5 reasons why it’s worth watching The New Edition Story, an epic movie about one of the greatest R&B groups of all time.
The list of artist that last in the music business is an astoundingly short list. New Editon, has continually built their legacy in spite of every test, trial, and tribulation thrown at them. Their popularity and success ushered in the first wave of the ‘boy band’ craze. New Editon did not get the credit for being the icons that they are – until now. A made for television miniseries, in honor of the group’s incredible rise to fame is airing on BET called The New Edition Story. The three-night event begins on Tuesday, January 24th – 26th at 9 PM EST, 8 PM CST.
This movie’s trailer is buzzing all over social media right now – still not convinced to check this movie out? here are some of the reason you should watch this biopic about this legendary music group.
5. Everyone in the group is alive and healthy (for the most part).
Sadly, the artists we admire eventually pass away. If that wasn’t bad enough, their stories don’t make it film until after their long gone. If you’ve ever spent a Saturday afternoon watching VH1, you know exactly what we’re talking about. Numerous Movies highlighting the careers of people who can no longer smell the roses such as James Brown (Get On Up – 2014), Ray Charles (Ray – 2004), Johnny Cash (Walk The Line – 2005), Jimi Hendrix (Jimi: All Is By My Side – 2013), Whitney Houston (Whitney – 2015), NWA (Straight Outta Compton – 2015), Notorious BIG (Notorious – 2009), Aaliyah (Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B – 2014), TLC (CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story – 2013) and The Temptations (The Temptations – 1998).
Every member is still alive, well and relatively healthy. Rumors of health issues, however, were apparent, not too long ago claiming the bad boy of R&B Bobby Brown had a near-death health scare. Brown promptly denied these rumors. “People make up a lot of different stories about me, but, as you can see, I’m fine, handsome and healthy”. A statement Bobby Brown made at the Boston premiere of The New Edition Story.
This may be the 2nd movie, next to The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992), where every member involved is alive to see their story re-created on film.
4. New, young and talented actors are playing New Edition.
Although each guy playing members of New Edition have appeared in other movies and TV shows – this one will perhaps be the biggest platform for them to show us what they really got. It’s exciting to see them being recognized as more than just “role” playing actors and making a name for themselves. For those of you in the know, we don’t have to tell you how extremely talented they are as artist and singers in their own right. You’ll recognize Bryshere Gray from the Fox TV show Empire as Micheal Bivins, the Grammy-nominated singer Luke James as Johnny Gill, Elijah Kelly, who brought his singing and dancing chops to Hairspray and The Wiz Live!, as Ricky Bell, Keith Powers, who played Dr. Dre‘s younger brother in Straight Outta Compton, as Ronnie DeVoe, Algee Smith as Ralph Tresvant and making his debut Woody McClain as Bobby Brown.
The expectations for them to really bring it is very high, especially for Woody McClain who is playing Bobby Brown, one of the most outrageous members of New Edition. Even the most casual fan has heard stories or seen Bobby Brown show out in public back in the day. Needless to say, this is an important movie for everybody’s future.
3. The break-up’s and make-up’s over the years.
As a fan, we can’t wait to get the real deal behind Bobby Brown’s departure and why Ralph Tresvant wanted to go solo. It’s amazing how New Edition lasted this long because we really can’t say New Edition ever officially “broke up”. They’ve taken a hiatus, maybe even rotated appearance between 5 or 6 guys but no one was ever out of the group forever. We’re also dying to see Bobby Brown’s ego grow up to be way oversized and everyone else’s reaction to that ego is worth the price of admission.
Now, keep in mind these guys were from the projects of Boston. Underneath those nice suits and smooth persona of the early days, there was a lot of scandals involved. The childhood, pop innocence went away when things got real. Naturally though if you’re around people constantly and have different personalities, in fighting is bound to happen, however, they’ve always managed to keep it together. Even after Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill embarked on solo careers and the birth of Bell Biv DeVoe, doing New Edition continued to be a priority in their careers.
2. How the industry can take advantage of artists.
The entertainment business will chew you up and spit you out. New Edtion learned that the hard way. Their first deal on Streetwise Records famously brought them each a check for $1.85 after touring for 6 months with the hits “Candy Girl” and “Popcorn Love”. They removed themselves from Streetwise by inking a deal with MCA Records, which turned out to not be a deal with MCA but a production deal with Jump and Shoot. A production company that “loaned out” the services of New Edition to MCA. Some people in the industry would describe this type of deal as legalized slavery.
Long story short, the group had no control over anything including their music. They each borrowed $100,000 (a total of $500,000) from MCA Records to get out of another bad deal, obligating them to deliver multiple albums to MCA. New Edition didn’t get out of their deal with MCA until the early 2000’s. Later they signed a deal with P. Diddy‘s Bad Boy Records, unfortunately, that deal didn’t bring much success. In the end, New Edition won their battle went the industry because they’re still here today.
1. They’re the longest running group with all original members.
It’s no secret. The groups we love have a tendency to break-up. Collectives like Jodeci, H-Town, B2K, Dru Hill and for the pop fans N’sync. Those artists have either broken up completely or there’s little to no chance of a comeback. New Edition has experienced those problems, however, what makes New Edition so unique is at any moment the original members could get together, perform or perhaps make a new album.
New Edition started making music back in 1983 and they’re still performing. We know the movie will show a deep bond between brothers and how they overcome almost anything – including their battle with the entertainment industry. If you’ve always been a fan watch it. If you’re too young to know who they are and their significance to black music, you should definitely watch it.
