Stream Day 26’s New Album ‘Day Ones’ + From MTB To Now

Brian Angel, Willie Taylor, Robert Curry, Qwanell “Que” Mosley and Mike “Big Mike” McCluney have reunited!

Our boys Day 26, have released their reunion album “Day Ones,” and nobody has been a day one to Day 26, than like UB has!

We first spoke to the fellas after the “Making The Band” finale and the release of their debut album. Over the years, UB spoke with Day 26 more times and also later conducted solo interviews with Willie and Brian.

In 2009, Day 26 won the BET Award for Best Group. Day 26 made history in 2008 by becoming the biggest selling debut album from a male R&B group, in the 17 year history of SoundScan.

In 2014 when Day 26 released their EP “The Return,” UB was one of the exclusive spots online to stream the project before it was released.

Last month in honor of their 17 year anniversary, Day 26 released “Day Ones” with all five original members via ByUs Entertainment Group.

The album is a great body of work, the fellas really haven’t missed a beat. UB Hot Tracks; “Forget,” “RSVP,” “For Me,” “Relatable,” and “Be A Man.”

Stream The New Album + ReVisit Day 26 UB Interview Excerpts!

August 26, 2006 is the date when five supremely talented young men were chosen by Diddy and MTV viewers around the world on the blockbuster “Making The Band” 4 season finale.

The moniker is a tribute to the day when Brian, Mike, Qwanell, Robert, and Will went from unknowns to stars.

They all hail from different cities but Day 26 all shared a lifelong love of music and a desire to entertain. It’s a passion forged in childhood and with the support of friends, family, and a strong spiritual foundation.

Chi Town’s Will sang in church, local talent shows, and events from grade school to high school graduation. “I didn’t even want to go to school any more,” he admits. “All I wanted to do was sing, and I’d do anything and sing anywhere that would help me achieve my goal.”

Will’s break finally came in 2006 when, while attending a party, a local DJ urged him to audition for MTB4. “He said I had a really good chance of winning the regional competition, and even though I had some doubts, I prayed on it and I won.”

Born in Detroit, Robert was nine when he performed at country star Kenny Rogers’s annual Holiday Show. Sitting in the crowd was a player on baseball’s Detroit Tigers. He asked the youngster to sing the National Anthem at the team’s opening day, making Robert the youngest African-American to receive that honor. “Everyone was screaming and clapping,” Robert recalled, ”and that’s when I knew. That’s when that feeling came over me. There was nothing else in the world that I would rather do than sing.”

Houston native Brian’s first taste of the spotlight came at all of three years old, when he sang (and danced too!) Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” at a local talent show. But Brian almost missed out on the biggest break of his life. “The night before the MTB4 auditions my friends kept calling to ask if I was going to go. I didn’t even know what they were talking about! I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be involved, but, my friends called at 11 pm, and by 1pm the next day I was standing on line.”

Hailing from South Carolina, Michael was just a little kid when he’d watch singers on TV and wish that he could be just like them. After spending years honing his talent, Michael has gotten his wish. “Last year I was working at a plant and now I’m doing what I love to do. I can’t go anywhere without people recognizing me, and I like it. Because that means they’re watching the show.”

Qwanell grew up in Rochester and attended the same music college as ex-Fugee Wyclef Jean. Q was fully committed to getting his education. He’d always wanted to be a star, but he wasn’t sure if it was wise to abandon school for what could be a long shot. As he struggled to make up his mind, he heard about the MTB auditions being held in NYC and like that, his mind was made up. “I just went with my gut and auditioned. Obviously,“ he laughed, “it ended up being a good look.”

UB 2008 Day 26 Interview – Breaks their Silence on the Season Finale of MTB

UrbanBridgez.com: What are the best parts about being on tour?
Day 26 (Michael): Meeting all the new people, seeing what the world has to offer. Seeing our biggest fans every night. Seeing how the next fans are going to top our other fans. It was nice.

Day 26 (Rob): Most exciting part for me, was to get on stage longer than two minutes and doing a long concert.

UrbanBridgez.com: Did anyone have any idea what was going to happen in the season finale of the show?
Day 26 (Michael): No we didn’t know, we was backstage watching it just like y’all.

Day 26 (Brian): It’s sad it ended the way it did. They’re like our sisters. We somewhat looked up to them. They were very successful. But it’s tragic the way it ended.

UrbanBridgez.com: Have any of you guys spoken with Aubrey or D. Woods since the final?
Day 26: No!

Day 26 (Brian): Don’t get us wrong we love them, we’re still family.

Day 26 (Michael): They have a lot of problems right now. We don’t wanna be in their problems so they don’t leak on to us. So we don’t want none of them problems. We trying to stay away from the problems.

UrbanBridgez.com: Do any of you ever worry about having to replace members or loosing members in the future with Day 26?
Day 26: No not at all!

Day 26 (Brian): We like the Beyonce’ remix, we ain’t replaceable (laughs).

UrbanBridgez.com: Q, Do you ever get tired of living your personal relationship with Dawn on TV?
Day 26 (Q): I mean what you guys see on TV… You guys don’t really see my whole relationship. You see times with me and my girl. What people see and say don’t really effect me. I don’t care what people have to say.

UrbanBridgez.com: When will fans get a new album?
Day 26: Next summer, the new album will be out!

UrbanBridgez.com: What difference will fans get with the sophomore release from they didn’t get with the debut?
Day 26 (Brian): We’re doing a lot of writing on the next album, Will has had some songs placed before. We plan on revealing a lot more of who Day 26 is. The individual sides. Like Rob and Q have a clothing coming out pretty soon. So you gonna see a whole different look next time. It’s gonna be Day 26, but like Day 26 on steroids (laughs).

UrbanBridgez.com: Any up-coming collaborations or any wish list for the future?
Day 26: We recently did a song with Murphy Lee & we want to work with Polow and T-Pain.

UrbanBridgez.com: Who spends the most time in the gym?
Day 26: Will!

UrbanBridgez.com: Will, Do you keep in touch with the members from your previous group (Kwiet Storm) and do you think being in that situation prepared you properly for your role in Day 26?
Day 26 (Will): I do keep in touch with members of Kwiet Storm, they’re like my brothers, I don’t talk with them every day or as much as I used to. They’re down in Atlanta, they’re working with people down there & starting up their careers. It did prepare me for Day 26, as it was all I knew before now.

UrbanBridgez.com: Any last words for your fans?
Day 26: Thank you to the fans, and go out and buy the album, if you have the album Re-Buy the album, tell your mother sister grandmother to buy the album!

UB 2009 Day 26 Interview in Support of “Forever in a Day”

UrbanBridgez.com: So the new album comes out Tuesday, I know you guys are excited… what’s different about this album from your debut, in terms of sound and your own personal involvement with the album?
Will: I feel like the difference is we wanted to go more club oriented, as you can see on the show. We wanted to knock the club doors down with this album, we feel like we missed that as a group the last album. On the flipside, we get a lot of the rights on this album, the majority of the rights. We did some co-production. We just wanted to show the world what Day26 really was. The first album was really catered to singing, letting the world know that we’re real artists and we can get down. This album is just about great music–showing the world we can make you dance with this great sound, we can make you slow down with this new sound. We wanted to step away from the comparisons to Boyz II Men, Jodeci, 112, we want everybody to see DAY26!

UrbanBridgez.com: Who didn’t you get a chance to work with this time, you would like to work with next time?
Brian: We wanted to work with Timbaland, Lil Wayne of course, Weezy is just everywhere.

Will: Yeah we wanted to get in with Dream… we wanted to do Rodney Jerkins. Due to time constraints, some producers we did get a chance to work with, those songs didn’t make the album because of how late we did it… so we’ll actually get back with them on the third album.

UrbanBridgez.com: What’s the best advice Diddy has given you guys?
Will: There’s always somebody tryin’ to take your spot!

Brian: That is the best advice. That stays with us. At the end of the day, when you’re sleeping, there’s another group out there doing everything that you supposed to be doing while you sleeping, so why sleep? You sleep when you dead and that’s what we do!

Will: And that’s not even just in music, that’s in radio, and TV–it’s always somebody in life trying to take your spot, so you really gotta stay on you’re A-game. If you think like that you will never lose. Even if there isn’t anybody working to take your spot, just that thought will keep you moving.

UrbanBridgez.com: How do you guys feel about the editing of MTB when it airs?
Brian: You know what man, everything on that show is 100 percent real… that’s our lives. But the thing is, we film over 2 months. Y’all only see about, what–8 or 9 hours–so when somebody’s mad, they cramming all that anger into one episode, so you’re over there watching TV like ‘Damn he’s trippin’’… and he is, but it’s not really that bad!

UrbanBridgez.com: Do you guys ever sit down to watch old episodes or old seasons?
Brian: I haven’t had a chance to but I have old seasons at home, I’d like to watch them sometime, to see how things have changed and we’ve grown…

Will: Everybody goes through some differences, now we just gotta figure this thing out, but now I think we’re stronger than ever, we gonna be around for a long time.

Brian: Will, you changed since you made the band!

Will: Thank you.

UrbanBridgez.com: In an interview that Dawn did recently, she mentioned that many of your industry peers didn’t treat DK with the same respect, or take them seriously, because you guys were formed on a reality show? Do you guys feel this way as well? Do you ever wish you weren’t on a show?

Will: We did, at first.

Brian: But you know, surprisingly, when I met my idol K-Ci Ailey of K-Ci and Jojo, when he came to us and was like, “I love y’all’s album, I love y’all’s music, y’all are doin’ your thing. I cannot get enough of your album”… That right there changed everything, ‘cause this is my IDOL! I remember growing up and trying my hardest to sound like him, and now he respects what I do, our music. That right there was an honor in itself, and that let me know that regardless of what anybody says, whether they take it seriously or not…if they don’t take it serious they’re hating. Don’t look at how we got in the game, look at what we’re doing in the game–our music. Don’t worry about how we got in.

Will: Yeah and that’s the truth like what Brian was saying, and our first album we marked ourselves, to make sure that people understood what the brand was, we were creating a brand. We gotta let ‘em know who we were. For this new album, we just want to show the world our new brand, our brand of us just getting out there and you knowing that we write, we produce, we sing, we can hold ourselves–

Brian: WE STRIP, WE STRIP! We do it all! When y’all come to the show! The next show!

Will: Even with Bad Boy, they understand the brand now. Our contract no longer even reads like we came from a reality TV show, so now we’re treated like we feel we need to be treated. Now we’re just artists that have a reality TV show, like Keyshia Cole is doing one, Ray J is doing one…

UrbanBridgez.com: Which of you guys are on Twitter?
Brian: All of us except Mike. Will’s twitter is will_day26, and Q is my_worldQ, mine is brianangel, and Robert is Robert_day26.

UrbanBridgez.com: What is it about Twitter that is so addictive?
Brian: Because it’s like you’re talking to your fans directly. We will all be like, “You know what, the next 10 people to send me your numbers, we’ll call you, and the fans actually send their numbers and we call them, and we conversate with them, and they’ll be like, “Wow y’all are so down to earth so humble, I never expected or anybody to call me.” It’s just a good way to keep in touch with our fans and be more on a personal level with our fans, I love it. Like, Diddy stays on it all the damn time, Diddy will be in the middle of the club, and he’ll stop, and he’ll start twitting!

UrbanBridgez.com: What is your favorite city to visit?
Brian: My hometown, Houston, they show crazy love. We started our promo tour in Atlanta, from there we went to Houston and then Dallas—Dallas is like my 2nd home—we’ve been to Detroit, Rob’s old home… All of our hometowns, it’s always a little crazier there, than visiting any regular city.

UrbanBridgez.com: What’s next for you guys outside of the release of the album?
Brian: We’re all doing our other things as well, like, Will is doing a clothing line called RIP IT OFF, it’s a female clothing line. You should hear of it real soon. Collectively we have a clothing line called 826 Boys, we’re ready to have a high heel shoe coming out soon as well. I know Rob and Q, they have a clothing line called EMO, real high fashion, it’s really dope. Myself, I’m a CEO of my own record company, and I have like, crazy, crazy acts that I’m getting ready to drop. So yeah, I mean we’re artists but also entrepreneurs and we’re all involved in each other’s endeavors. Keep it all in the family, making sure that if I’m eating, I’m gonna make sure my brother is eating as well! And vice versa. That’s something that’s real special about Day26. Y’all might see fuss and fight on television, but at the end of the day we love each other. And that’s a side that people don’t really get to see. Day26 is forever, we all got tattoos on our arms or somewhere on our body, Day26 is real. I’m not sure a lot of people take it seriously but we take it seriously! We here to stay, it’s forever!

UrbanBridgez.com: It’s actually forever and a day…
Brian: And do you know how long forever and a day is?

UrbanBridgez.com: I’d imagine a long long time… forever ever ever…
Brian: Yeah, it’s forever, but then PLUS another day!

UrbanBridgez.com: Any last words for your fans?
Brian: (yelling) WE LOVE YA! GET THE ALBUM! BUY MY RECORD!

UB 2010 Willie Taylor Interview

UrbanBridgez.com: Do you have any future plans on releasing a full solo release between Day 26 projects?
Willie Taylor: Well nah, not right now. Right now it’s all Day 26! This was just something I was doing off to the side, just to let the world know I was a writer also. We’re actually suppose to get back in the studio in a few weeks. To start working on the third album and I’m really excited to be going back into the studio with the guys. We’re gonna get it crackin, I know the fans are waiting on it.

UrbanBridgez.com: You’re also an accomplished songwriter, have you been writing for other artists lately as well?
Willie Taylor: Well no, not really. I shut the studio down really to just focus and do the music I wanted to do for the mixtape. So recently no I haven’t been in with anybody but now that I’m finished. I’m ready to jump back in the studio with some artists and create stuff for other people.

UrbanBridgez.com: Was it hard for you & Day 26 to announce to the fans that Que was no longer in the group?
Willie Taylor: That was hard, the hardest thing! Just for us to even get to that point was hard for us. Just getting to the point of having to remove a member from the group is going to be hard. We didn’t want to do it ourselves & we didn’t want to have to bring it to our fans. Who have supported us through whatever. So nothing was easy in that situation at all! We do want to wish him the best of luck man. We want him to keep going, but at the end of the day it’s a business! It’s nothing personal.

UrbanBridgez.com: When can fans expect a new Day 26 album and what direction are you guys going in with the new release after loosing a member and growing as a group?
Willie Taylor: They can most def look for the album sometime this year, later on in the year! As far as direction wise, we’re going to all figure it out. At the end of the day, it’s going to be a combination of what we gave with album #1 and album #2. We pretty much know what the fans are looking from us now. We just want to go and cater to that and come up with the hit records that they need for us to have, you know.

UrbanBridgez.com: You guys are up for an NAACP Image Award this year, do you guys plan on attending the awards?
Willie Taylor: Yeah most def we’ll be there! Anytime we’re nominated that’s when we’re in the building (laughs). We’re very excited about that man, anytime we’re nominated for anything we’re excited. Because we came from a TV show where people tried to count us out. So for us to be nominated for things and winning things like BET awards for Best Group and things like that, it really means alot to us. People don’t understand or some forget. Like with me I was grinding 9 years going into Making The Band, so that’s 9 years that they never saw. They only see what they see on TV but they don’t know I was a starving artist, I lived out of my car, I did the whole nine yards. This was my dream, and that’s the same thing I can say for my brothers. We really want it in a whole other way, so when we get nominated it’s always a blessing.

UrbanBridgez.com: What’s the best and worst parts about being in the music industry right now?
Willie Taylor: Worst part is the album sales, you know. Sales are down! But I guess the best part is just being out there. For me, when you dream about something your whole life and you’re able to reach many people and many fans. And people anticipating things coming out from you & having that channel I guess is really the best part for me. To show the world what you can do!

UrbanBridgez.com: You’ve made headlines on many blogs in recent months, how did you deal with it all, the good and bad?
Willie Taylor: Well you know at the end of the day, as long as they’re talking you know. I remember a time when nobody gave a hell who Willie Taylor was, you know what I mean. But they’re talking, something’s are in the good and some are in the bad, but people always wanna tear you down when they feel like you’re doing something good. I’m human too, so things people say at times does hurt, but they have to understand if they was in my shoes how would they feel? I think half of the people (bloggers) wouldn’t even do half of the stuff they do, if they were in the position I am and have to deal with some of the things I do. You feel me!

UB 2012 Brian Angel Interview

UrbanBridgez.com: You’re gearing up to release your first solo single. Tell fans what they can expect from it?
Brian Angel: Just the real Brian, the fun upbeat Brian. All of the people that really rock with me, they’ll get it you know. They’ll get the reason why I choose this song to release first. That’s pretty much what it is.

UrbanBridgez.com: Many people call you the voice of Day 26, what difference will we get from your upcoming mixtape that separates it from the sound you helped create in Day 26?
Brian Angel: I really want to address the whole voice of Day 26. I feel like everybody played a huge role with the sound of Day 26. They’re extremely talented guys, even Que. So as far as me being the voice of the group I was just apart of it, not the voice. As far as my sound, I can say they’re going to get that real heartfelt R&B. The realness I feel like R&B has been missing for quite sometime now.

UrbanBridgez.com: You and the fellas of Day 26 officially announced your separation so to speak recently, was it a hard decision to come to?
Brian Angel: To be honest with you, I’m not going to sit up here and lie to you. I never wanted Day 26 to end, that was never in my mind, that was never anything that has come out of my mouth. I’m still reppin Day 26 till the day I die. I got a tattoo on my skin. But I think it was something the rest of the group members decided on their own. There is this thing we have as far as majority rules, as far as voting is concerned. I guess they kind of did that without consulting with me. So it is what it is.

UrbanBridgez.com: We spoke with Willie and he gave us his side, what’s your side on why the group didn’t work out?
Brian Angel: There is always three sides to a story you know. His side, my side and somewhere in the middle is the truth! I’m going to keep it as real with you as possible. I felt like there was a need for me to find new management. I didn’t go off and sign a solo deal like the rumors were saying. Like I said before I didn’t want to leave Day 26, it was just a situation where I decided to change managements. I even went to the guys several times about getting new management, getting new management! They were pretty much happy with the way that management was working, but I wasn’t. So I took the step to find new management, I think the guys were upset about that. They took it as I was trying to leave the group, never once did I say I wanted to leave the group. Still till this day I would never say anything bad about any of those guys. They’re super talented, those are my brothers whether they claim me or not. We went through a whole lot together and that’s something that I could never forget and it’s something that I will hold on to for the rest of my life. I just wasn’t happy with the way management was at that time.

UrbanBridgez.com: I was talking to someone who was with you in the studio recently who shared with me that you felt that way as well. Do you think because of your issues with management that you were singled out because they didn’t feel that way?
Brian Angel: The thing is I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. But I guess due to “loyalty,” they was still there so I guess they were trying to ride this thing out. I just couldn’t sit there and take whatever was given to me. I’m sorry I just couldn’t and I want to apologize to all of my supporters, I don’t like calling them my fans so I call them my fams. Because I feel like they’re my extended family. So I want to apologize to the ones who think I’m the reason the group broke up. I wasn’t, we was a group that was constantly growing. Super talented guys, everybody wrote, some produced, some of us act, so we were constantly growing. I don’t feel like we’re totally over, I feel like this is a growing period for us to go out and do our thing. I wouldn’t doubt in the future that Day 26 will get back together and do another album.

UrbanBridgez.com: Willie also told us he felt the same way, some of the things he said kind of geared towards the fact it seemed like it was every man for himself. Do you agree with that?
Brian Angel: I don’t think that fully. We know how the group was put together, it was competition, competition, competition! I think some of us never got out of competition mode. I’m not going to say any names, but I for one was for the group. I was also the one if there was a problem or something I didn’t agree on I always spoke my mind. I’m a firm believer in a closed mouth doesn’t get fed. There were issues that would come about and I would address them immediately. Once you let things sit and simmer, all that does is build up and that person will eventually break down. I’m not that person. It might have seemed like I was the problem in the group, but I really wasn’t. There were just issues that needed to be handled. We were brothers but at the same time it’s business. You can’t let your business be any type of way, I like mine to be in order!

UrbanBridgez.com: Was it something so bad that the group had to part, it couldn’t of been fixed?
Brian Angel: Definitely, it was something we could of fixed. But the group had to fix it, not anybody from the outside. It’s not where I can’t stand them or want to be around them. They’re my brothers till the end. It was just a situation I felt like outside people involved kind of tampered with some of the guys decisions. My problem was never with anyone in the group. I know there was a comment about me being jealous never on my years of being on Gods green earth have I ever been jealous of another man. I have no reason to be jealous, I am blessed. I have a great family, I’m blessed to do something that God has blessed me with and I’ve dreamed of all my life. So the jealousy thing was put into someone’s head to believe that. It’s all about divide and conquer, that’s the reason I stepped away from our management and got new management.

UrbanBridgez.com: What’s the biggest life lesson and business lesson you learned while being in Day 26?
Brian Angel: Biggest life lesson, is not everybody is your friend. You can be with a person way more than you are with your friends and this person say I love you, you my boy, I got your back, etc. And they can be on some sneaky, snake type of thing. I’m not saying members in the group was that because they weren’t. But as far as the Day 26 situation that’s something that I’ve learned. Being apart of the group was amazing to me and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I can’t wait to get back with my brothers and do it the way it needs to be done.