Color Me Badd is an American R&B group formed in 1985 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, by Bryan Abrams, Mark Calderon, Sam Watters and Kevin Thornton. Color Me Badd broke up in 1998 before reuniting in 2010, with various lineups since.
Best known for their singles "I Wanna Sex You Up", "I Adore Mi Amor", "All 4 Love", "Choose", and "The Earth, The Sun", The Rain; the group has sold over 15 million records worldwide,Sue White, "Color Me Badd, Bell Biv DeVoe plan 'family' reunion with fans at Soaring Eagle Casinio," MLive, October 22, 2015. had two number one hit singles, nine top 40 hits, 12 top 100 hits and three platinum or better albums. They were nominated for two Grammy Awards, won two Soul Train Music Awards and one American Music Award, and were nominated for five others.Rob Collins, "The former Color Me Badd members have never told their whole story in one place, until now," Oklahoma Gazette, September 30, 2010. Their songs have been featured in films and television programs including New Jack City, Mo' Money, No Strings Attached, and Glee. They made a cameo appearance as themselves on a 1992 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210.
History 1985–1990: Formation Thornton and Abrams became friends in junior high school, and Watters and Calderon became friends in grade school.Cary Darling, "Color Me Badd Finds Success Far From Home," Chicago Tribune, July 9, 1992. The four met in the mid-1980s while attending Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City. They were all members of the school choir. The group originally formed in 1985 as Take One but changed their name to Color Me Badd to avoid confusion with an a cappella band named Take 6. Watters selected the name after a horse at the racetrack named Color Me Bad. They aimed to be a vocal group in the vein of New Edition and New Kids on the Block. They first performed together in a school talent show, influenced by doo-wop a cappella groups of the past,Stephen Holden, "The Pop Life," The New York Times, May 8, 1991.Janice Page, "Beyond the Bubble Gum," Los Angeles Times, June 25, 1992. such as Sam Cooke, The Temptations, and the Four Tops.Chuck Taylor, "Color Me Badd Finds New Shades Of Success With Mature 'Remember'," Billboard, August 22, 1998.
The group came up with a plan to spontaneously audition for any big-name acts playing in Oklahoma City. They met Robert Bell of Kool & the Gang on May 27, 1987, when he was in Oklahoma City for a performance. They auditioned for him, and he introduced them to his then-road manager, Adil Bayyan, who would become Color Me Badd's manager and convince them to move to New York City to pursue a record deal.Dennis Hunt, "Hip-Hopping a Cappella in the Streets," Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1992. They also sang for Huey Lewis and the News, Sheila E., and Ronnie Milsap, and opened for Tony! Toni! Toné! in Oklahoma City in 1988.Eric Renner Brown, "Color Me Badd: I Love the 90s tour interview," Entertainment Weekly, April 18, 2016. One afternoon in 1989, Thornton saw Jon Bon Jovi in a movie theater and called the other band members to join him. They waited for Bon Jovi to leave the theater and then sang the 1961 doo-wop hit "Daddy's Home" a cappella for him. Bon Jovi invited them to be his band's opening act the following night, performing in front of 20,000 audience members.
They moved to New York City on September 23, 1989. In 1990, they bumped into Tony! Toni! Toné!, who got them into the ASCAP Music Awards. There, Color Me Badd approached producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and started singing for them. The producers advised that, being a multicultural group, they write a half-English, half-Spanish song. They wrote "I Adore Mi Amor" back in Oklahoma City with their producer and friend Hamza Lee. Giant Records executive Cassandra Mills heard a tape of the band singing the song, and they signed with Giant on August 11, 1990.
1991–1992: C.M.B. After signing with the group, Mills asked producer Dr. Freeze for a song for Color Me Badd to record for the New Jack City soundtrack, similar to "Do Me!" by Bell Biv DeVoe. Freeze offered "I Wanna Sex You Up," which would become Color Me Badd's debut single, released on March 2, 1991.Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, New York: Billboard Books, 2004, p. 802. The song was not originally intended to be a single and had been turned down by other acts including Bell Biv DeVoe, Keith Sweat, and Christopher Williams. The biggest hit on the New Jack City soundtrack, it peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit number 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.Color Me Badd Chart History, Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Billboard. Accessed March 22, 2017. Due to the song's popularity, Giant Records wanted Color Me Badd to quickly record an album. At the time, they only had four or five finished songs. They were flown out to Los Angeles to work in the studio, recording the album in two or three weeks.
Their debut album, C.M.B., was released on July 23, 1991. It went on to sell over 9 million copies worldwide and became certified triple platinum (6x Platinum as of 2025) in the U.S., spending 77 weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 3.Color Me Badd Chart History, Billboard 200, Billboard. Accessed March 22, 2017. "I Wanna Sex You Up" was included on the album. The follow-up single "I Adore Mi Amor" hit number 1 on the Hot 100 and on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, "All 4 Love" hit number 1 on the Hot 100, "Thinkin Back" reached number 16 on the Hot 100 and number 31 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and "Slow Motion" reached number 18 on the Hot 100.Color Me Badd Chart History, Billboard Hot 100, Billboard. Accessed March 22, 2017.
Color Me Badd performed at the 1991 Smash Hits Poll Winners' Awards in the United Kingdom, winning the Best New Group trophy. They won Best R&B/Soul Single and R&B/Soul Song of the Year in the Group, Band, or Duo categories for “I Wanna Sex You Up” at the sixth annual Soul Train Music Awards. They were nominated for Best New Artist and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ("I Wanna Sex You Up") at the 1992 Grammy Awards. They won Favorite Soul/R&B Single at the 1992 American Music Awards for "I Wanna Sex You Up" and were also nominated in that category for "I Adore Mi Amor." They were additionally nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group, Favorite Pop/Rock Single, Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist at the 1992 American Music Awards.Alex Young, "Whatever Happened To: Color Me Badd," Consequence of Sound, May 15, 2010. Color Me Badd opened for Paula Abdul on her 1991 tour, performing some of their set a cappella. The New York Times described the group as "somewhere between George Michael's pop-soul and the group dynamics of The Temptations."Jon Pareles, "High-Tech Toys Make Old-Fashioned Show Biz," The New York Times, November 21, 1991. At halftime of Super Bowl XXVI between the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills on January 26, 1992, the group performed "I Wanna Sex You Up" on In Living Color as part of Fox's counterprogramming special live-from-Hollywood football-themed edition of the show.John J. O’Connor, "The Super Bowl on TV: Too Much Pumping Up?" The New York Times, January 28, 1992.
The group made a cameo appearance on a 1992 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 (season two, episode 26).Rembert Browne, "Rembert Explains the ‘90s: Color Me Badd Visits 90210," Grantland, May 17, 2013. The episode revolved around Color Me Badd, beginning with a clip from the "I Adore Mi Amor" music video. Later in the episode, the 90210 gang stakes out the Bel Age Hotel in hopes of meeting the group, and Kelly visits their penthouse suite. She invites them to join her at the Peach Pit, where they serenade the gang a cappella.
On November 24, 1992, Color Me Badd released a remix album entitled Young, Gifted & Badd: The Remixes. It contained the single "Forever Love," which reached number 15 on the Hot 100 and was also featured on the Mo' Money soundtrack. The remix album peaked at number 189 on the Billboard 200.
1993–1995: Time and Chance Color Me Badd's second studio album, Time and Chance, was released in November 1993. An ambitious project featuring 19 new tracks, the album marked a shift in musical style for the group. Working with producers including David Foster, DJ Pooh, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, it was more soulful and funky than their previous work but lacked a cohesive sound. With the music industry at the time embracing grunge music and West Coast hip hop, it was difficult for Color Me Badd to achieve the same success on the singles charts as before, and the group began to lose momentum.
The album peaked at number 56 on the Billboard 200, spending 17 weeks on the chart and eventually going double platinum. Ice Cube directed the music video for the lead single, the title track "Time and Chance," which peaked at number 23 on the Hot 100 and number 9 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. The follow-up single, "Choose," also peaked at number 23 on the Hot 100.
1996–1998: Later albums and breakup The group re-emerged in 1996 with their third studio album, Now & Forever. Producers included Narada Michael Walden, Babyface, Jon B., and Boyz II Men's Nathan Morris. Now & Forever reached number 113 on the Billboard 200, spending 14 weeks on the chart and eventually going platinum. It reached number 1 in Japan. The album produced one hit single, "The Earth, the Sun, the Rain," which peaked at number 21 on the Hot 100, remaining on the chart for 22 weeks, and reached number 69 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The second single, "Sexual Capacity," produced and co-written by Robin Thicke under the name Rob Thicke, was a minor hit, getting heavy radio airplay on Urban AC stations such as WAMO in Pittsburgh and WHUR in Washington D.C. throughout 1996 and appearing on the soundtrack to the Demi Moore film Striptease. Album sales for Now & Forever were not as strong as their previous albums, and the group was released from their contract with Giant to sign with Epic Records.
After moving to Epic (under Sony Music Entertainment), Color Me Badd's fourth studio album, Awakening, was released on July 28, 1998. Under Sony head Tommy Mottola, the label chose "Remember When" as the album's lead single, which Abrams and Calderon objected to. The song peaked at number 48 on the Hot 100. Around this time, Abrams had developed an alcohol problem, and the group was beginning to fall apart. The newly married Thornton decided to leave the band to pursue a religious ministry, and Watters wanted to go off on his own to write and produce. With Abrams and Calderon the only remaining members, the group split up.
1998–2010: Solo years Kevin Thornton left the group in October 1998 to pursue a Christian ministry. He became a licensed minister and has since served as an evangelist, youth pastor, and worship leader at his home church, Without Walls Church, in Fort Worth, Texas. He operates Kevin Thornton Ministries in Texas. In 2008, he released a solo album, Conversions, blending contemporary hip-hop/rap with gospel and soul music.
Sam Watters pursued a career as a record producer, achieving success producing for Jessica Simpson, Celine Dion, Fantasia, Anastacia, Natasha Bedingfield, Kelly Clarkson, 98 Degrees, Blake Lewis, and others.Michael Aushenker, "Color Me Badd Part of I Love the '90s Tour," Santa Barbara Independent, June 30, 2016. Watters is a member of the production/songwriting team The Runaways, which also includes Rico Love, Wayne Wilkins, Ryan Tedder, and Louis Biancaniello. He married R&B singer and former American Idol contestant Tamyra Gray in 2006.