Evolution (Boyz II Men album)
Encyclopedia
Evolution is an album by R&B
group Boyz II Men
, released in September 1997. It is their final album released on Motown Records
. A Spanish language
version, Evolución, was also issued.
. They were under pressure with their last two albums cumulatively selling almost 30 million copies worldwide. With Evolution, they worked with their regular collaborators, including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
, and Babyface. They appeared on many talk shows including The Rosie O'Donnell Show
, The Oprah Winfrey Show
, The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno, The Vibe Show, The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show
, MTV Live
, and others.
The album was released on September 23, and that night, Boyz II Men signed copies of the album at the Virgin
Megastore in New York City
. Evolution debuted at #1 in the Billboard 200
with 215,000 copies sold in its first week of release. The album also debuted at #1 on the R&B Album Charts. However, the album spent only one week at the #1 spot and quickly fell down the charts. Evolution sold two million copies in the United States and over four million copies worldwide, a disappointment compared with the successes of Cooleyhighharmony
and II
. Evolution was not received well by critics. In October 1998, Boyz II Men went to Japan
and Europe
to promote the album, and during that year they went embarked on the Evolution Tour.
", was released in August 1997. The song was Boyz II Men's highest debut on the Billboard Hot 100
Singles. It debuted at #2, behind Mariah Carey
's "Honey
". The following week, the single went to #1, but lost the top spot the following week to Elton John
's tribute to Princess Diana, Candle in the Wind 1997
. 4 Seasons of Loneliness became Boyz II Men's sixth platinum single. Later that year, the second single, "A Song for Mama
", was released, a track which already appeared on the Soul Food
soundtrack. The single reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the R&B Singles Chart, making Boyz II Men the only group in history to have seven platinum singles in the United States.
official channel / VEVO
official channel
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
group Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men is an American R&B vocal group best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are the most successful R&B group of all time, having sold more than albums worldwide. In the 1990s, Boyz II Men found fame on Motown Records as a quartet, but original member Michael McCary...
, released in September 1997. It is their final album released on Motown Records
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
. A Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
version, Evolución, was also issued.
History
On August 20, 1997, Boyz II Men held a press conference to talk about their first album since 1994's IIII (Boyz II Men album)
II is the second studio album by boy band Boyz II Men, released in August 1994 on Motown Records. It contained the #1 singles "I'll Make Love To You" and "On Bended Knee", the latter of which replaced the former at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, making the group the third artist to replace...
. They were under pressure with their last two albums cumulatively selling almost 30 million copies worldwide. With Evolution, they worked with their regular collaborators, including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...
, and Babyface. They appeared on many talk shows including The Rosie O'Donnell Show
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
The Rosie O'Donnell Show is an Emmy Award-winning American daytime television talk show hosted and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It aired for six seasons from 1996 to 2002...
, The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
with Jay Leno, The Vibe Show, The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show
The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show
The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show was a late night syndicated television talk show hosted by Keenen Ivory Wayans. The show premiered August 4, 1997 and was cancelled in March 1998. The show had an opening monologue and comedy sketches. His in house band was an all girl band called Ladies of the Night...
, MTV Live
MTV Live
MTV Live was a U.S. television series that aired from 1997 to 1998 on MTV, featuring interviews with celebrity guests, live musical performances, news coverage, and music video premieres.-Series run:...
, and others.
The album was released on September 23, and that night, Boyz II Men signed copies of the album at the Virgin
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
Megastore in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Evolution debuted at #1 in the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
with 215,000 copies sold in its first week of release. The album also debuted at #1 on the R&B Album Charts. However, the album spent only one week at the #1 spot and quickly fell down the charts. Evolution sold two million copies in the United States and over four million copies worldwide, a disappointment compared with the successes of Cooleyhighharmony
Cooleyhighharmony
Cooleyhighharmony is the 1991 debut album by Motown group Boyz II Men. Executive produced by Michael Bivins of New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe, the album features the hit singles "Motownphilly" and "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday", a G.C...
and II
II (Boyz II Men album)
II is the second studio album by boy band Boyz II Men, released in August 1994 on Motown Records. It contained the #1 singles "I'll Make Love To You" and "On Bended Knee", the latter of which replaced the former at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, making the group the third artist to replace...
. Evolution was not received well by critics. In October 1998, Boyz II Men went to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to promote the album, and during that year they went embarked on the Evolution Tour.
Singles
The first single released off the album, "4 Seasons of Loneliness4 Seasons of Loneliness
"4 Seasons of Loneliness" is a R&B/pop ballad recorded by Philadelphia-based vocal quartet Boyz II Men. Written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the song was issued as the first single from the Evolution album in 1997....
", was released in August 1997. The song was Boyz II Men's highest debut on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
Singles. It debuted at #2, behind Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's "Honey
Honey (Mariah Carey song)
"Honey" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her sixth studio album, Butterfly. It was released as the lead single from the album on August 26, 1997 by Columbia Records. The song was written by Carey, Puff Daddy, Q-Tip and Stevie J, all of whom served as the song's producers...
". The following week, the single went to #1, but lost the top spot the following week to Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's tribute to Princess Diana, Candle in the Wind 1997
Candle in the Wind 1997
"Candle in the Wind 1997" is a rewritten and rerecorded version of Elton John's own 1973 hit "Candle in the Wind" that was released as a tribute single to the late Diana, Princess of Wales....
. 4 Seasons of Loneliness became Boyz II Men's sixth platinum single. Later that year, the second single, "A Song for Mama
A Song for Mama
"A Song for Mama" is the title of a number-one R&B single by the American R&B group Boyz II Men. The tune, which was written and produced by Babyface, served as the theme song to the 1997 motion picture Soul Food, and spent two weeks at number one on the US R&B chart. To date, it is their last top...
", was released, a track which already appeared on the Soul Food
Soul Food (film)
Soul Food is a 1997 American comedy-drama film, produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Tracey Edmonds, and Robert Teitel, and released by Fox 2000 Pictures. Featuring an ensemble cast, the film stars Vanessa L. Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey D. Sams, Irma...
soundtrack. The single reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the R&B Singles Chart, making Boyz II Men the only group in history to have seven platinum singles in the United States.
English version
- "Doin' Just Fine" (Produced by Shawn StockmanShawn StockmanShawn Patrick Stockman is an American R&B singer, best known as a member of the vocal group Boyz II Men. He is also a judge on the television show The Sing-Off, alongside Sara Bareilles and Ben Folds....
) - "Never" (Produced by Babyface)
- "4 Seasons of Loneliness4 Seasons of Loneliness"4 Seasons of Loneliness" is a R&B/pop ballad recorded by Philadelphia-based vocal quartet Boyz II Men. Written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the song was issued as the first single from the Evolution album in 1997....
" (Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry LewisJimmy Jam and Terry LewisJames Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...
) - "Girl in the Life Magazine" (Produced by Babyface)
- "A Song for MamaA Song for Mama"A Song for Mama" is the title of a number-one R&B single by the American R&B group Boyz II Men. The tune, which was written and produced by Babyface, served as the theme song to the 1997 motion picture Soul Food, and spent two weeks at number one on the US R&B chart. To date, it is their last top...
" (Produced by Babyface) - "Can You Stand the Rain" (Produced by Boyz II Men)
- "Can't Let Her Go" (Produced by Sean Combs)
- "Baby C'mon" (Produced by Keith Crouch)
- "Come On" (Produced by Sean Combs)
- "All Night Long" (Produced by Keith Crouch)
- "Human II (Don't Turn Your Back on Me)" (Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry LewisJimmy Jam and Terry LewisJames Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...
) - "To the Limit" (Produced by Sean Combs)
- "Dear God" (Produced by Boyz II Men)
- "Just Hold On" (Japanese Edition) (Produced by Babyface)
- "I Can Love You" (Japanese Edition) (Produced by Boyz II Men)
- "Can't Let Her Go" (Original Mix feat. Driver)(French Bonus Track) (Produced by Sean Combs)
- "Wishes"
Spanish version
- "4 Estaciones De Soledad (4 Seasons of Loneliness)"
- "A Mi Me Va Bien (Doin' Just Fine)"
- "Te Doy Mi Amor (I Can Love You)"
- "La Chica De La Revista (Girl in the Life Magazine)"
- "Una Canción Para Mamá (A Song for Mama)"
- "Yo Te Voy a Amar (I'll Make Love to You)"
- "No Dejemos Que Muera el Amor (Water Runs Dry)"
- "Me Rindo Ante Ti (On Bended Knee)"
- "Yesterday (Spanish Version)"
- "Al Final Del Camino (End of the Road)"
Charts
| Chart (1997) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
6 |
| Belgian Wallonia Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
45 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
2 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
7 |
| French Albums Chart | 7 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
8 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
6 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
25 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 20 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
12 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Hot R&B Singles | U.S. Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "4 Seasons of Loneliness 4 Seasons of Loneliness "4 Seasons of Loneliness" is a R&B/pop ballad recorded by Philadelphia-based vocal quartet Boyz II Men. Written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the song was issued as the first single from the Evolution album in 1997.... " |
1 | |
| "A Song for Mama A Song for Mama "A Song for Mama" is the title of a number-one R&B single by the American R&B group Boyz II Men. The tune, which was written and produced by Babyface, served as the theme song to the 1997 motion picture Soul Food, and spent two weeks at number one on the US R&B chart. To date, it is their last top... " |
1 | 7 |
See also
- List of number-one albums of 1997 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1997 (U.S.)
External links
/ VEVOVevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
official channel / VEVO
Vevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
official channel