Stream B5’s New EP ‘Still Think About You’ + UB Roll-Out Interview

Dustin, Kelly, Patrick, Carnell, and Bryan, known collectively as B5 have returned!

This year the fellas of B5 returned with the hot new EP “Still Think About You.”

This summer will mark the 20th Anniversary of their debut self-titled album, released July 19, 2005.

UB was there from the start! We helped roll-out the group via Bad Boy Entertainment, with an exclusive interview.

The new EP is very distinctive to the B5 sound, fans have grown to love.

Without ever missing a beat, as B5 was born to do this. “Still Think About You” is a great R&B commodity to your playlist.

UB Hot Tracks; “Nervous,” “Deep,” “Lose Your Love,” and “Spooky.”

B5 have grown up in the music business.

In every family there’s usually one kid that stands out; one that has exceptional talent, dashing good looks and irresistible charm.

Not so in this family. Most would agree that of the five boys born to Adrian Breeding not one of them stands out. They all do.

At the time; Dustin, 17, Kelly, 16, Patrick, 15, Carnell, 14, and Bryan 11, known collectively as B5, merge the old school flair and finesse of the Jackson 5 with the pop appeal of N’Sync and the raw energy of New Edition to create a musical phenomenon that carved a unique niche in the music industry.

The five brothers grew up in Kansas in very tough circumstances, before moving to Florida, then Atlanta, where they’ve made their home since 2001.

Originally known as “TNT Boyz“, B5 started performing professionally very early, at the urging of the boys’ mom and aunt. The boys did the usual run of talent competitions, winning most of them, including shows put together by Radio Disney.

Later the group’s name changed to B5 when younger brother Bryan joined the lineup. “As we were looking for a name everybody kept saying ‘Man these kids are like the new generation Jackson Five’ and, of course, the Jackson Five were J5 and the boys’ last name is Breeding, so we made it B5,” stated manager at the time Jim McMahan.

B5 continued to do shows and make the rounds throughout the music industry, performing with the likes of Mario Winans, Kanye West, Ginuwine, Usher, Fantasia, Bow Wow, Joe and others.

The dazzling quintet even hit Monte Carlo and performed for Prince Albert of Monaco. On a vacation trip through Atlanta in 2001, B5 was introduced to executive producer Kevin Wales of “World Wide Entertainment,” who signed the group and knew the perfect distribution for the boys.

That’s when B5 landed on the doorstep of Bad Boy Entertainment.

At the time, describing them as the group that fills a void in the music industry, Sean Combs and his team pulled out all the stops when it came to B5, hooking them up with some of the top producers in the business, among them Rodney Jerkins, Ryan Leslie, Sean Garrett, Corna Boyz, and Veit Renn.

The lead single, “All I Do,” originally recorded by the Jackson 5 and covered by TROOP in 1990, found the boys pouring their hearts out to that special girl.

They said Rodney Jerkins suggested the song to them and they recorded it without hearing either of the other two versions although Patrick acknowledges that their version is more reminiscent of the TROOP cover, than of the J5 original.

In true teenage boy fashion, B5 spent the better part of their debut album talking to and about girls and having fun. The debut album was mostly up-tempo.

The debut featured the hit singles “All I Do” and “U Got Me.”

Patrick slowed the pace on the solid ballad, “Teacher’s Pet.” “It’s about a boy liking a girl but then he finds out she’s his substitute teacher,” he explained in the groups bio.

While B5 certainly delivered the goods in the recording studio, the full brunt of their powerful punch can only be felt in person.

On stage, B5 is alternately a classic group of male crooners, a posse of supercharged free styling B-Boys, and a team of acrobatic daredevils literally flipping from one end of the stage to the next.

Off stage, the boys were regular teenagers who, as Patrick, the comedian of the group, noted, like “girls, shoes and clothes.” Each of the boys brought their own flavor to the table both as artists and as individuals.

Dustin, the eldest brother, summed it up: “Kelly is a little bit of a rebel. He Breaks down the raps and writes most of his own stuff. The rest of us all sing lead. Patrick does a lot of the choreography; Carnell is more laidback and hits those really high notes. He also works on choreography. Everybody loves little bro Bryan! He puts a lot of emotion into his singing and the girls love that,” Dustin teased. “Dustin is kinda the all around guy,” Added Carnell. “He not only helps with putting the shows together but he also tries to keep us in line.”

As a group, B5 is totally synchronized and unified on stage. As brothers, they’re even tighter. Stated Patrick, “All brothers and sisters have arguments. We don’t fight but we do have disagreements.” Kelly added, “We just argue about stupid stuff sometimes but that’s just brotherly love.” Bryan agrees: “Yeah. We’re a real close family.”

Their self-titled debut album was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard 200 and peaked at #7 on the Top R&B;/Hip Hop Chart.

B5‘s images graced fanzine covers month after month and they created a frenzy everywhere they went.

In our own Twin Cities, B5 even caused the shut down of Brookdale Center Mall for hours, when 3,000 fans rushed the stage during a free concert here. Grabbing at the band members’ clothing and overwhelming the small team of security guards.

B5 Further expanded their fanbase in 2006, when they appeared on the 4x platinum “High School Musical” soundtrack with the song “Get’cha Head in The Game.” “Get’cha Head in The Game” went from #100 to #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 in its second week of release.

B5 spent the summer of 2006 traveling across the country on a 30-city bus tour sponsored by the Russ Parr Morning show and packed the house in every city.

Their sophomore album “Don’t Talk, Just Listen,” was released September 10, 2007. Instantly known from TROOP‘s “Young Girl” and Jodeci‘s “Stay,” the title said it all.

Co-Executive Producer Kevin Wales had a great idea and after discussing it with the group they all knew the title was right. Dustin explained, “We came up with that title because we want people to let go of their old notions about who we are and listen to what we have to say.”

And what the boys were saying is pretty much what you’d expect of teenage boys on the verge of manhood. “It’s still clean music but it has more of an edge,” stated Kelly. “We’re not talking about how we can’t wait to see a girl in school the next day [as in their 2005 single, All I Do], we’re talking about chilling and dancing in the clubs; we’re talking about girls, like all teenagers do.”

On “Don’t Talk..” B5 cleverly navigated the vast emotional terrain of love and relationships, unleashing an array of stories, many of them taken from their own experiences. “Erica Kane” was just one example of the broad scope of experiences the Breeding brothers shared.

While they held onto much of who they were when fans first met them, it’s clear that the brothers were ready to push the envelope. “It’s been two years since our first album,” said Dustin. “We were younger back then but with this album we had more say-so in terms of what we wanted to do. From this album you’ll get to see more of the real side of B5.” Carnell adds, “We’re growing up and we know the fans are growing up with us.”

“Hydrolics,” featured Bow Wow, was the first single from the album and a glimpse into “Don’t Talk….”

“Hydrolics” took listeners straight to the club with a real low Dirty South beat. One of Kelly‘s and UB‘s favorites “In My Bedroom,” was produced by Michka. “It’s about a dude who breaks up with his girl and he’s sitting in his bedroom wishing he could get back with her,” Kelly explained.

Co-written by the boys and producer Blaze, “Incredible” extols the virtues of a beautiful woman. In that same vein are the tracks “She’s Got it Like That” and the Underdogs collabo, “Things I’ll Do For My Girl,” all clear examples that B5 love to give the ladies their props.

The edgy Insomniax production “Rock Star” and provocative “Right to Left” (the Adonis/Bryan Michael Cox production) helped round out the set.

But even as the brothers ventured off into a more mature sound, they didn’t plan to stray so far off course that they lost sight of the ship that brought them to the shores of success. “Disney has been good to us over the past two years. They’ve given us a lot of work and they’ve allowed us to do a lot more to spread our wings, but we also have to show our growth,” stated Kelly.

Despite the Disney success, carefully orchestrated by manager Jim McMahan, the boys know that not everyone gets the connection. “Our older fans think that because we’re doing Disney stuff we’re selling out but it’s nothing like that,” Kelly stated. “Disney is another opportunity for us to widen our fan base. Not many artists get to do Disney and then do BET, MTV, etc. They usually do one or the other! Why would we not want to do that? We’re not selling out. We’re just expanding.”

As the boys spread their wings they are hoping that their fans will get to know them better. “People don’t really know who we are; they don’t know how we grew up,” stated Carnell as he explained that the five boys and their mother Adrian once shared a three-bedroom house with their grandmother, their aunt and nine other cousins. “People think we grew up in the suburbs and were pampered all our lives,” says Kelly. “We had a hard life,” says Dustin. “We grew up living off oranges and Ramen noodles, but we learned to work hard and be thankful because it could have been even worse.”

Even though those days are long gone, the Breedings have never lost sight of their struggle or their identity.

B5 has developed a crowd-pleasing, choreographed show that highlights their abilities to entertain a loyal fan base that follows them on all over social media.

In 2013 they released “Say Yes,” the juxtaposes old-school street corner doo-wop with rich, flavorful harmonies. Produced by U.K.-based Harmony Samuels.

Being part of a family provides both incentive and a comfort level for the members of B5.

“We’re brothers, but we’re best friends, too,” Patrick stated. “We’ve gotten even closer as we’ve grown older. We’re also very competitive with one another. We push ourselves to be better. That’s what helps us stay fresh. At the end of the day, we want to make a great record with classic, timeless songs.”

B5’s sound continues to evolve and resonate with fans around the globe.

Singles such as “Do That” and “Wave” have over 3 million views.

UB expects the blazin’ new EP “Still Think About You,” to follow suit.

UB has been there from the start, with B5. During our partnership with Bad Boy Entertainment.

We were honored to be one of the first press outlets to speak to the fellas, before the release of their debut album.

Taking place a few weeks before the release of their album, in July 2005.

From the start, we knew the guys were here to stay. We learned early, not only could they sing & dance, but they brought the energy and intellect as well.

The guys tell UB about their start, and musical influences. Plus they speak on boy bands and songwriting.

B5 also showed their aspiration for legendary Michael Jackson, while he was going through his court trial at the time.

ReVisit The Roll-Out Interview of B5!

UrbanBridgez.com: Dustin, being that you’re the oldest in the group how does that make you feel, seeing as the youngest member is 11 years old?
B5 (Dustin): I dunno. I’ve never been asked that before. That’s a good question. I just watch out for my younger brothers all the time.
B5 (Bryan): Oh, and I’m 10 not 11 (laughing).

UrbanBridgez.com: Now that you’re in the music industry, is it what you thought it would be?
B5 (Patrick): We knew it would be a lot of hard work, a lot of no sleeping, a lot of traveling but we knew how it was gonna be because when we first got into it we knew it was not going to be easy. It’s really hard. If you give it 110% every day that you’re doing it the result will definitely be good. So we just work hard.

UrbanBridgez.com: How do you balance school and being on tour, etc…? ?
B5 (Kelly): When we’re back home in Atlanta we go to this school called Atlanta Country Day School. They provide a tutor that goes out with us when we travel around so when we’re not there we usually have a tutor that comes with us. We don’t get a Spring Break or anything so while everybody else is having fun, were still studying and doing school work.

UrbanBridgez.com: Do you see this as being a career or just something for a while?
B5 (Bryan): I want to do this for a really long time until I’m like 20 years old.

UrbanBridgez.com: What are some of your musical influences?
B5 (Carnell): Michael Jackson, Usher.
B5 (Patrick): Black Eyed Peas, Missy Elliott. Her new song is hot with Ciara.
B5 (Dustin): I listen to a lot of Jay-Z and Outkast. Common is really good.
B5 (Patrick & Bryan): We listen to everybody. We don’t just listen to just one type of music. We listen to R&B; and Pop. Kelly listens to County & Rock music.
B5 (Kelly): I don’t listen to no country, you crazy.

UrbanBridgez.com: Do you have any collaborations on the album with any other artist?
B5 (Patrick): On this album it’s just all B5. We were thinking about having other dudes rap on this album but we figured this is just gonna be us. The next album we come out with we may think about who we will want to collaborate with.

UrbanBridgez.com: How long did you rehearse the sharp dance routine for “U Got Me,” before taking it in front of the cameras?
B5 (Kelly): We rehearsed that song for like two weeks straight, 12 hours a day. It was crazy. We had a deadline so we had to rush rush rush and make sure we had all the routines down right.

UrbanBridgez.com: Do you all have the same father?
B5 (Patrick): Yes! We all have the same daddies.

UrbanBridgez.com: How hard is it coming into the music industry already having the ‘boy band’ stereotypes floating around?
B5 (Patrick): We have mad respect for everybody. We know how hard it is to be in the business and we know how much practice and how many hours it takes to be in it. Nsync and the Backstreet Boys were very popular so when they say stuff like that it makes us feel good because they did their thing when they were out. The Jackson 5 and B2k also did their thing too!

UrbanBridgez.com: Do you study the Jackson 5?
B5 (Patrick & Dustin): We studied the Jackson 5, but we mostly studied Michael Jackson because he’s dope! He’s crazy nice.

UrbanBridgez.com: How do ya’ll feel about him and the trial?
B5 (Patrick): Michael Jackson is innocent!!
B5 (Kelly): I think its’ the parents who are pushing the kids to say stuff so that they can get money. I don’t think he’s guilty. But we will soon find out.

UrbanBridgez.com: Do ya’ll think Michael can make a come-back just like Mariah did?
B5 (All members): Yeah Michael Jackson can do anything. He’s still selling CD’s from his old album. He can do anything!

UrbanBridgez.com: Any of you guys plan on acting?
B5 (Kelly): Of course. I think everybody wants to act. Dustin and Patrick practice and play around. I think we can act if we really try. We mess around a lot.

UrbanBridgez.com: How excited were you when you were signed to Bad Boy?
B5 (Carnell): We were really really excited because that was our first big label. We were like “Oh my gosh, we’re with P.Diddy, bragging rights for us!” We would brag at school and people would ask us for autographs and stuff. It was a really great feeling.
B5 (Bryan): The thing that made me feel really good was when we first got done dancing for Puff he said, “Welcome to the Bad Boy Family.” That was hot.

UrbanBridgez.com: Do you guys have any other siblings?
B5 (Dustin): No, it’s just us. We have a lot of relatives. No sisters or anything though.

UrbanBridgez.com: If asked to remake the Jacksons movie, would you?
B5 (Dustin): Definitely. That would be tight. I was actually thinking about that when we were watching it the other day. We have a story to tell ourselves. We could have a movie made about us too.

UrbanBridgez.com: What are you offering your fans that we haven’t already seen in music?
B5 (Kelly): Our dance moves are hot.
B5 (Dustin): We got a whole bag of secrets.
B5 (Patrick): Just come to our show and you’ll see wassup.

UrbanBridgez.com: Do any of you write your own material yet?
B5 (Dustin): Me and Kelly write a lot.
B5 (Patrick & Bryan): We like to make beats.
B5 (Kelly): We are traveling so much now though that it leaves us with very little time to write material.

UrbanBridgez.com: Are you all excited about coming to Dallas for the Summer Jam?
B5 (All members): Yeah, we can’t wait. It’s going to be so crazy.
B5 (Dustin): We did a show in Washington the other day, I think it was a ‘For Sister’s Only’ Concert and it was crazy! Ciara performed there also and there were so many people there. There were at least 10,000 people there. Girls were passing out left and right. One girl called up the radio station and said she pretended to pass out so that she could get back stage. I told her she was smart. (Laughing)

UrbanBridgez.com: Any other tour plans?
B5 (Kelly): We’re trying to get on the Omarion and Bow Wow Tour. We’re not sure yet.
B5 (Patrick): We are also about to go on the second leg of our promo tour and hit up all the different places that we haven’t been to yet.

UrbanBridgez.com: Being new to the scene, do you guys feel that you have gained the respect from other artists currently on the scene?
B5 (Dustin): Yeah, I think we’ve gained some respect. We were in the airport the other day and Bryan was walking by Michelle from Destiny’s Child while she was undercover and stuff and she was like “yeah I like what you guys are doing, keep up the good work. Ya’ll are real good.” 8 Ball & MJG also told us to keep up the good work.

UrbanBridgez.com: Any last words for your fans?
B5 (All members): We love ya’ll. Thank you for all the support. Make sure you get the album July 19th. Go to the website www.b5online.com we go on the site sometime and chat with the fans. It’s real fun and crazy.