A few days ago, we shared a statement from Ricky Bell about why New Edition won’t be touring at the moment, and he also addressed whether Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill were really kicked out of the group as reported.
Recently, Bell, along with Bobby Brown, Ronnie DeVoe and Michael Bivins, stopped by TV One’s “Sister Circle Live” to talk about their new group RBRM, and why it’s important for them to have different revenue streams.
Bell was very honest that things can get tough for them financially, because people aren’t always clamoring to see a New Edition, BBD or Bobby Brown show.
“Being in the business for as long as we have, we have experienced that every record is not always a hit; every tour is not always a sell out. Sometimes you have dry seasons. So with that in mind, it’s definitely a smart idea to have [a lot of] revenue streams.”
From the way it looks, New Edition, as the public knows them, is in complete disarray. Reportedly, the main reason has to do with Tresvant and Gill owning the group’s trademark, and they won’t cut the other members in for a piece. However, none of that has been confirmed by either member or their representatives.
All of the fighting might come as a big surprise to folks, after the group seemed united after the success of their biopic “The New Edition Story,” released in 2017. Around that time, they were promoting the film, doing interviews together and said the actors from the movie would be joining them on a tour.
But earlier this month, Bivins took to Instagram and said the members of New Edition weren’t communicating, and the tour wasn’t going to happen. Then just a few days ago, Bell confirmed the cancellation and admitted that the group was in the middle of a dispute. He also denied reports that Tresvant and Gill were kicked out of New Edition.
Later in the “Sister Circle Live interview,” the hosts asked RBRM what still keeps them going after all these years, which some may consider a good question, considering the infighting, dealing with a changing music industry and as Bell admitted, having financial dry spells at times.
“It always comes back to our fans,” answered Bell. “They love us, they support us, whether we have a record out or not, no matter what form we are whether it’s BBD, Bobby, New Edition, Ralph or Johnny, they always show up. And we love what we do. We love to perform, we love to create music and the money is good.”
Bivins added to those words and said despite what New Edition has accomplished, there’s still more rungs on the ladder of success they’d like to climb.
“We was put in this game for a reason,” he explained. “It seems like when we first started coming out the projects and just having “Candy Girl,” we had the best monster to get out the gate and we touched so many lives. But what you were saying about what inspires you? I think it’s what you want out of it. We’re still striving for some things we haven’t received. Regardless to what we have, there’s just some more personal goals.”
You can check out the interview below.
