Color Me Badd is an American contemporary R&B group that was formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The original members of the group were lead singer Bryan Abrams (born
November 16, 1969), Mark Calderon (born September 27, 1970), Sam Watters
(born July 23, 1970) and Kevin Thornton (born June 17, 1969). The group
sold 12 million records in the United States. The group has been well
known in Australia, Philippines, Indonesia, parts of east Asia, the
United Kingdom, other parts of Europe, Canada and the United States. The
group has been on TV shows, commercials, their songs have been in
movies such as New Jack City, No Strings Attached and Glee. The group has not only had songs in movies but has starred as themselves on top TV shows in the 1990s such as Beverly Hills, 90210.
Early success
Color Me Badd had five U.S. hit singles from their debut album C.M.B. throughout 1991 and 1992. These were "I Wanna Sex You Up" (U.S. #2), "I Adore Mi Amor" (U.S. #1), "All 4 Love" (U.S. #1), "Thinkin' Back" (U.S. #16) and "Slow Motion" (U.S. #18). "I Wanna Sex You Up" was also on the New Jack City soundtrack and hit number one in the United Kingdom.
Their debut album, C.M.B., was released in September 1991. It
sold over 6 million copies worldwide and became certified 3x platinum in
the United States by the RIAA.
Color Me Badd performed at the 1991 Smash Hits Poll Winners' Awards in the United Kingdom,
winning the Best New Group trophy. In January 1992, they were awarded
the Favorite Single R&B/Soul trophy at the 19th annual American Music Awards, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. In March 1992, Color Me Badd won the Best R&B/Soul Single and Song of the Year categories at the sixth annual Soul Train Music Awards.
In October 1992, the group released a remix album entitled Young, Gifted & Badd: The Remixes. It contained the hit single "Forever Love" (U.S. #15), which was also featured on the Mo' Money soundtrack. However, the album peaked at U.S. #189.
The group's third album, Time and Chance,
was released in November 1993. A hugely ambitious project, consisting
of nineteen new tracks, this album represented a slight shift in musical
style for Color Me Badd. Working with top producers including David Foster, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis,
a more soulful and funky sound had clearly emerged. Although some
critics gave it positive reviews, the album did not fare well on the
Billboard Album Charts, peaking at #56. It was certified gold in the
U.S., for shipments of more than 500,000 units. With the music industry
at the time embracing groups such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam,
it was difficult for Color Me Badd to deliver the same success on the
singles charts as they had done before. The album's title track, "Time
and Chance", peaked at U.S. #21, while its follow up "Choose" also
topped out at U.S. #23.
The group re-emerged in 1996 with their fourth album called Now and Forever. With high-profile producers including Narada Michael Walden, Babyface, Jon B and Boyz II Men,
this album was well received by both critics and R&B fans alike.
However, once again, sales were well below those expected from the group
at around four thousand copies in the U.S. alone.
The album produced one major hit single, "The Earth, The Sun, The
Rain," which peaked at U.S. #19. However, it became a popular airwave
staple and remained on the Billboard Charts for 19 weeks (the group's
second-most-enduring single). The second single, "Sexual Capacity," was a
minor hit and appeared on the soundtrack to the Demi Moore film Striptease. This song was co-produced by Robin Thicke under the name Rob Thicke.
After moving to Epic Records, Color Me Badd's fifth album, Awakening,
was released in July 1998. Remaining true to their R&B roots, they
again received critical acclaim for their vocal harmonies. "Remember
When" achieved minor success on radio and has a companion video shot as
well.
Kevin Thornton had previously left the group in October 1998 to
pursue ministry. He later released a Christian solo album, in 2005, that
features contemporary hip-hop/rap material with gospel and soul music.
Thornton became a licensed minister, in August 2006, and has since
served as an evangelist, youth pastor and worship leader at his home
church, Without Walls Church, in Fort Worth, TX. He has partnered with
the church's non-profit Fort Worth Hope Center in helping to feed over
100,000 families a year in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. He is also actively involved in bringing awareness to the realities of human sex trafficking in America, through his partnership with "Traffick911."
Sam Watters pursued a second career as a record producer, achieving success in later years with Jessica Simpson, Celine Dion, Fantasia, Anastacia, Natasha Bedingfield, Kelly Clarkson, 98 Degrees, Blake Lewis. Watters is also a member of the production/songwriting team, The Runaways, which also includes Rico Love, Wayne Wilkins, Ryan Tedder, and Louis Biancaniello.[2] Watters married R&B singer and former American Idol contestant Tamyra Gray in 2006.
Mark Calderon continues to write and produce music for various
artists including new music for Color Me Badd. He has worked with
artists such as Stevie Brock who re-made the hit single "All For Love"
which reached #1 on Disney Charts, worked with the artist IPV who is
signed with Wright Entertainment as well as getting songs played on the
hit series "House MD" and "Knight Rider". He continues to write and
produce music. He has been a part of several mission trips to help those
less fortunate and continues to be involved with helping the needy. He
married Lisa Smedley-Calderon in 1992 who was their fashion stylist and
who worked with entertainers such as Whitney Houston, Ralph Tresvant,
Bobby Brown,Carmen Electra as well as many other artists and
commercials.
In 2001, Bryan Abrams released a solo album entitled Welcome to Me.[3] In 2007, Abrams co-starred in the VH1 reality TV series Mission: Man Band.[4] In 2007, Abrams co-wrote and recorded an appearance on the Insane Clown Posse song "Truth Dare", which was released on the Psychopathic Records compilations Psychopathics from Outer Space 3 (2007) and Featuring Freshness (2011). Abrams publicly announced his departure from the group in August 2013.
Reunion
In July 2010, Color Me Badd re-emerged as a duo composed of members
Bryan Abrams and Mark Calderon. They headlined a concert in Hawaii (also
starring All-4-One and Shai), and were well received by the audience
and the local media. Later that year, Kevin Thornton reunited with the
group. The trio first emerged together on the DirecTV gameshow Rock and a Hardplace
hosted by Meatloaf. They raised funds for an L.A. charity group called
"FACE" (a grass-roots organization bringing alcohol abuse awareness to
youth) and competed against 1970s R&B group Divas. In early 2012,
Mark Calderon and Bryan Abrams collaborated on a song with the Insane Clown Posse on The Mighty Death Pop!'s "White Pop" version's bonus CD called Mike E. Clark's Extra Pop Emporium. It is a soft R&B
remix of the song "Ghetto Rainbows." Although the song is believed to
be a full Color Me Badd collaboration with ICP, it features Bryan Abrams
and Mark Calderon only, and was also co-written by the duo.
In 2013 Color Me Badd launched their official website colormebaddmusic.com.
Recently, Bryan Abrams got back with Mark Calderon and Kevin Thornton and just began tour in Singapore (2015) as Color Me Badd.[5]
The trio was working on a new Color Me Badd album scheduled for release
in 2014, but things may have changed. Stay tuned for updates.....[6]
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