II (Boyz II Men album)

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Untitled

II is the second studio album by American R&B quartet Boyz II Men, released on August 30, 1994 on Motown Records.[1] It contained the No. 1 singles "I'll Make Love to You" and "On Bended Knee", the latter of which replaced the former at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, making the group the third artist to replace themselves at No. 1 in the United States after Elvis Presley and The Beatles and the first to achieve the feat in 30 years.

"I'll Make Love to You" also spent 14 weeks at the top of the Hot 100 making them the first artist to achieve consecutive double digit runs at the top, with their prior single "End of the Road" topping the charts for 13 weeks and also equaled the record set by Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" for the longest run at the top, a record which they held previously with "End of the Road". Other singles released achieved major success, including "Water Runs Dry", which reached No. 2, and "Thank You", which reached No. 21. "Vibin'", however, only reached No. 52.[2]

The spoken track "Khalil (Interlude)" is a tribute to their road manager Khalil Roundtree who was shot in Chicago, Illinois while the band was opening for MC Hammer's Too Legit to Quit tour.[3] II became the inaugural winner of the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, first presented at the 37th Grammy Awards in 1995.

According to producer Bob Robinson of the duo Tim & Bob, he and his partner Tim Kelley were asked by Boyz II Men to produce most of II. However, Motown Records then-president Jheryl Busby didn't feel comfortable with the idea of two unknown producers dominating a second album from a group that was one of the biggest acts in the world at the time.[4] As a result, Busby brought in Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Babyface to deliver hit singles for the project. Busby insisted on "I'll Make Love to You" being the first single, despite objections from the group- who felt there were songs that could have been much stronger singles.[5] Ironically, the song went on to become one of Boyz II Men's biggest hits.

Over 20 songs were produced by Tim & Bob for II, but most of them never made the final track listing.[6] Two of the songs Tim & Bob produced - "Now That We're Done" and "Can I Touch You" - ended up on 112's 1996 self-titled debut.[7]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
Entertainment WeeklyA[9][10]
Robert Christgau(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[11]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]

The album debuted at No. 1 in the Billboard 200 with 350,000 copies sold. It spent a total of five weeks at No. 1 and was the third best-selling album in 1995 in the United States and sold 12 million copies in the United States.

It did not make a huge impact in the United Kingdom, where it only made No. 17 on the UK Albums Chart. A Spanish language version, II: Yo Te Voy a Amar, was also issued. The album also won Best R&B Album at the 37th Grammy Awards.

Track listing

  1. "Thank You" (Michael S. McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Dallas Austin) – 4:34
  2. "All Around the World" (James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Michael S. McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Glenn "Daddy-O" Bolton) – 4:56
  3. "U Know" (Michael S. McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) – 4:46
  4. "Vibin'" (Michael S. McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) – 4:26
  5. "I Sit Away" (Tony Rich) – 4:34
  6. "Jezzebel" (Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Troy Taylor, Charles Farrar) – 6:06
  7. "Khalil (Interlude)" (Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) – 1:41
  8. "Trying Times" (Wanya Morris, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) – 5:23
  9. "I'll Make Love to You" (Babyface) – 4:07
  10. "On Bended Knee" (James Harris III, Terry Lewis) – 5:29
  11. "50 Candles" (Shawn Stockman, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) – 5:06
  12. "Water Runs Dry" (Babyface) – 3:22
  13. "Yesterday" (McCartney–Lennon) – 3:07
International edition
  2. "Falling" (Brian McKnight, Brandon Barnes) – 4:09

Samples

Charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position[14]
Australian Albums Chart 4
Canadian Albums Chart 3
Dutch Albums Chart 7
European Albums Chart[15] 16
French Albums Chart[16] 1
German Albums Chart 18
Japanese Albums Chart[17] 9
New Zealand Albums Chart 1
Spanish Albums Chart[18] 13
Swedish Albums Chart 20
Swiss Albums Chart 21
UK Albums Chart[19] 17
U.S. Billboard 200 1
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 1

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[20] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[21] 5× Platinum 500,000^
France (SNEP)[22] Platinum 300,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[23] Gold 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[24] Platinum 15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[25] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] 12× Platinum 12,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[28] Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999) Position
U.S. Billboard 200[29] 13
Preceded by
The Lion King (soundtrack) by Various artists
From the Cradle by Eric Clapton
Monster by R.E.M.
The Hits by Garth Brooks
 Billboard 200 number-one album
September 17–30, 1994
October 8–14, 1994
October 29–November 4, 1994
March 11–17, 1995 		Succeeded by

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
United States August 30, 1994 Motown Records Cassette, CD
United Kingdom September 12, 1994 Motown Records Cassette, CD

See also

References

  1. ^ Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men's II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men's II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men's II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men's II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men's II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men's II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ^ Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men's II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "II". Allmusic. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  9. ^ "II Review". Entertainment Weekly. September 9, 1994: 83. Retrieved 2012-06-30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ "Boyz II Men - II CD Album". CDUniverse.com. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
  11. ^ "CG: Artist 182". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  12. ^ Evans, Paul (1994-12-29). "Boyz II Men: II : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2012-06-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 100. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  14. ^ http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Boyz+II+Men&titel=II&cat=a
  15. ^ http://books.google.ca/books?id=YQgEAAAAMBAJ&lr=&rview=1%7Ctitle=Hits of the World - Eurochart|work=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|date=22 October 1994|accessdate=25 July 2012
  16. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?lr=&rview=1&id=sAsEAAAAMBAJ&q=boyz+ii+men#v=snippet&q=boyz%20ii%20men&f=false
  17. ^ http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/154394/ranking/cd_album/
  18. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  19. ^ "Boyz II Men - II". Chart Stats. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  20. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1995 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  21. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Boyz II Men – II". Music Canada. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  22. ^ "French album certifications – Boyz II Men – II" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  23. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Boyz II Men – Boyz II Men" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  24. ^ THE FIELD id (chart number) MUST BE PROVIDED for NEW ZEALAND CERTIFICATION.
  25. ^ certweek IS REQUIRED for SPANISH CERTIFICATION.
  26. ^ "British album certifications – Boyz II Men – II". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2012. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type II in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  27. ^ "American album certifications – Boyz II Men – II". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  28. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1996". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  29. ^ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010. {{cite book}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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