and then I told Jean later. She agreed that it was a good name.”
