A lot of artists have been quietly pivoting to country over the last few years. With the success of records like “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and “Choosin Texas” absolutely dominating the Billboard charts, certain musicians have decided to experiment in the Nashville industry. Ne-Yo made the transition, the Jonas Brothers have teased it, BigXThaPlug had an entire album filled with crossovers in the genre. Now, evidently, we can add Boyz II Men to the list.
In an interview with The Tennessean, Shawn Stockman revealed that the group signed a deal with Warner Brothers Nashville as part of their foray into country. With their deal, they announced the release of their first album in 10 years.
According to Stockman, the rest of Boyz II Men have been interested in taking a stab at making country music for years. With their latest record deal, it opened up the opportunity to finally pursue it. “We love the genre so much, and at this point in our career we felt like it was the perfect time to dip our toes,” Stockman told the publication.
“We’ve always been enamored with the storytelling component of country music and how they actually put those stories to melody. Again, it was a learning experience. That is what we like. We have been in this business for three decades, but we’ll forever be students of music and we’ll always be open to learn and to appreciate different styles.”
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Nathan Morris from the group felt like country music was already familiar territory for the group. Despite some of the sounds being a bit different, the core of their melodies and their love songs are very similar. So Boyz II Men never felt too out of place trying out country in a way that felt authentic.
“We’ve reached our tentacles out over many years and dabbled in other types of music, but R&B is the root of who we are. And I think that’s why it’s so easy for us to fall in love with country music because the melodies are similar. The meanings are similar. The feelings are similar. So, it’s almost like we feel at home doing it,” Nathan Morris explained.
Additionally, Shawn Stockman felt like their label actually understood what Boyz II Men wanted. Consequently, he said the recording process has been a breeze, similar to the liberty they felt early in their careers.
“They understood it. There’s nothing better than doing a project with people who understand you and that get it,” he emphasized. “It’s so reminiscent of the days that we started.”
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