"Life for me has been no crystal stair," says Tonia Tash, paraphrasing the Langston Hughes poem she is fond of quoting. There have been no crystal stairs, and no glass slippers either, for the three budding divas -- Tash, Nikki Bratcher and Kia Thornton -- who are Divine. Together they have overcome the odds, stuck to their goals and struck gold with their debut single, "Lately," which ascended to the No.2 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 chart the day after Fairy Tales was released on Oct. 27. But this has been no overnight success. |

"We're the underdogs of the business," Nikki says. "It took us three years to actually get to this point. The process was so long and now finally that [the single] is out and having so much success, we can't even believe it."

Divine's hit single was the product of determination on the part of the three young women (Tonia, at nineteen, is the oldest; Kia and Nikki are seventeen and eighteen, respectively.) While it might seem strange, at their age, to be talking about "long" years in the business, the members of Divine have worked toward this moment for almost half of their lives. Nikki started laying down vocal tracks in the seventh grade in a studio in New Jersey. It was there that she met producer D. Moet, who would later bring the budding starlet into Divine.

Kia sharpened her vocal skills in the church choir, and spent her free time recording homemade demos of herself singing the National Anthem, which she then sent to "every major label" she could find. Tonia, a self-described "dramatic person," had been honing her stage presence since grammar school. A poetry fan with a flair for stirring recitals, Tonia won awards at various oratorical contests, but found her primary inspiration in singers like Usher and Leann Rimes, both of whom had gotten their big break on Star Search. Like her counterparts, Nikki and Kia, Tonia had a clear vision, even when others around her were abandoning their goals.

"We didn't come from great backgrounds," Kia explains. "I have a lot of friends who have given up. My family kept me strong." Nikki shares the sentiment. "I come from a rough community [with] drugs, stolen cars," Nikki says. "A lot of my friends that I grew up with felt like they had to resort to the street."

Because of their backgrounds and the obstacles they overcame, Divine struggle to set a good example for other young people. "We weren't born with silver spoons in our mouths," says Tonia. "We had a dream and we worked hard. But we also wanted to send out a message: It's okay to be good. You don't have to be bad to be somebody." In fact, Divine hope to be more than entertainers -- they also want to be role models. As part of their good will mission, Divine are taking their message to high schools across the country. "A lot of the kids don't have anywhere to turn, they don't know where to start if they want to do the same thing, so we're there to help them."

Tonia offers her advice to young people who have hit difficult times and are confused about the future: "Just take a look in the mirror and ask what do you want to do with yourself, your life? And every day that you live, take a step towards pursuing that goal. Whatever it is, be the best you can be."

"When we go back to the high schools, it's so much fun. The energy that the kids give off makes us feel so good," Nikki beams. "They're like, 'I'm trying to do the same thing as you,' and we're there to say 'You can!' It's a good feeling. You give them hope."

With the top of the singles charts already within their reach, Divine should have ample opportunity to continue their intervention.

STEVE GDULLA(November 6, 1998)