Remember way back in ’07 when MTV decided to do a fourth season of its ultra-successful, American Idol-style show, “Making The Band”? Well, for those of you who don’t remember (or care, for that matter), you’re definitely missing out on some great entertainment.
“Making The Band” spawned the R&B group Day26, whose self-titled debut album reached the very top of the Billboard charts. Its debut was by far one of the best R&B albums of ’08, and proved to audiences that the five men who make up the group (Willie Taylor, Mike McCluney, Qwanell Moseley, Brian Andrews and Robert Curry) are much more than reality TV stars: They can actually sing and create good music.
But with their sophomore album, “Forever in a Day,” I’m starting to wonder if the grade-A quality of their debut was a fluke. Sure, they only had a month to record their latest project. And I concede, they may have been distracted by all the fighting and screaming matches (which makes for great television), but it’s no excuse for the semi-disappointing CD.
The Timbaland-produced “Just Getting Started” leads off the album with its heavy bass and superb vocals. Though not a full club banger, it’s a song masterfully designed for cranked up volume and a pulled down drop-top. Following is the group’s first single off of the album, “Imma Put it on Her,” featuring Yung Joc and Diddy.
The song is admittedly a good choice for the first single, even with the pitfalls of Diddy’s played-out Obama reference (“You can say you touched the president, Ciroc Obama”) and his occasional groan-worthy punch line (“On the 14th I’ll buy the whole Island / Name it after champagne call it Chris Stylin'”).
Other up-tempo tracks include the Brian Cox-produced “Stadium Music” and “Your Heels,” a fun song about a sexy, independent woman who wears her heels just right. Produced by Jazzy Pha, the track is probably the best one on the album.
But not all is well with the upbeat songs. The T-Pain-produced track, “Shawty Wats Up,” is the club hit that just isn’t a club hit. Besides the highly annoying use of the auto-tune (which the boys of Day26 definitely don’t need), the song just isn’t their style.
And despite T-Pain’s knack for producing and penning monster tracks, this song is disappointing. Almost as bad is “Need That,” produced by Jermaine Dupri. The song possesses some of the most annoying, grating production work I’ve ever heard. Shame on you Jermaine, for allowing Jazzy Pha to outproduce you on a boy band album.
Toward the end of the album, the boys slip into their strength: the slow and sexy ballad. “So Good” and “Girlfriend” are strong reminders of why fans loved these guys in the first place. With sexy beats and flawless harmonies, the group delivers what some like to call “baby makers.”
One of the most disappointing things about the album is the number of forgettable tracks. “Think of Me” is a boring song dependent on a boring hook. “Perfectly Blind” (written by Dawn Richard and group member Qwanell Moseley) sounds like the Danity Kane song that never was. “Then There’s You” is the grown-up version of a mediocre B2K single. And “Reminds Me Of You” is just plain forgettable.
OK, so the album isn’t that great. I’ll chock it up to a lack of studio time and an abundance of (highly entertaining) infighting. In terms of entertainment, though, it looks like this time around, the show easily surpasses the album.
““ Salima Koroma
E-mail Koroma at skoroma@media.ucla.edu.