With the death of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, TLC’s most energetic and dynamic member, their last album as a group could have been a tear-jerking, sentimental tribute.Instead, "3D" is sexy and danceable, typical TLC, and just the type of album Lopes would have wanted, says Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, one of the group’s two surviving members, with Ms. Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins.

"We were always fun, exciting, experimental, a very spontaneous type of group. And Lisa was that to the 10th power," says Ms. Thomas, 31.

"We made sure all the songs were fun-spirited, because she was a fun girl."

The disc, which was half-finished when the 30-year-old Ms. Lopes died in a car crash in Honduras in April, will be released next week. It’s the fourth album from the chart-topping, Grammy-winning, headline-grabbing group, and quite possibly their last.

"We don’t really know. We don’t really want to put it out there like that," says Ms. Thomas. "Right now, we’re just handling one thing at a time. Because it’s so hard. It’s a very emotional point in time in our lives."

Ms. Thomas says she and Mrs. Watkins never doubted they would finish the album, and never considered hiring a replacement for Ms. Lopes.

TLC, one of the best-selling female groups of all time, has had its share of drama since debuting a decade ago. The trio once filed for bankruptcy, despite having two multiplatinum albums. Ms. Lopes burned down the house of her then-lover, former NFL player Andre Rison. And she had public spats with the other two members.

Yet despite the "Behind the Music"-type turmoil, they remained together, Ms. Thomas and Mrs. Watkins are quick to point out.

"We love each other very much, and no matter what we’ve ever been through, that could never change. People always wanted to say that we were going to break up, but did we ever?" says Ms. Watkins, 32.

"She couldn’t leave us, we couldn’t leave her."

                   TLC started working on the follow-up to 1999’s best-seller "Fanmail" early this year. They might not have come together at all if not for Thomas’ urging; Ms. Watkins was home with a new baby, and Lopes and Ms. Thomas were working on solo projects.

But Ms. Thomas didn’t feel comfortable solo.

"It didn’t feel right yet. ... We’re supposed to be doing a TLC record still," she says. "Everything happens for a reason, because had we not gone into the studio, and she had stayed on her solo project and I had done mine, we wouldn’t even have a TLC record right now."

Ms. Thomas says Ms. Lopes was in good spirits while working on the disc, and had gained more serenity in recent years.

"As a matter of fact, I almost wanted her not to be so calm. I wanted her to be a little bit more energetic, but we got it out of her," says Ms. Thomas with a smile. "We made her act silly again, because I felt that she was probably a little too serious."

It’s one of the few times that either Ms. Thomas or Ms. Watkins refers to Lopes in the past tense.

"In the back of your mind, you kind of know it’s still true, Lisa is not going to show up," explains Ms. Watkins. "But to keep yourself going, you’ll kind of be in denial and say, ‘She’s in Honduras or working on another project.’ That’s kind of how we kept going, and praying the whole time."

During the interview in Atlanta, Ga., where the group started and is based, memories of Ms. Lopes bring laughter, Ms. Watkins even does a perfect impression of Ms. Lopes’ squeaky voice. But on other days, Ms. Thomas and Ms. Watkins say, it’s harder. That was clear earlier this summer, when the pair broke down at the MTV Video Music Awards while announcing a scholarship in Ms. Lopes’ honor.

"There are days when it’s hard to keep it together," Ms. Thomas says. "And there are days when you’re like, I’m not even fighting it today, I just have to let it out, and you just cry."

Their mourning wasn’t made any easier, the women say, by their record label, Arista Records, which decided shortly after Ms. Lopes’ death that the unfinished disc would be turned into a greatest hits collection. TLC’s two surviving members say they weren’t consulted.

We felt like it was a big slap in the face for the simple fact that we were in the middle of our project," says Ms. Thomas. "She had just passed away. It was crazy. It was very insensitive and I don’t think that they were very compassionate about it at all. I think it was just a financial decision."

Arista representatives declined requests for comment.

Ms. Watkins and Ms. Thomas got the chance to finish the album after protesting to the label, and agreeing to get back to work soon after Lopes’ funeral. While angry about pressure to resume the project quickly, they also say it gave them something to help take their minds off the tragedy.

"Honestly, it was really good for us too, to go ahead and go back in there, because we kept busy," says Ms. Thomas.

They refused to be in the studio, however, when Ms. Lopes’ voice was played.

"Tionne didn’t want to be around when any of the raps were going on," says Dallas Austin, one of the group’s longtime producers and collaborators. "She just didn’t want to hear them."

Most of Ms. Lopes’ raps on the disc were created for other songs; producers sifted through material she had recorded for her solo disc, which was released overseas, and other archive material.

"As sad as the process was, it was still a creative one," Austin says.

While Ms. Thomas and Ms. Watkins consider what to do next, they say they may make personal and TV appearances but won’t tour anymore. That would be "real crazy," they say, considering the energy and vitality that Ms. Lopes brought to their stage act.

"It would almost be disrespectful," Ms. Watkins says of a Lopes-less TLC tour.

 They hope "3D" will serve as a celebration of Lopes’ life. The video for the first single, "Girl Talk," features a mini-tribute to her; others will follow, they say.

"We’re going to make sure that y’all don’t forget her," laughs Ms. Thomas.

"We’re the only ones who can keep it alive," Ms. Watkins interjects.

"The world will not ever forget Left Eye ... they won’t have a choice says 

                                                                    Ms Thomas.