Day26, 'Forever in a Day'

Release date: April 14, 2009
Record label: Bad Boy
Official Web site: http://www.day26online.com/

The buzz: This R&B quintet was handpicked by music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs during the first season of his MTV show “Making the Band 4” to join the Bad Boy roster. Last year’s eponymous debut peaked at the top of the pop charts, a feat Day26 hope to repeat on this follow-up, “Forever in a Day”—the recording process of which is chronicled on the third season of “MTB4.”

The verdict: Much leaner on ballads than their first release, “Forever in a Day” finds Day26 successfully trying out a few different sounds (the rock-leaning “Stadium Music”) and themes (the mood swings of “Bipolar”). Most of the album clips along at a lively pace, but the faster than average club stylings of “Need That” are so much fun that you won’t really mind guest Jermaine Dupri’s nasal vocal intrusions. Ditto for the contributions of T-Pain (on “Shawty Wats Up”) and Diddy with Yung Joc (on the single “I’mma Put It on Her”): They’re superfluous, and the group doesn’t need them to shine. Despite the many fights shown on TV, these five guys sound unified here.

Did you know? The name Day26 was selected to commemorate Aug. 26, 2007, the date Diddy announced the members of the group.

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