II (Boyz II Men album)
| II | ||||
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| Studio album by Boyz II Men | ||||
| Released | August 30, 1994 (Release history) |
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| Recorded | December 1993—May 1994 | |||
| Studio | Kajem Studios, Studio 4 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Doppler Studios, D.A.R.P. Studios, Studio LaCoCo in Atlanta, Georgia The Enterprises, Encore Studios in Burbank, California Flyte Tyme Studios in Edina, Minnesota Larrabee Sound Studios, Skip Saylor Recording, Lighthouse Studios in Los Angeles, California Backroom Studios in Glendale, California Granny's House Studios in Reno, Nevada |
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| Genre | R&B, pop, soul, hip hop soul | |||
| Length | 57:31 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Producer | Dallas Austin, Babyface, Boyz II Men (also exec.), Jheryl Busby (exec.), The Characters, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Brian McKnight, L.A. Reid, Tony Rich, Tim Kelley & Bob Robinson | |||
| Boyz II Men chronology | ||||
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| Singles from II | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Entertainment Weekly | A |
| Robert Christgau |  |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable) |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  |
II is the second studio album by American R&B quartet Boyz II Men, released on August 30, 1994 on Motown Records. 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.
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.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. 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. Ironically, the song went on to become one of Boyz II Men's biggest hits.
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