KEY POINTS:
Flashback: It's 1994 and I'm at my Form One social. The glittering lights of the disco ball slow and Boyz II Men echoes through the school hall. Paul Taylor* asks me to dance and my life, for that nanosecond in time, is perfect.
Thirteen years on, Boyz II
Men singer Shawn Stockman says it's stories like that keep him and fellow band members, Wanya and Nathan Morris, going. The highest selling R&B artists in history, it's been 10 years since the group had a number one hit, yet still they continue to tour the world and record new material.
"We've been interwoven in the fabric of people's personal lives and that makes us feel good. We never get tired of people coming up to us and saying 'I danced to Mama with my mother-in-law at my wedding'."
From break-ups to make-ups, Boyz II Men are part of the soundtrack to people's lives, says Stockman, which is why the group has outlasted so many of their contemporaries.
"We've been at people's weddings, their funerals, Mother's Days and Valentine's Days. That never dies. You can always remember the time when you broke up with your first love and played the same song over and over. "
In New Zealand for a five-date tour, Stockman says fans should expect a little bit of everything at tomorrow night's Auckland show. While most people remember the group for the 90s hits End of the Road, I'll Make Love to You and On Bended Knee, the group have released seven studio albums, and are about to release an eighth - The Remedy - which comes out on Valentine's Day this year.
Stockman says people can expect growth from the new album, and not a rehash of their earlier sound.
"We all grow up. As great as the songs were back in 91, 94 and 95, we're not those people anymore. It's a different world and we're different people because of that world and those changes.
"We're human just like everybody else and I think the songs reflect that."
For Stockman, one of the major changes in his life was the birth of his twin sons three years ago.
"We think of things from a different perspective now, not just our own. When we were young and had no responsibilities, we wrote from that angle. Now we have responsibilities, we've got family and people in our lives now, so that changes things."
Another major change to the band was the loss of their fourth member, bass singer Michael McCary, who left the band in 2003 due to health problems.
"We'll always miss Mike because he brought an element that definitely set us apart. We knew it was important to sound the same and we've made sure, vocally, we aren't missing anything," says Stockman.
After 15 years in the industry, he says there are too many highlights to recall just one.
"From performing at the Olympics in 1996 in front of two billion people, to singing with Michael Jackson, meeting Prince and singing for President Clinton six or seven times."
But there are still plenty of goals the band aspire to.
"We still haven't performed in South America yet. It's the only continent we haven't played. We're not on a major label anymore, we're running our own. To get that off the ground and see that succeed will be, for me personally, better than anything else we might have done in the past."
*Name changed to prevent public humiliation.
PERFORMANCE
Who: Boyz II Men play with K-Ci and JoJo
When & where: Auckland's St James tomorrow night; Sportsdome, Rotorua, Monday; TSB Theatre, New Plymouth Thursday Feb 8; Westpac St James, Fri Feb 9
