“Hold On”—Wilson Phillips is still kickin’ – Wendy Wilson opens up about roller coaster life in the group

When Wilson Phillips reunited in 2004, more than a decade after the pop trio’s breakup, Wendy Wilson says emotions were mixed at first.

“It had been a long time since we worked together,” Wilson says. “Feelings were hurt, but it was time to bury the hatchet and start over. We realized we needed each other. We were appreciative of how much everyone brings to the group.”

During those first rehearsals, they might not have said it aloud, but the trio rediscovered what they felt in the early 1990s.

“Sometimes we would just cry or tell each other, ‘I love you,’” Wilson says. “We would say how we were glad to be singing with each other.”

For almost a decade, the trio, made of Wendy and sister Carnie and Chynna Phillps, has been performing and releasing new material.

Wilson Phillips will perform Friday, Aug. 30 at Manship Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $100 and are available here.

The group’s popularity rose again in 2011 when they appeared in the hit comedy Bridesmaids, singing the hit song “Hold On.” Last year, the singers released Dedicated, which features takes on the songs made famous by the women’s iconic parents. The Wilsons are daughters of The Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson. Phillips is the daughter of John and Michelle of The Mamas and The Papas fame.

Wilson says life growing up the daughter of a Beach Boy was normal for her, full of music and parties.

“Our childhood was exciting,” she says. “In the summer, we’d go on tour with The Beach Boys. It was a lively home.”

When Wilson Phillips first sprung onto the scene, many critics chided the group, accusing the women of “riding on the coat-tails” of their parents’ successes, Wilson says.

“We had to defend the fact that we were successful on our own,” she says. “We worked to be where we are. We were lucky, yes, but that gave us a push.”

Until last year’s release, the trio didn’t want to tackle any of their parents’ music.

“We wanted to stand on our two feet,” she says. “Back then, it would only feed into that concept and remind people at first.”

On Dedicated, the trio has a newfound respect for their parents’ music.

“We grew up listening to it, and we could sing it in our sleep,” she says. “When we got to the studio, we realized how many layers there were and how intricate everything was. We knew that we didn’t want to replicate the sound. We wanted to do it our way, but we wanted to make them proud.”

By today’s record industry standards, Dedicated is a hit, selling almost 50,000 copies in the U.S. These are the hardly the numbers the group did at first, but that’s okay for Wendy.

“Back then, the record companies were the driver,” she says. “Now, the artists have more freedom and options. If you want a record label behind you, you better have something special. We were lucky. We had a lot of major labels interested in us. It was like a bidding war. It was a wonderful position to be in. Now, the companies are very skeptical, and they’re becoming obsolete. It’s a completely different world, too, with technology and the Internet.”

True, the Internet is the avenue for buzz creation, whether the medium is film, music or reality television. The latter was an avenue Wilson Phillips even experimented with on the short-lived TV Guide Channel show Still Holding On.

“It was an important experience, but I don’t think we’ll ever do it again,” she says. “How people react is unpredictable. The integrity level went down, and it’s all produced and all about getting drama and ratings. That’s what propels people to act more exaggerated. It’s not a true representation of who you are at all. It hurt our relationship for a while, but now, we can overcome any disagreement. It was fun. We took the TV show. Whatever. But we should stay with music.”