Color Me Badd: Where Are The Members?
Apparently, boy bands have always predominantly been a part of the R&B music scene, with Color Me Badd not being an exception. Over the ages, many boy bands have thrived in different amazing ways, stunning people with their musical prowess and depth, and winning over so many admirers in the process. Well, who does not love a group of attractive young men singing about their woes at romantic attempts?
The group called Color Me Badd is one of the popular boy groups that arose in the mid-80s, but the relevance of their music has transcended that period. So, how did the band emerge and where are the band members now? Let’s take a look at their story.
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The Rise Of ‘Color Me Badd
The Color Me Badd band was created in 1985 by the joint efforts of Kevin Thornton, Bryan Abrams, Tim Higgins, Mark Calderon, and Sam Watters who became the band members. The four of them met while they were all in high school at Northwest Classen High school which is located in Oklahoma City.
The boys already knew each of them could sing as they were all part of the school choir. Apparently, because of this, there was no need for auditions. Their first performance as a group was at a talent hunt in their school. They realized that they needed a kick in the right direction to jumpstart the career they wanted in music.
The first thing all four of them planned to do was to do pop up auditions. The plan was to put on a performance for any major star who would be performing in Oklahoma City. The first person they had the opportunity to do this for was Robert Bell who was a member of the group, Kool & the Gang. Their plan worked as Bell was so impressed that he introduced the group to Adil Bayyan who worked as his road manager.
These pop-up auditions were done for three other musical arts but when they performed for Jon Bon Jovi, he had them perform as his opening act for an audience twenty thousand strong.
Four years after the Color Me Badd’s creation they decided to leave Oklahoma City to New York, where they continued auditioning for different people. In 1990 when they had started living in New York, one night after performing at the ASCAP Music Awards they met Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, a record-producing duo who are known for being a huge addition to the career of Janet Jackson.
Their audition for the duo was the most successful one yet as Jam and Lewis gave them advice on a song to make. They were told to make a multicultural song and with this song Color Me Badd bagged their first record label deal and got signed to Giant Records after the Giant Record executive Cassandra Mills heard a tape of the band singing the song.
Color Me Badd Achieved Worldwide Fame
In 1991, they released their debut album, C.M.B with their hit singles I Wanna Sex You Up and I Adore Mi Amore. The latter was the multicultural song they made off the advice given to them by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. They went on to release three more albums to commercial success; Time and Chance in 1993, Now & Forever in 1996, and Awakening in 1998.
The group has since gone on to sell sold over 12 million records worldwide and recorded some number 1 hit singles. They have won several awards including Soul Train Music Awards and have had their songs featured in several movies.
Where Are The Band Members Now?
Throughout the course of their existence, some members of the band had exited the group while at a point the group disbanded. Tim Higgins who was the original lead singer left the group to join the army.
When Abrams’ problems with drinking started to affect the group, they slowly started to drift apart. This was only compounded by Thornton getting married and choosing to become a minister, hence leaving the band. Leaving Sam Watters, Bryan Abrams, and Mark Calderon, Watters wanted to start his own solo career which he did successfully while the other two are the only members of the band who are still together.
Sam Watters went into music production and was successful with people like Jessica Simpson and Celine Dion among others.
They officially disbanded in 1998 but in 2010 Bryan Abrams, Mark Calderon, and Kevin Thornton came together, reunited, and continued to perform as Color Me Badd. Over time they have gone through many personnel changes with new people joining to replace departing members of the group.
In 2018, the band’s lead vocalist, Bryan Adams was arrested by the police after pushing fellow band mate, Mark Calderon from stage during a concert in Waterloo, New York.
Bryan Adams is fighting alcoholism and weight and is worried for his life.
Currently, its two members are Byan Abrams and Mark Calderon and in 2019, a charity event organized by Brian Austin Green and Derek Russel to benefit Generosity water was honored with the performance of the Color Me Badd.
Read Also: Rachael Price: 7 Interesting Facts About The Lake Street Dive Lead Singer
5 Hot Fast Facts About ‘Color Me Badd
1. The group was heavily influenced by the music of New Edition and New Kids on the Block
2. When the group had first been created they had chosen to call themselves Take One but they had to change it to Color Me Badd as another boy singing group already had the name Take 6
3. During the period that they made new music, the boy group made a total of four albums. C.M.B, Time and Chance, Now & Forever, and their last album was the 1998 Awakening
4. In an episode of the show Beverly Hills, 90210 that aired in 1992 the group made a cameo appearance.
5. Colour Me Badd is recognized for its contribution to the doo-wop genre and is credited with creating the phrase hip-hop doo-wop.
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