July 13, 2012
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BALDWIN

Wilson Phillips enjoy resurgence
'90s pop stars plot return after 'Bridesmaids' cameo
By Jane Stevenson, QMI Agency


Carnie Wilson, Chynna Phillips, Wendy Wilson. (WENN.com
)

Wilson Phillips are definitely holding on.

Two decades after their 1990 hit, Hold On, the pop trio are enjoying a popularity resurgence due in large part to their cameo in the 2011 runaway hit film Bridesmaids, singing their signature song in the movie's final wedding scene.

"My cell phone, opening weekend of that movie blew up," said member Chynna Phillips, 44, down the line from her Santa Barbara, Calif., home this week before a Wilson Phillips' show Saturday at Casino Rama, two hours north of Toronto.

"It was a huge coup for us, really. Basically, our manager got a phone call and they said (Bridesmaids stars) Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig are big Wilson Phillips fans."

Now Wilson Phillips have released a new album, Dedicated, with the trio covering the songs of The Beach Boys and The Mamas & the Papas (as in, their parents' material). Carnie and Wendy Wilson are the daughters of Beach Boy Brian Wilson, while Phillips' parents are Michelle Phillips and the late John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas.

"We definitely felt that it was important to establish ourselves as our own entity before we went off and started singing our parents' music," said Phillips. "And since it was our 20th anniversary last year and it was the Beach Boys' 50th anniversary this year, we thought it would be really apropos to do it now."

They even got Owen Elliot, daughter of Mamas And the Papas' late vocalist Cass Elliot, to sing on Dedicated to the One I Love, for eerie results.

"She sounds almost like a clone," said Phillips. "It was very emotional for us because Owen was an original member of Wilson Phillips before we even had the name of our group. And we had irreconcilable differences ... but our friendship stayed strong over the years."

As for Phillips' mom's reaction, it was waterworks as Chynna played Dedicated to the One I Love to Michelle in her car.

"She just put her face in her hands and she just crumbled into a puddle of tears. She just melted. It's very emotional for her being the only surviving member and to hear her daughter and her best friends. So I think it made her feel like there was some closure there for her in some way with Cass passing. With Owen singing with us, it was almost as if Cass had orchestrated the whole thing from above."

Phillips, the mother of three young children with actor Billy Baldwin, who she married in 1991, said the pop trio have nine children between them and only go on the road maybe once or twice a month for three days at a time.

In fact, a Wilson Phillips date in Newport Beach prevented Chynna from attending brother-in-law Alec Baldwin's recent nuptials in New York City.

"My husband was there and he had a great time, and he was just happy that Alec didn't wear his boxing gloves," said Phillips, referring to Alec's well-known battles with the paparazzi.

Billy also recently appeared on 30 Rock, playing actor Lance Drake Mandrell, who portrays a fictionalized version of Jack Donaghy -- normally played by his older brother Alec, of course -- in the made-for-TV movie Kidnapped by Danger.

"Billy was just able to just sort of really tap into that character and express himself in a way that people just connected with it -- they thought it was hysterical."




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