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MEMORIES:

Release History:

Members:

At the dawn of the boy band revolution, there was Color Me Badd. Combining hip-hop grooves with romantic ballads, they released several hits in the early ‘90’s, and their soul/pop blend paved the way for the multitude of boy bands that would follow.

 

The boys of Color Me Badd met in high school in Oklahoma. They performed their mixture of rap, old school R&B, and doo-wop at local venues before meeting with Ronald “Kool” Bell, the founder of Kool And The Gang. Impressed with the group’s sound, he helped them get a record deal in New York, and in 1991 they released their first album, CMB. A sexy combination of hip-hop and ballads, the album’s first single was called "I Wanna Sex You Up.” 

 

This sultry song combined sweet romance with funky grooves, and went to #2, staying on the charts for a year, and appearing on the soundtrack for New Jack City. Their follow-up single, "I Adore Mi Amor," went to #1, and displayed the multi-ethnic background of the band by having the members sing in both Spanish and English. Their next single, , "All 4 Love," also went to #1, and that, combined with additional Top 20 hits "Slow Motion" and "Thinkin' Back," propelled CMB into triple-platinum sales.

 

After appearing on Beverly Hills 90210 in 1992, they released a remix album, Young Gifted And Badd. The following year they scored another Top 10 hit with the song "Forever Love," which was featured on the soundtrack for Mo’ Money. Their next album was released at the end of 1993, Time & Chance, which featured the Top 10 hit, "Choose." They supported that album with an extensive world tour, and later began writing for other artists, including "God Bless A Dreamer" for En Vogue and "Never Ever Gonna Give You Up" for Paula Abdul.

In 1996, Color Me Badd was back with their new album, Now And Forever, featuring the top 10 single, "The Earth, The Sun, And The Rain," and the song "Sexual Capacity," which was included in the Striptease soundtrack.  Two years later they released Awakening, and a year later the band broke up. The boys are still making music however: Sam Watters wrote "I Wanna Love You Forever" for Jessica Simpson, and Bryan Abrams released a solo album. But in the boy band hall of fame, Color Me Badd remain pioneers to screaming girls everywhere.