they couldn't have been more different on the outside however on the inside their hearts
all beat to the same r b drum every time they open their mouths to sing the mouths of anyone
with an earshot drop to the floor success was inevitable however after many years
of brotherhood and hit making personal issues among the members would pull them apart forever
let's find out what happened to american 90s r b group color me bad lead singer brian abrams tenor
mark calderon second tenor sam waters and baritone kevin kt thornton formed the r b quartet the world
would come to know as color me bad in oklahoma city oklahoma in the mid 80s kevin and brian
first became friends in junior high while sam and mark would get to know each other in grade school
all four came together while attending the same high school they were also members of the school
choir originally the group adopted the name take one but later changed it to avoid confusion with
the acapella gospel group take six the name they ended up with was actually taken from a horse at a
racetrack that sam found in a newspaper however it also fit perfectly with the unique makeup of the
groove in the beginning the members were so hungry for success that they made it their mission to
meet or at least try to meet every musical artist that they came across in 1987 while they were
still in high school one of those opportunities presented itself when they met robert bell of cool
in the gang when the band came to town for a show after they sang for him during a pre-show party he
introduced them to his then road manager who would become color me bad's manager and convince them
they needed to move to new york city to secure a record deal one afternoon a couple of years later
kevin saw jon bon jovi come into the movie theater where he worked he immediately got on the phone
to the other band members to get over there asap they waited for him to leave the theater and then
sang a song acapella right then and there he was so impressed that he invited the group to be his
band's opening act for a performance the following night another chance meeting with some iconic
record producers would be the catalyst to the group penning a future number one hit at the ascap
music awards color me bad approached jimmy jam and terry lewis and as usual started singing for them
on the spot terry gave them the suggestion that since they were a multicultural group they should
write a half-english half-spanish song they took the advice and wrote their number one smash hit
i adore mi amor giant records executive cassandra mills heard a tape of the foursome singing the
song and immediately signed them to the label in august 1990. after signing the group cassandra
asked producer dr freeze for a song for the group to record for the soundtrack of the crime thriller
film new jack city she wanted it to be similar to the 1990 hit do me by hip hop r b group bell biv
devoe freeze came up with i want to sex you up which would become color me bad's debut single
released in march 1991 the song wasn't even intended to be a single it had also been offered
to other artists who turned it down it became the biggest hit on the new jack city soundtrack
peaking at number two on the billboard hot 100 and number one on the r d chart naturally due to the
song's popularity their label wanted color me bad to record an album quick fast and in a hurry they
ended up completing the task in just a couple of weeks their debut album titled cmb was released in
july 1991. it would go on to become certified triple platinum in the u.s their third single
all for love would also become a number one hit color me bad won numerous awards during this time
mainly courtesy of their debut single including best r b soul single and r b soul song of the year
in a group band or duo at the sixth annual soul train music awards as well as favorite soul r b
single at the american music awards they were also nominated for best new artist and best r
b performance by a duo or group with vocal at the grammy awards the group also delved into the
acting world by making a very memorable cameo appearance on a 1992 episode of the teen drama
series beverly hills 90210 i'm kelly taylor it's nice to meet you kelly i'm brian abrams thanks
a lot oh oh oh my god along with their superb vocal talent color me bad also became known for
their fashion style and for their choreography as well as for being a racially diverse group which
was rare at the time brian is caucasian and native american mark is mexican-american sam is caucasian
and kevin is african-american color me bad released a remix album titled young gifted and bad
the remixes in november of that year it contained the single forever love which cracked the top 20
and was also featured on the soundtrack for the 1992 romantic crime comedy drama film
mo money the group then went back into the studio and released their second album time and chance
in november 1993 they worked with several new producers this time around including david foster
and jimmy jam and terry lewis there was also an obvious more soulful
and funkier shift in their musical style unfortunately music lovers didn't respond
meanwhile grunge and west coast hip-hop was beginning to dominate the airwaves
making it difficult for a group like color me bad to duplicate their previous success the group
reemerged in 1996 with their third studio album now and forever again they had amazing producers
in their corner including babyface john b and boyz to men's nathan morris the album only produced one
top 40 single with the earth the sun the rain shortly after the group was released from their
contract with giant however they did go on to sign a new deal with epic records color me bats fourth
and what would end up being their last studio album titled awakening was released in july 1998.
both brian and mark hated the label's choice of the lead single called remember when which
failed to break into the top 40. tommy mottola was dead set on that particular song being the
lead single since he was in his feelings over his pending divorce from 90s pop diva mariah carey
during this time it became clear to everyone that brian had a serious drinking problem
in the beginning he really only drank at parties then one night before a show he was beside himself
over what to do about his very hoarse throat the group's bus driver decided to fix brian a
hot toddy whatever was put into that drink worked a miracle brian sounded better than ever that was
the beginning of his pattern of always needing a drink or several before going on stage newly
married kevin then decided to leave the group to pursue a career in ministry sam wanted to
go off on his own to write and produce so with only brian and mark left the group officially
split up kevin became a licensed minister and over the years served as an evangelist youth pastor and
worship leader in fort worth texas in 2005 he released a solo album titled conversion however
before being called by god he suffered from what he said was a horrible bout with sex addiction
he also fathered three children during his time in color me bad he even contemplated taking his
own life after a relationship with one of his baby mamas turned ugly sam pursued a career
as a record producer achieving great success producing for whitney houston jessica simpson
leona lewis kelly clarkson and many others while also raising his son from a previous marriage
he married for the second time to actress singer and former american idol contestant
tamyra gray in 2006. mark continued working on music with a variety of other artists back in 1992
he got married to color me bad's former fashion stylist in august 2000 giant records released
the compilation album the best of color me bad also at this time the group was inducted into
the oklahoma music hall of fame the following year brian released a solo album titled welcome to me
he also co-starred on the vh1 reality tv series mission mandan in 2007 which included former
boy band members jeff timmons of 98 degrees chris kirkpatrick of nsync and rich cronin of lfo seeing
if they could make it as a new group the show was cancelled after only seven episodes color me bad
finally made their return to the music scene in 2010. initially consisting of only brian and mark
kevin would also join later that year three years after that the group released their first new song
in nearly 15 years called skywalkin however just a few months later brian would announce his
departure from color me bad through a post on his website apparently the move was triggered by some
major behind-the-scenes drama going on towards the end of 2013 both mark and kevin refused to perform
with brian due to his unprofessional behavior a couple of other artists would fill in temporarily
until brian's reappearance two years later kevin wasn't interested in reconnecting with brian again
so he left he then filed a lawsuit against both brian and mark it was settled the following year
and officially classified kevin as no longer a member of color me bad by 2018 it was the brian
and mark show once again however a violent onstage incident between the two would change everything
during a performance at the vine at del lago resort and casino in tyre new york on july 21st
2018 brian walked across the stage at the end of their song i wanna sex you up which mark performed
by himself after brian left the stage earlier in the show and aggressively shoved mark to the floor
afterwards brian allegedly screamed i'm mother******* color me bad later brian would
admit to being drunk and suffering a blackout mark ended up going to the hospital after suffering
neck and back pain brian was later arrested for the attack surprisingly mark and brian would
continue performing together after the incident however it became clear that it had to be that way
since there were contractual obligations in place that they were required to fulfill
brian did make attempts at reconciling with mark and even had a custom t-shirt made with the words
i'm sorry mark which he wore during a show the energy between them made it clear that mark was
not going to accept the apology then in may 2019 brian mark and brian's wife kim made an appearance
on the daytime talk show dr phil where numerous shocking details were exposed the reason for the
appearance on brian's part was a cry for help concerning his alcohol addiction brian admitted
that he is an alcoholic he talked about using the substance to numb himself from the hurt pain and
shame of his life experiences even things stemming from childhood color me bad fans who followed the
group years after their heyday in the 90s will know about brian's obvious weight problem what
they may not know is that even back in high school he had ballooned up to 400 pounds at one point
he lost the weight then because his group members assured him that making it in the music industry
wasn't likely to happen if he remained at that size over the years he's dealt with crippling
insecurities had two hip replacements financial hardship and numerous drunk driving charges by
2005 he found himself working at an oklahoma city tire store and battling two ex-wives in
court over allegedly owing thousands of dollars in back child support one last disgraceful topic of
conversation was brian's tendency to put his hands on his wife admitting that he had been
physically abusive to her many times throughout their relationship she's left several times
only to return hoping he would change mark also spoke his piece stating that he's been aware of
brian's drinking problem for a long time but things got exponentially worse over the last
couple of years he revealed on the show that they were up for a residency spot in las vegas at the
time of the 2018 shoving incident however after that happened the opportunity went up in smoke
he also said that he had a restraining order taken out on brian and even though people saw
them performing together after the incident he actually hasn't spoken to brian since that day
that would further explain why they were not seen on the set at the same time during the taping of
the talk show like with many of his other guests dr phil offered brian helb he decided to take it
sam hasn't been a part of the band since 98 but has arguably had the most success since the split
he continues to be a successful record producer and songwriter and his marriage to tamira is
still going strong they welcome their second child together on august 16th 2021. in 2019 kevin and
short-term fill in color me bad member martin kimber from r b group az1 came together as kt
and martin and embarked on a tour as their contractual obligations dictated mark and
bryan continued to perform together as color me bad throughout all of 2019 however in july brian's
slapped mark with a lawsuit over the ability of mark to use the band's name in his ongoing solo
career mark released his first solo single called it's like good sex in may 2019. he followed it
up one year later with cookies and cream he also continued to perform under the name color me bad
with two other men on stage that appear to serve more as dancers and occasional backup singers
than actual members brian and his wife kim celebrated 15 years of marriage in july 2020. to
commemorate his two-year anniversary of sobriety he posted a celebratory photo on his social media
in may 2021 also in the same month he made another declaration that he was done with color me bad
forever several months later in august it would be formally announced that brian had reached an
undisclosed settlement with his former bandmate to sell the color me bad trademark during this
time brian teased on his facebook and instagram accounts that new solo music was on the way
2021 also marks the 30th anniversary of color me bad's debut album cmb
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