1985–1990: Formation Thornton and Abrams became friends in junior high school, and Watters and Calderon became friends in grade school. The four met in the mid-1980s while attending
Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City. They were all members of the school choir. The group originally formed in 1985 as Take One but changed their name to Color Me Badd to avoid confusion with an a cappella band named Take 6. Watters selected the name after a horse at the racetrack named Color Me Bad. They aimed to be a vocal group in the vein of
New Edition and
New Kids on the Block. such as
Sam Cooke,
The Temptations, and the
Four Tops. The group came up with a plan to spontaneously audition for any big-name acts playing in Oklahoma City. They met
Robert Bell of
Kool & the Gang on May 27, 1987, when he was in Oklahoma City for a performance. They auditioned for him, and he introduced them to his then-road manager, Adil Bayyan, who would become Color Me Badd's manager and convince them to move to New York City to pursue a record deal. They also sang for
Huey Lewis and the News,
Sheila E., and
Ronnie Milsap, One afternoon in 1989, Thornton saw
Jon Bon Jovi in a movie theater and called the other band members to join him. They waited for Bon Jovi to leave the theater and then sang the 1961 doo-wop hit "
Daddy's Home" a cappella for him. Bon Jovi invited them to be his band's opening act the following night, performing in front of 20,000 audience members. The song was not originally intended to be a single and had been turned down by other acts including Bell Biv DeVoe,
Keith Sweat, and
Christopher Williams. Due to the song's popularity, Giant Records wanted Color Me Badd to quickly record an album. At the time, they only had four or five finished songs. They were flown out to Los Angeles to work in the studio, recording the album in two or three weeks. "I Wanna Sex You Up" was included on the album. The follow-up single "I Adore Mi Amor" hit number 1 on the Hot 100 and on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, "
All 4 Love" hit number 1 on the Hot 100, Color Me Badd performed at the 1991
Smash Hits Poll Winners' Awards in the
United Kingdom, winning the Best New Group trophy. They won Best R&B/Soul Single and R&B/Soul Song of the Year in the Group, Band, or Duo categories for “I Wanna Sex You Up” at the sixth annual
Soul Train Music Awards. They were nominated for
Best New Artist and
Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ("I Wanna Sex You Up") at the
1992 Grammy Awards. They won Favorite Soul/R&B Single at the
1992 American Music Awards for "I Wanna Sex You Up" and were also nominated in that category for "I Adore Mi Amor." They were additionally nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group, Favorite Pop/Rock Single, Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist at the 1992 American Music Awards. Color Me Badd opened for
Paula Abdul on her 1991 tour, performing some of their set a cappella.
The New York Times described the group as "somewhere between
George Michael's pop-soul and the group dynamics of The Temptations." At halftime of
Super Bowl XXVI between the
Washington Redskins and
Buffalo Bills on January 26, 1992, the group performed "I Wanna Sex You Up" on
In Living Color as part of
Fox's counterprogramming special live-from-Hollywood football-themed edition of the show. The group made a cameo appearance on a 1992 episode of
Beverly Hills, 90210 (season two, episode 26). The episode revolved around Color Me Badd, beginning with a clip from the "I Adore Mi Amor" music video. Later in the episode, the 90210 gang stakes out the Bel Age Hotel in hopes of meeting the group, and
Kelly visits their penthouse suite. She invites them to join her at the Peach Pit, where they serenade the gang a cappella. was a minor hit, getting heavy radio airplay on Urban AC stations such as
WAMO in Pittsburgh and
WHUR in
Washington D.C. throughout 1996 and appearing on the soundtrack to the
Demi Moore film
Striptease. Watters is a member of the production/songwriting team The Runaways, which also includes
Rico Love,
Wayne Wilkins,
Ryan Tedder, and
Louis Biancaniello. He married R&B singer and former
American Idol contestant
Tamyra Gray in 2006. In 2010, Abrams wrote three songs for
Kool & the Gang, singing lead on all three tracks.
2010–present: Reunion In July 2010, Color Me Badd re-emerged as a duo consisting of Bryan Abrams and Mark Calderon. They headlined a concert in Hawaii, which also featured
All-4-One and
Shai. In early 2012, Calderon and Abrams collaborated with the Insane Clown Posse on the song "Ghetto Rainbows (Soft Ass R-N-B Remix)" on
The Mighty Death Pop! bonus CD called ''
Mike E. Clark's Extra Pop Emporium''. Credited to Insane Clown Posse and Color Me Badd, the song features Abrams and Calderon and was also co-written by the duo. In 2015, Abrams and Calderon reunited as Color Me Badd, without Thornton and Kember, and began a tour in
Singapore. Thornton briefly rejoined Color Me Badd in 2015 before leaving the group that same year. In the winter of 2015, Adam Emil joined the group, and they went on a US tour with
Bell Biv DeVoe. On July 22, 2018, Abrams was arrested for assaulting Calderon on stage during a concert in
Waterloo, New York. A video shows Abrams walking across the stage at the completion of the song "I Wanna Sex You Up" and firmly shoving Calderon to the floor. Abrams allegedly screamed, “I’m motherfucking Color Me Badd!” as he pushed Calderon to the floor. Officers stated that alcohol may have been a factor. In 2019, Abrams, along with his wife Kim and bandmate Calderon, appeared on
The Dr. Phil talk show to discuss the events surrounding the incident, as well as Abrams's past addictions, arrests, and relationship issues. The two were interviewed separately due to the
restraining order filed after the event, even though Abrams admitted that contractually they still performed together after the fact but stated that it felt painful that they never exchanged words other than sharing the stage professionally. On August 31, 2019, Color Me Badd performed at a
Beverly Hills, 90210 charity event to benefit
Generosity Water, organized by
Brian Austin Green and his podcast cohost Derek Russell. ==Legacy==