History Color Me Badd

1 history

1.1 formation (1985-90)
1.2 c.m.b. (1991-92)
1.3 time , chance (1993-94)
1.4 later albums , breakup (1996-98)
1.5 solo years (1998-2010)
1.6 reunion (2010-present)

history
formation (1985-90)

thornton , abrams became friends in junior high school, , watters , calderon became friends in grade school. 4 met in mid-1980s while attending northwest classen high school in oklahoma city. members of school choir. group formed in 1985 take one, changed name color me badd avoid confusion cappella band named take 6. watters selected name, after horse @ racetrack named color me bad. aimed vocal group in vein of new edition , new kids on block. first performed in school talent show, influenced doo-wop cappella groups of past, such sam cooke, temptations , 4 tops.

the group came plan spontaneously audition big name acts playing in oklahoma city. met robert bell of kool & gang on may 27, 1987, when in oklahoma city performance. auditioned him , introduced them then-road manager, adil bayyan, become color me badd s manager , convince them move new york city pursue record deal. sang huey lewis , news, sheila e. , ronnie milsap, , opened tony! toni! toné! in oklahoma city in 1988. 1 afternoon in 1989, thornton saw jon bon jovi in movie theater , called other band members join him. waited him leave theater , sung 1961 doo-wop hit daddy s home cappella him. bon jovi invited them band s opening act following night, perform in front of 20,000 audience members.

they moved new york city on september 23, 1989. in 1990, bumped tony! toni! toné!, got them ascap music awards. there, color me badd approached producers jimmy jam , terry lewis , started singing them. producers advised that, being multicultural group, write half-english, half-spanish song. wrote adore mi amor in oklahoma city producer , friend hamza lee. giant records executive cassandra mills heard tape of band singing song, , signed giant on august 11, 1990.

c.m.b. (1991-92)

after signing group, mills asked producer dr. freeze song color me badd record new jack city soundtrack, similar me! bell biv devoe. freeze offered wanna sex , become color me badd s debut single, released on march 2, 1991. song wasn t intended single, , had been turned down other acts including bell biv devoe, keith sweat , christopher williams. biggest hit on new jack city soundtrack, peaked @ number 2 on billboard hot 100 , hit number 1 on hot r&b/hip-hop songs chart. due song s popularity, giant records wanted color me badd record album. @ time, had 4 or 5 finished songs. flown out los angeles work in studio, recording album in 2 or 3 weeks.

their debut album, c.m.b., released on july 23, 1991. go on sell on 6 million copies worldwide , become certified triple-platinum in us, spending 77 weeks on billboard 200, peaking @ number 3. wanna sex included on album. follow single adore mi amor hit number 1 on hot 100 , on hot r&b/hip-hop songs charts, 4 love hit number 1 on hot 100, thinkin reached number 16 on hot 100 , number 31 on hot r&b/hip-hop songs, , slow motion reached number 18 on hot 100.

color me badd performed @ 1991 smash hits poll winners awards in united kingdom, winning best new group trophy. won best r&b/soul single , r&b/soul song of year in group, band or duo categories “i wanna sex up” @ sixth annual soul train music awards. nominated best new artist , best r&b performance duo or group vocal ( wanna sex ) @ 1992 grammy awards. won favorite soul/r&b single @ 1992 american music awards wanna sex , , nominated in category adore mi amor . nominated favorite pop/rock band/duo/group, favorite pop/rock single, favorite pop/rock new artist , favorite soul/r&b new artist @ 1992 american music awards. color me badd opened paula abdul on 1991 tour, singing of set cappella. new york times described group somewhere between george michael s pop-soul , group dynamics of temptations. @ halftime of super bowl xxvi between washington redskins , buffalo bills on january 26, 1992, group performed wanna sex on in living color part of fox s counter-programming special live-from-hollywood football-themed edition of show.

the group made cameo appearance on 1992 episode of beverly hills, 90210 (season two, episode 26). episode revolved around color me badd, beginning clip adore mi amor music video. later in episode, 90210 gang stakes out bel age hotel in hopes of meeting group, , kelly visits penthouse suite. invites them join @ peach pit, serenade gang cappella.

on november 24, 1992, color me badd released remix album entitled young, gifted & badd: remixes. contained single forever love , reached number 15 on hot 100 , featured on mo money soundtrack. remix album peaked @ number 189 on billboard 200.

time , chance (1993-94)

color me badd s second studio album, time , chance, released in november 1993. ambitious project, 19 new tracks, album represented shift in musical style group. working producers including david foster, dj pooh, , jimmy jam , terry lewis, more soulful , funky previous work, lacked cohesive sound. music industry @ time embracing grunge music , west coast hip hop, difficult color me badd deliver same success on singles charts had done before, , group started lose momentum.

the album peaked @ number 56 on billboard 200, spending 17 weeks on chart. ice cube directed music video lead single, title track time , chance , peaked @ number 23 on hot 100 , number 9 on hot r&b/hip-hop songs charts. follow-up single, choose , peaked @ number 23 on hot 100.

later albums , breakup (1996-98)

the group re-emerged in 1996 third studio album, & forever. producers included narada michael walden, babyface, jon b. , boyz ii men s nathan morris. & forever reached number 113 on billboard 200, spending 4 weeks on chart. went number 1 in japan. album produced 1 hit single, earth, sun, rain , peaked @ number 21 on hot 100, remaining on chart 22 weeks, , reached number 69 on hot r&b/hip-hop songs chart. second single, sexual capacity , did not chart, did appear on soundtrack demi moore film striptease. song produced , co-written robin thicke under name rob thicke. album sales & forever weren t strong previous albums, , group released contract giant sign epic records.

after moving epic (under sony music entertainment), color me badd s fourth studio album, awakening, released on july 28, 1998. behind sony head tommy mottola, label chose remember when next single. abrams , calderon disliked choice. song peaked @ number 48 on hot 100. around time, abrams had developed alcohol problem, , group beginning fall apart. newly married thornton decided leave band pursue ministry, , watters wanted go off on own write , produce. abrams , calderon remaining members, group split up.

solo years (1998-2010)

kevin thornton left group in october 1998 pursue ministry. became licensed minister, , has since served evangelist, youth pastor , worship leader @ home church, without walls church, in fort worth, texas. operates kevin thornton ministries in texas. in 2008, released solo album, conversions, blending contemporary hip-hop/rap gospel , soul music.

sam watters pursued career record producer, achieving success producing jessica simpson, celine dion, fantasia, anastacia, natasha bedingfield, kelly clarkson, 98 degrees, blake lewis, , others. watters member of production/songwriting team runaways, includes rico love, wayne wilkins, ryan tedder, , louis biancaniello. married r&b singer , former american idol contestant tamyra gray in 2006.

mark calderon worked artists such stevie brock, 2002 remake of 4 love reached number 1 on disney charts; , ipv, signed wright entertainment , had songs played on television series house , knight rider. in 1992, calderon married lisa smedley-calderon, formerly color me badd s fashion stylist.

in 2001, bryan abrams released solo album entitled welcome me. in 2007, co-starred on vh1 reality tv series mission: man band, included former boy band members jeff timmons of 98 degrees, chris kirkpatrick of *nsync , rich cronin of lyte funkie ones, seeing if make new group. show canceled after 7 episodes. in 2007, after being approached violent j , shaggy 2 dope, abrams co-wrote , recorded appearance on insane clown posse song truth dare , released on compilations psychopathics outer space 3 (2007) , featuring freshness (2011). in 2010, abrams wrote 3 songs kool & gang, singing lead on 3 tracks.

on august 22, 2000, giant records released compilation album best of color me badd.

reunion (2010-present)

in july 2010, color me badd re-emerged duo consisting of bryan abrams , mark calderon. headlined concert in hawaii, featured all-4-one , shai. later year, kevin thornton rejoined color me badd. in 2012, calderon , abrams collaborated insane clown posse on song ghetto rainbows (soft ass r-n-b remix) on mighty death pop! bonus cd called mike e. clark s pop emporium. credited insane clown posse , color me badd, song features abrams , calderon, , co-written duo. in june 2013, group released skywalkin , first new song in 15 years. on august 16, 2013, abrams announced departure color me badd through post on website. group continued on, calderon , thornton. abrams replaced martin kember, member of az-1. color me badd performed lineup of calderon, thornton , kember @ 2014 bet awards.

in 2015, abrams , calderon reunited color me badd, less thornton , kember, , began tour in singapore. thornton briefly in color me badd in 2015, before leaving group same year. in winter of 2015, adam emil joined group, , went on tour bell biv devoe. 2016, group officially trio, calderon, abrams , emil. year, recorded new song, in case didn t know . on april 30, 2016, color me badd played concert u.s. armed forces @ okuma beach, okinawa, japan. in fall , winter of 2016, color me badd on inaugural love ‘90s tour, year-long tour across featured vanilla ice, salt-n-pepa, tone loc , young mc.