New Edition

New Edition Artistfacts

  • 1978-
    Ricky Bell
    Michael Bivens
    Ronnie DeVoe
    Ralph Tresvant
    Bobby Brown1978-1986, 1996-1997, 2002-
    Johnny Gill1987-
  • New Edition was a forerunner of the boy band craze of the '80s and '90s that would include New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync. The group of childhood friends from Roxbury, Massachusetts, first performed together in a local talent show. They sang "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" by the R&B duo McFadden & Whitehead, and added dance steps in the style of The Temptations.
  • They were discovered by record producer Maurice Starr at the Hollywood Talent Night contest in Boston in 1981, where they earned second place. Starr would go on to form the New Kids on the Block just a few years later after New Edition left his Streetwise label to sign with MCA.
  • Starr wanted to model the group after the wildly popular Jackson 5, with Ralph Tresvant's cooing high tenor channeling a young Michael Jackson. Their first hit was also their debut single, "Candy Girl."
  • Bobby Brown was the first to embark on a solo career in 1986. When the rest of the group split in 1990, Ricky, Michael and Ronnie formed Bell, Biv, DeVoe, while Tresvant and Gill each released solo albums.
  • All the members of the group, including Bobby Brown, reunited in 1996 to record the album Home Again. Tensions ran high during the reunion tour, however. Bivens and Brown got into a fist fight onstage, leading them both to leave the tour early.
  • In 2004, Ralph Tresvant and Ricky Bell had a double wedding, with Tresvant marrying Amber Serrano and Bell marrying actress Amy Correa. The rest of New Edition, sans Bobby Brown, were members of the wedding party.

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