NEW YORK, NY April 17, 2008 – In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of New Edition’s debut album Candy Girl, VH1 Soul presents “New Edition Weekend,†a weekend full of special programming and videos by the Boston bred boy band. Bursting onto the scene in 1983, New Edition became a pop phenomenon when they were discovered by writer/producer Maurice Starr, in hopes of launching a Jackson 5 phenomenon for the ’80s. The New Edition story continued to reach new heights with several solo projects from various group members, including break-out member Bobby Brown, the self proclaimed “King of R&B.†Bobby broke from the group in 1986 and rose to R&B superstardom as a solo artist. The weekend will include the VH1 Soul premiere of “Soul Story: Bobby Brown,†which celebrates the solo career of Bobby Brown through a timeline sequence of his videos, along with a new and never-before-seen interview, on Friday, April 25 at 7PM*.
“New Edition Weekend†premieres on VH1 Soul Friday, April 25 beginning 8AM*.
The weekend will be comprised of the following:
· New Edition Video Block – Airs April 25 beginning at 8am*
· Behind The Music: New Edition – Airs April 25 beginning at 10am*
· Urban Soul documentary – Airs Monday, April 25 beginning at 12pm*
· “Soul Story: Bobby Brown†– Premieres Monday, April 25 at 7pm*
*Each special will air through-out the entire weekend
The weekend is not only a celebration of New Edition, but of R&B music itself. The BBC documentary Urban Soul, which made its U.S. Premiere on VH1 Soul in September 2007, is an in-depth look at R&B music since the 1970’s, covering everything from the New Jack Swing movement, to hip hop soul, neo-soul and mainstream R&B. This two-hour documentary is a groundbreaking journey through contemporary American music culture with a combination of rare archival footage and thought-provoking interviews with the greatest performers, producers, musicians and commentators of the genre. Urban Soul boasts a stellar cast of interviewees which includes Bobby Brown, Beyoncé Knowles, Mary J Blige, Wyclef Jean, TLC and Chaka Khan.
