Groove Theory was an AmericanR&B duo, with former member, singer-songwriterAmel Larrieux and songwriter/producer/actor,Bryce Wilson. The group is best known for their 1995 hit "Tell Me", which reached the top five ofBillboard'sHot 100 and the USBillboardR&Bchart.

The group formed in New York City in 1993, when Amel Larrieux met Bryce Wilson while she was working atRondor Music as a receptionist. Larrieux had been working at the music publishing company since the age of 18. A publisher at the company had signed Wilson as a producer, and knew he was interested in forming a group. He approached Larrieux, who he knew was a singer-songwriter, with one of Wilson's production tracks, saying "look, you wanna try writing a song? You know I can give you one of the tracks, and you can do it, and if you don't mind, you can demo it."^{[citation needed]} Wilson hoped to use the group as a chance to utilize his production talents, while Larrieux wanted a chance to shine in R&B. Wilson also found it useful for Larrieux to both write, sing, and arrange each song instead of shopping around for different singers and songwriters.^{[citation needed]}

The group signed a recording contract withEpic Records, and in 1995, they released their self-titled debut albumGroove Theory. The album featured thegold-sellinghit single, "Tell Me", which reached number five on theBillboard Hot 100 and number three on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Tell Me" also peaked at No. 31 on theUK Singles Chart in November 1995.^[1] Other charted singles included "Baby Luv" and "Keep Trying", which reached numbers 18 and 36 on the R&B chart, respectively. The album also went on to be certified gold.

Larrieux left Groove Theory in 1999 to pursue a solo career, and was replaced by Makeda Davis, a songwriter and session singer/background vocalist who appeared on 1997K-Ci & JoJo albumLove Always and co-wrote rapperAmil's "I Got That". The group signed withColumbia Records and recorded a new album,The Answer, which was expected for release in 2000. Displeased with Columbia's track record at the time with urban projects, Wilson asked for a release from the label, causing the album to remain unreleased. A single entitled "4 Shure" was released from the album to minor chart performance.

Larrieux began her solo career in her absence from the group, forming her ownindependent record label, Blisslife, to distribute her music. Wilson appeared in the filmsBeauty Shop,Trois andHair Show, and produced music forBeyoncé,Amerie andMary J. Blige.^[2] In a 2016 interview with music publicationthe Fader, Wilson revealed that the entire shelved albumThe Answer was heard and praised by rapperJay-Z and Beyoncé at an impromptu studio listening session withLupe Fiasco manager Chill Patterson, Wilson, and a few other people, after which Jay-Z began shopping songs from the shelved project to Beyoncé,Janet Jackson, and other artists/labels.^[3] As a result, Wilson and Davis appear as co-writers on several songs for other artists: "Hip-Hop Star" and unreleased songs "Settle 4 U" and "Scent of You" from Beyoncé's debut albumDangerously In Love (2003), "Not The Only One" from Amerie's sophomore albumTouch (2005), and "It's OK" fromMashonda's debut albumJanuary Joy (2005).^[3]

• Groove Theory atAllMusic

• American contemporary R&B musical groups
• Contemporary R&B duos
• Columbia Records artists
• Male–female musical duos
• Musical duos from New York (state)
• Musical groups disestablished in 2001
• Musical groups established in 1995
• Musical groups reestablished in 2010
• Musical groups from New York City

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