The Marketing Of Another New Edition Comeback

AP and The Hollywood Reporter write this about another comeback by New Edition: "Over the past two decades, New Edition has managed to overcome the kind of obstacles that have sent other groups hurtling into "Whatever Happened To …" territory. The y aced their transition from preteen bubblegum pop to adult R&B, survived the loss (and subsequent reappearance) of the dynamic Bobby Brown, endured lackluster sales and flourished despite divergent career paths and stretches of inactivity. Yet their latest comeback attempt may prove the most difficult one yet. On Tuesday, Ralph Tresvant, Johnny Gill, Michael Bivins, Ricky Bell and Ronnie DeVoe released "One Love," their eighth album, after an eight-year layoff. Although signed to P. Diddy’s youth-oriented Bad Boy label, they’ve still got "old-school" stamped all over them. And that’s part of the problem, especially in an R&B market dominated by young stars with a hip-hop bent. Already they’ve struggled — the album’s first single, "Hot 2Nite," peaked at just No. 35 on Billboard’s Top 100 R&B and Hip-Hop chart. The Boston-bred group — once again without Bobby Brown — is well aware of the challenges. Sitting together in a Washington hotel conference room after a planned concert was scrapped due to technical issues, the men nod their heads in agreement when talking about the ruthlessness of today’s market."