New Edition. Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Michael Bivins, Johnny Gill, Ronnie DeVoe—one of the greatest and most accomplished musical groups of our time. In a world where we’ve unfortunately lost so many of our musical greats, we’re incredibly fortunate to still have them with us. Formed circa 1978 in Boston by Brown, New Edition first rose to fame in the early 1980s with the release of their debut album Candy Girl—drawing comparisons to likes of The Jackson 5 and various other Motown bands (though they themselves were not actually Motown signees). Forty plus years and multiple hits later, New Edition is adding another bullet to their extensive resume—a Las Vegas Residency. Set to begin on February 28, the group will headline six performances from now through March 9 at Wynn Las Vegas’ Encore Theater. To celebrate the kickoff, we’ve decided to put together a list of the best New Edition songs of all time.
Whether it’s “Candy Girl,” “Cool it Now,” or “Mr. Telephone Man,” we can all agree that NE has a catalog of classics. Oh, and while we have you, there’s no better time than the present to the groups’ biopic, The New Edition Story, a watch if you haven’t already. It requires a bit of a time investment as it was actually originally aired as a mini-series, but a great way to learn more about New Edition as a whole (they all were co-producers on it).
RELATED: Earth, Wind, and Fire’s 15 Best Songs, Ranked
- Release date: August 14, 2004
- From: One Love
I know “Hot 2Nite” causes some debate amongst New Edition fans, but I loved this song and video (which I probably shouldn’t have been watching as a kid) from the moment they premiered it on 106 & Park twenty years ago, and still think it’s underrated. Here’s my take on why it wasn’t the most well-received at the time. Now granted, there was a lot going on with the group at the time as far as disputes regarding their contract and creative differences with their label (they supposedly didn’t even want “Hot 2Nite” to be the first single), but the song and album was also highly touted as their reunion/comeback (sans Bobby Brown). I think people (especially back then) kind of had this preconceived idea of what New Edition should have sounded (their 1980s sound) like that didn’t exactly match what was current in the mid-2000s.
If you go back and look at what was ruling the charts in 2004, you’ll see “Hot 2Nite” is very much in-line with what was coming out in that era, but it still had “New Edition flavor” (albeit one that was way more grown and sexy) to it. In hindsight, the Ryan Leslie-beat was nice, everybody sounded great vocally, and the music video was hot. For what it’s worth, the actual music video for “Hot 2Nite” does not have an official YouTube release, but all of the unofficial uploads have around a million views or more. That means people are coming back to it.
- Release date: 1983
- From: Candy Girl
While “Jealous Girl” wasn’t officially released as a single from the Candy Girl album, it very well could have been—in fact the track still holds a place in the hearts of many NE lovers due to the catchy hook and melodies. “You had to be BORN IN THE 70s and an elementary aged kid or a teenager in the 80s to truly appreciate what this group meant during this era…. And then BOBBY hit us with his first two solo albums in 86′ and 88′ and it was A WRAP !!! GENERATION-X all the way,” reads a comment under the audio version of the song on YouTube, with many echoing that sentiment. A song that was appropriate for their ages at the time, but still an enjoyable banger for all ages? We aren’t really getting music like this anymore.
- Release date: 1986
- From: Under the Blue Moon
I think the Under the Blue Moon album gets underrated because it was viewed as a transitional period for the group with the departure of Bobby Brown (he was voted out). With Brown no longer being a part of the group, people didn’t really know how to receive New Edition at that time because a huge part of their overall character as a group was gone, and on top of that, they weren’t really “grown” in terms of their ages. Whether it was due to music executives dropping the ball or just the interest of the general public during that specific time (or a combination of both), the music industry didn’t really know what to do with teenage acts during the 80s (New Edition had, in fact, been an exception to this rule). The 1990s would do this much better, but the 80s…yeah. That said, many enjoy NE’s take on “Earth Angel”—myself included.
- Release date: January 31, 1989
- From: Heart Break
Now take everything I just said above and add a “but…” to it. While there was that slightly rough period in the mid-80s of New Edition trying to figure themselves out after Bobby Brown leaving, a new era started with the addition of Johnny Gill into the group. The members of New Edition were now either in or about to be in their early twenties, and…a new genre of music was being introduced that would dominate the earlier part of the 1990s—New Jack Swing, which NE was one of the first to get in on. Needless to say, New Jack Swing was the perfect match for New Edition as shown by tracks such as “Crucial,” which featured the production efforts of Jellybean Johnson, Spencer Bernard, and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart—”Crucial” was a hit.
- Release date: March 6, 1990
- From: Bell Biv DeVoe
Yeah, yeah, yeah we know—this isn’t technically New Edition, but we’re putting here because it still belongs. Alright let’s back up and give a brief history lesson for those unaware. New Edition is a group that’s had quite a few iterations over the decades, and one of those was Bell Biv DeVoe. Here’s what happened—once the 1990s officially kicked off, New Edition essentially decided they were going to go their separate ways. Johnny and Ralph went solo, and Ricky (Bell), Michael (Bivens aka Biv), and Ronnie (DeVoe) formed their own group called Bell Biv DeVoe. Their debut single “Poison,” a New Jack Swing/Hip Hop hybrid that warned folks to never ‘trust a girl with a big butt and a smile,’ was a smash that continues to have a strong legacy almost 35 years after it’s release.
When you think the early 90s, “Poison” is one of the first songs that comes to mind as it was one of the gems that defined that era.
- Release date: August 6, 1983
- From: Candy Girl
“Popcorn Love” is both funny and cute because what exactly is/was popcorn love? It is representative of a love that’s blooming/popping? It has to be right? Well, according to New Edition: P is for personality, O is for originality, the other P is for the perfect love she gives them, C is ’cause she loves them,’ the second O is for this girl being the ‘only love they got,’ and the R and N means their love ‘will never end.’ They also missed a perfect opportunity to mention how the girls love ‘butters them up’ (our words), but we digress.
- Release date: May 15, 1983
- From: Candy Girl
Also from Candy Girl is the track “Is This the End,” which is seemingly about a teenage breakup. We all know how those go, and how it seems like it’s the end of the world when it happens. New Edition captured that perfectly much in the way The Jackson 5 did with their early love songs in the way that there was a certain level of maturity delivered (one that allowed the song to not be seen as “kitty” for the adults listening), but still appropriate for them being teens at the time. What I love most, however, is the way New Edition has been able to evolve this track over the years. The group still performs “Is This the End” in their current set lists, but with a more “adult” vibe and groove—they don’t sound like the teenagers they were forty years ago. Not very many artists have songs in their catalog they can do that with, so again that’s a testimony to New Edition’s timelessness as artists.
- Release date: November 8, 1985
- From: All for Love
“A Little Bit of Love (Is All It Takes),” remains another fan favorite amongst New Edition lovers, with many feeling the single was underrated at the time of its release or as one YouTuber says: “This single was in my opinion, their best. Very underrated.” In my opinion, “A Little Bit of Love (Is All It Takes),” is a solid little R&B groove that captures the essence of mid-80s New Edition with Bobby Brown. I also feel this song deserved a much better music video than what it got, but that’s a topic for a different discussion.
- Release date: October 22, 1996
- From: Home Again
Alright we’ve got to back it up again. So now we’re in the year 1996, and New Edition (Bobby Brown included) has reunited to become a sextet. This is the first time the world is ever seeing them as a group of six because, remember, Johnny Gill didn’t join until a couple years after Brown’s departure. Everyone comes in ’96 together to make a studio record for the first and last time (despite touring together, New Edition has not released another album with all six members). This leads us to Home Again, which sold 227,000 during its first week, and became the group’s first album to open at number one on the Billboard 200. The second single released from the record was “I’m Still in Love with You,” and all we have to say is this—fellas, you guys aren’t singing like this anymore. You aren’t getting on boats in cashmere sweaters, polos, and full three-piece suits and singing like this at all. And that’s a problem.
- Release date: February 24, 1983
- From: Candy Girl
New Edition probably hates this because most of us can’t stand when people say “Awww” when they see younger photos of us, but…”Awww.” I mean how could you not think/say it? They were adorable (especially baby Ralph leading the pack). Ladies and gentlemen, “Candy Girl” was the debut single (as in the first ever) and music video from New Edition. This, right here, is how the world met them, and boy was it a dynamic introduction. If there’s one New Edition song every person all around the world is guaranteed to know regardless of race/ethnicity/age, it’s probably “Candy Girl” and…we’ll get to that in a second.
- Release date: June 9, 1988
- From: Heart Break
If you’ve ever seen Beyoncé’s “Love on Top” video and wondered who/what she was paying homage to—here it is— the legendary “If It Isn’t Love.” As much as this song hits in the car at full blast, the video just takes it to a whole nother’ level. This is a very simple music video—nothing really extravagant or over the top—just five very talented young men singing and dancing their butts off in a dance studio/gym with five microphones, but that’s all that was needed here. A certified New Edition classic that has to be top five on any NE songs ranking list.
- Release date: February 7, 1985
- From: New Edition
Sometimes you just need a soulful relaxing ballad about love, and New Edition gives you exactly that with 1985’s “Lost in Love” Released as the third single from their eponymous sophomore album New Edition, the harmonies alone deserve a standing ovation along with the genuine lyrics of two young bloods falling head over heels for each other. You know the slow dancing scenes at the school dances in those 1980s movies? If that’s a reflection of what was actually being played by the DJ at those dances, we’re almost certain “Lost in Love” was one of those ballads being played. Positive actually.
- Release date: August 27, 1984
- From: New Edition
As joyful, jolly, and catchy as the song “Cool It Now” is, I really implore you to watch the music video. It appears as though the flick was shot in Boston (perhaps New York as they aren’t too far apart from one another), starting off at a basketball court, and then transitioning into different parts of the city. This music video is so 1980s that will instantly put a smile on your face because of how fun it is. I hate to do another comparison between then and now, but it doesn’t really seem like young artists are having fun like this with their work anymore. New Edition had fun shooting the video for this record, and you can visibly see it in their expressions, dance moves, etc.—an era for sure.
- Release date: December 8, 1984
- From: New Edition
The. Jam. We’ve got to seriously question anybody that doesn’t have “Mr. Telephone Man” in their New Edition top five, and if you are one of those people that don’t, then a serious explanation is needed as to why you don’t have in there and what song you’re replacing it with. Once again, the harmonies contribute to the catchiness of the track, and the subject matter of “Mr. Telephone Man” is quite funny with a 2020s perspective. The subject matter you ask? They’ve been unlucky with being able to reach the girl of their dreams by way of telephone, so now the group has reached the level of desperation where they are literally begging a telephone operator to connect them to her. You know what we call that in the 2020s? Down bad. If you’re going to be down bad though, make it sound like how New Edition did in 1984.
- Release date: December 3, 1988
- From: Heart Break
That other universal New Edition song that everyone knows? “Can You Stand the Rain.” Oddly enough, this track wasn’t a massive hit at the time of its release as it didn’t reach the top 40 (the song did top Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart though). Despite that, however, “Can You Stand the Rain” is a single that has managed to age better over time as it’s only gotten more popular over the years—even going viral on TikTok on multiple occasions. “Can You Stand the Rain” is the very example of a song having a second, third, and fourth life—which goes to show you never know what the future holds when you make great timeless music. This is an era where songs and albums from completely different time periods are winning current awards (I.E. Alicia Keys winning a Grammy this year in the “Best Immersive Studio Album” category for 2004’s Diary of Alicia Keys) thanks to streaming and popularity on social media. Bottomline—when you create great art, it lasts forever. Nothing else needs to be said.
RELATED: A Nostalgic Look Through All of Jay-Z’s Albums in Order
