New Edition

New Edition is an American R&B/pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978. Their name is taken to mean a new edition of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 1980s and is considered the blueprint for what would become the modern boy band. The lineup originally consisted of Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, and Ralph Tresvant. Brown departed the group in late 1985 to begin a successful solo career, and they continued as a quartet for one album, before adding Johnny Gill to the lineup in 1987. Early hits included "Candy Girl", "Cool It Now", and "Mr. Telephone Man". Tresvant was the lead singer on most of the songs. In 1990, both Gill and Tresvant released their own solo albums, while the remaining three members formed the trio Bell Biv DeVoe; the group ceased to work together for the first half of the 1990s.

All six members of New Edition reunited in 1996 to record the group's sixth studio album Home Again. During the ill-fated Home Again Tour, both Brown and Bivins quit the group, forcing the remainder of the tour to be canceled. Various reunions have occurred since, usually with the 1987–1990 lineup, though occasionally also including Brown. Their last studio album was 2004's One Love.

On May 3, 2011, New Edition issued a press release on their official website announcing that all six members were reuniting as New Edition to kick off the 30th anniversary celebration of Candy Girl with their fans. They received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 23, 2017. On January 24, 2017, a three-part docuseries, The New Edition Story, premiered on BET about the group's career and personal life. It was later announced that all six members will reunite to record another album and go on tour. On February 17, 2022, the group was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.

On December 31, 2022, New Edition performed on Dick Clark's New Year's Rocking Eve with Ryan Seacrest. All six members were in attendance and performed various songs from both their group and solo careers. On September 24, 2023, in Farmington Hills, Michigan, New Edition was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

Career

1978–1985: Rise to stardom

The group was formed by Bobby Brown and his childhood friends in the Orchard Park Projects of Roxbury, Boston. The group then scored its big break in 1982, performing at the local Hollywood Talent Night held at Boston's Strand Theatre by singer/producer Maurice Starr. The first prize was $500 and a recording contract. Although the group came in second place, an impressed Starr decided to bring the group to his studio the following day to record what would become their debut album, Candy Girl. Released on July 19, 1983 on New York producer Arthur Baker's Levi Belt Streetwise Records, the album featured the hits: "Is This the End", "Popcorn Love", and the title track "Candy Girl," which went to number one on both the American R&B singles chart and the UK singles chart.

Returning from their first major concert tour, the boys were dropped off back at their homes in the projects and were given a check in the amount of $1.87 apiece for their efforts. Tour budget and expenses were given as the explanation as to why they were not paid more. Due to these financial reasons, New Edition parted with Starr in 1984. Starr responded by promptly creating the group New Kids on the Block, essentially formatted after New Edition, but with white teenagers. Meanwhile, the group employed the law firm of Steven and Martin Machat and sued Streetwise for release from a contract that was unenforceable as well as materially breached by Streetwise. The Machats won the legal game and then secured the group a bigger recording deal with major label MCA Records, which won the bidding war among various other major labels. In need of management, the group signed with Steven Machat and his two management partners Rick Smith and Bill Dern. The management company, AMI, proceeded to escalate the group's profile in both the urban and pop music worlds. Through the production affiliate of AMI, Jump and Shoot, MCA released the group's self-titled second album the same year. Eclipsing their debut album, New Edition spun off the top five hit "Cool It Now" and the top twenty "Mr. Telephone Man", and went on to be certified double platinum in the United States.

While promoting their second album, the group was dismayed to realize that they were not actually signed to MCA Records, but instead with the production company Jump and Shoot, which had its own deal with MCA; subsequently, all business matters pertaining to the group were controlled by the former. To buy themselves out of the stifling production deal, each of the five members borrowed $100,000 from MCA. Though it effectively separated the group from Jump and Shoot and allowed them to sign a new long-term contract to record for MCA directly, they were now in mortgage to the label. As a result, the group would be forced to continually record and tour during this period in order to pay off its debt.

New Edition's third album, All for Love, was released in the latter half of 1985. While not duplicating the success of its predecessor, the album was certified platinum, and spawned the hits "Count Me Out", "A Little Bit Of Love (Is All It Takes)", and "With You All the Way". The growing popularity of the group led to a guest appearance (as themselves) in the 1985 film Krush Groove, performing "My Secret". Toward the year's end, Christmas All Over the World, a holiday EP, was released as well as an oldies album of tunes from the '50s sung by the group with an '80s production style.

1985–1989: Bobby Brown's departure, Johnny Gill's introduction and Heart Break

Bobby Brown embarked on a solo career in 1986, while New Edition continued to promote All for Love as a quartet. In spite of their financial and internal conflicts, New Edition continued to peak. During this era of the group's evolution, the group appeared in the episode of Knight Rider titled "Knight Song", performing "Count Me Out". As 1986 wound to a close, they recorded a cover of The Penguins' 1954 hit "Earth Angel" for the soundtrack to The Karate Kid, Part II. The song peaked at number twenty-one and inspired the group to record Under the Blue Moon, an album of doo-wop covers.

After having already lost a member when Brown departed the group, New Edition's future became uncertain when murmurings began to surface that Tresvant was eyeing a solo career as well. To pad his potential departure, singer Johnny Gill was voted into the group by Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe in 1987, despite Tresvant ultimately deciding to remain in place. A native of Washington, D.C., Gill is the only non-Boston native among the group's six members.

New Edition's fifth studio release, Heart Break, was released in the summer of 1988. Primarily produced by the production team of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the album was a departure from the group's previous bubblegum sound, and instead took on a smoother, stronger, and more adult resonance. Spinning off five hit singles: "If It Isn't Love", "You're Not My Kind of Girl", "Can You Stand the Rain", "Crucial" and "N.E. Heartbreak"; Heart Break became New Edition's most commercially successful album up to that point, certified double platinum in the United States. The success of Heart Break would launch the group on a successful concert tour as well in the closing months of 1988, with N.E. serving as the headliners while Al B. Sure and former member Bobby Brown served as the opening acts.

1990–1995: Solo projects

Inspired by the substantial success Brown was having with his multi-platinum 1988 breakthrough album Don't Be Cruel, after the run of Heart Break, New Edition went on hiatus to pursue side projects away from the group. At the suggestion of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Bell, Bivins and DeVoe formed a trio, Bell Biv DeVoe. Their 1990 debut album, Poison, went quadruple platinum. The same year, Tresvant and Gill (who had already recorded as a solo act prior to joining New Edition) released self-titled solo albums, which also achieved multi-platinum success. Later that year, the group, including Brown, had a semi-reunion of sorts when they performed at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards. In 1991, all six members again reunited to record a remix of the Bell Biv DeVoe track "Word to the Mutha!"; Brown, Gill and Tresvant also appeared in the music video. Prior to this, Brown also appeared in the music videos for Bell Biv DeVoe's "BBD (I Thought It Was Me)" video, as well as Tresvant's "Stone Cold Gentleman" and "Sensitivity" remix videos.