It’s been nearly half a century since a group of childhood friends from the Orchard Park public housing projects in Roxbury, Boston got together to form a vocal group inspired by Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. Now, those lifelong friends are on the cusp of induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and it sounds like the joyous culmination of a long dream.
“It feels incredible,” charter New Edition member Bobby Brown told the Boston Globe in a recent interview after the 2026 RRHOF nomination class was announced last month. “Just knowing that our prayers are being answered and everything is going in the direction that we had hoped for, and we wished upon, and we worked hard for … it’s a great thing … we’re really happy to be a part of this.”
The recognition for New Edition — Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant — came 43 years after the R&B vocal group released their 1983 teen pop album Candy Girl, which featured such sugary sweet confections as the title track, “Popcorn Love” and “Is This the End.” The Globe noted that it also came after the group was honored last summer with a “New Edition Day” in Boston, with member Bivins telling the paper that despite all their success they still had two major goals left to accomplish.
“We still don’t own a Grammy,” Bivins said at the time. “And we still have aspirations of being in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”
The nomination news came as New Edition is gearing up to launch the New Edition Way tour on Friday (March 13) with guests Boyz II Men and Toni Braxton. They got wind of the nomination via a group text from their managers just days before a gig in Cleveland, Ohio, home of the Rock Hall. DeVoe told the Globe that a few of the members got a chance to ride by the museum to take photos and videos, unaware that within days they’d be nominees.
“It’s just ironic that we’re leaving Cleveland, and here comes this blessing that we have been waiting for, to a certain extent, all of our careers,” said DeVoe. “It was just fitting, like God just presents things in a way where it’s almost confirming.” He also noted that the group is aware that “there’s still work that has to be done,” since a nomination doesn’t guarantee entry and this year’s class is especially large and filled with heavy-hitters. “So those ‘New Edition for life’-ers and family members and everybody have to really begin to put in the real work, but we’re excited about all the possibilities,” he added.
New Edition are among 17 nominees for Rock Hall induction this year, a group that also includes: the Black Crowes, Jeff Buckley, Mariah Carey, Phil Collins, Melissa Etheridge, Lauryn Hill, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, INXS, Iron Maiden, Oasis, P!nk, Sade, Shakira, Luther Vandross and the Wu-Tang Clan.
