GRAMMY weekend in Los Angeles is a time. It’s a marathon, in fact. From Thursday through Sunday, there are parties and brunches and celebrations all over town, but on Saturday night, the Kia Forum was the place to be for the third stop of the 30-city New Edition Way Tour. Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Mike, Ralph and Johnny, plus Boyz II Men’s Wanya, Nathan and Shawn, and the Toni Braxton kept the crowd rocking for three solid hours. And one of the most surprising and refreshing elements of the show was that they were all headliners.
At 8:21 pm, when the lights went down, nobody knew what to expect. First came New Edition, rising to the stage, dressed in all-white…then Toni, serving-up her own brand of sultry…and then, Boyz II Men – all in full voice. Everybody’s mic was on.
Without giving too much away, the set list for New Edition, BBD, Ralph, Bobby, Johnny, Boyz II Men and Toni was 40+ songs deep. While alternating stage time, they each delivered hit-after-hit, from decade-after-decade, not missing a beat and often, supporting each other with background vocals and choreography.
From “N.E. Heart Break,” “You’re Makin’ Me High,” “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Motownphilly,” to “Sensitivity,” “Can You Stand the Rain,” “Roni,” “There U Go,” “Long As I Live,” “I’ll Make Love to You” and so many more (including Toni’s “Hit the Freeway,” which remains a personal fave), all bases were covered. New Edition took it all the way back to 1983 with “Candy Girl.” Toni dedicated her performance of “Breathe Again” to both her late sister Tracy and Whitney Houston, and Boyz II Men sang “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” while images of some of those we’ve lost over the past year appeared onscreen including Roberta Flack, Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Rob Reiner, as well as Angie Stone and Richard Smallwood, among them.
Another special moment during Saturday’s show was the addition of Kayla Nicole, who went viral last Halloween for her rendition of “He Wasn’t Man Enough.” Kayla shimmied her way on stage to join Toni and her dancers for the performance of the 2000 hit, sparking yet another viral moment by Sunday morning.
Oh, and B2K surprised the crowd when they popped out to perform their 2002 bop, “Bump, Bump, Bump!”
Yes, the show was an entire vibe, even before BBD kicked the energy up even higher with “Poison,” which the entire crowd had been waiting for.
At 11:24 pm, just moments after white and gold confetti engulfed the air, the lights came up. And just like any other night you don’t want to end, the crowd hung around for a few minutes, taking it all in…hoping, waiting, for an encore, maybe? Spoiler: there was no encore, but it was all good because the night felt complete. One of the sweetest takeaways was witnessing Toni and all the guys enjoy the experience as much as the audience. Each of their legacies are secure, indeed.
The tour picks up on Wednesday, February 4, at Chicago’s United Center, and will continue making its way across the Midwest, along the east coast and down to the gulf coast, making its final stop on April 4, at the Toyota Center in Houston.
All that said, this New Edition Way Tour is a must…so go, see!