New Edition OKs Vegas residency
R&B group New Edition will bring their New Jack Swing tunes to Las Vegas early next year.
The Grammy-nominated sextet announced Monday that New Edition: Las Vegas will kick off Feb. 28. The group confirmed six residency shows at the Wynn Las Vegas' Encore Theater, where acts like Diana Ross, Duran Duran, Lionel Richie and Brad Paisley have taken the stage.
“We just caught lightning in a bottle,” said Ronnie DeVoe, a founding member of New Edition — which includes Michael Bivins, Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, Ralph Tresvant and Ricky Bell. Monday's announcement came after days after the group performed a tightly choreographed tribute to the Spinners at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York.
DeVoe said the band heard fans countless requests — particularly through social media — for them to perform in Sin City. “We're looking to touch that stage and continue on with the legacy,” he said.
After two consecutive North American tours, New Edition has planned for a more intimate setting at Encore, which seats 1,480.
“This is going to more theatrical than our Legacy and Culture tours,” Brown said. “This will be a lot more intimate. We wanted it to be up, close and personal for our fans.”
New Edition was founded by childhood friends in a Boston housing project and became one of the originators of the modern-day boy band. The group released their debut album “Candy Girl” in 1983 and rejuvenated the teen music scene in the mold of The Jackson Five with hit singles like “Candy Girl,” “Mr. Telephone Man” and “Cool It Now.”
The group maintained success after puberty and laid the foundation for groups such as New Kids on the Block, the Backstreet Boys and Boyz II Men.
But then, New Edition faced plenty of conflict and Brown was kicked out the group.
But eventually, all six members reconciled, reuniting in 1996.