Mindless Behavior is more mindful with music, love
LOS ANGELES (AP) — R&B boy band Mindless Behavior said they've grown up on their sophomore album. They also said their approach to girls has evolved, too.
"At first I used to just talk a lot on the phone and I used to say, 'We gonna do this' (and) 'We gonna do that one day.' And now it's like I'm actually like making it happen," said Prodigy, 16. "I used to be really nervous to go up to a girl if I thought she was pretty. But now it's like, 'Hey, if you don't like me then oh well.' At least I went for it."
The teen quartet released "All Around the World" in March and it debuted at No. 6 and 1 on Billboard's Top 200 and R&B/Hip-Hop albums charts. It's the follow-up to their 2011 debut, "#1 Girl."
"Basically our whole style has changed," said 16-year-old Roc Royal. "Our records have changed. Just the whole process of Mindless Behavior is changing to a more mature side."
"It shows that, like, we're young men," added Ray Ray, 17. "We're here to work. We're here to do business."
The Los Angeles-based band — which includes 17-year-old Princeton — was formed in 2008 by record executive Vincent Herbert, who also discovered Lady Gaga. They've hit the road with Janet Jackson, Justin Bieber and the Backstreet Boys, and their 26-city "All Around the World Tour" kicks off Wednesday in Stockton, Calif. It wraps Aug. 18 in Houston.
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, the foursome opened up about love, One Direction and the media circus surrounding Justin Bieber.
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AP: How has dating changed for you?
Princeton: Before I used to fall for women really easily, or girls, when I was in school. And after meeting the fans and we got really comfortable with our fans, seeing a girl that you really like wasn't really nerve-racking. You just go for it.
Ray Ray: I noticed that if I'm at home and I wanted to see the girl, I don't usually talk on the phone or text. I'm like on Facetime all the time.
Princeton: Skype is like a miracle.
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AP: Are you ready for love?
Prodigy: Yeah.
Princeton: No.
Ray Ray: Absolutely.
Roc Royal: We said it in our song, so like I think I am. But you know, I'm just waiting on the right moment, the right girl to fall in love with.
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AP: Do you see other boy bands like One Direction and The Wanted as competition?
Princeton: We don't really see it as a competition because the one thing that sets us apart from other boy bands is that we are urban and we have our own movement and we do dance a lot.
Roc Royal: It is competition, but it's a friendly competition because who doesn't want to actually be friends with people in the industry? Everybody should be friends.
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AP: Do you worry that being part of a teen group has caused you to miss out on a normal childhood?
Roc Royal: Not at all. You know basic kid stuff — that's too easy. I'd rather travel around the world and see new things.
Ray Ray: I don't feel like I'm missing anything. I just wish I could have done one year in high school. ...I've been talking to my friend, she's a really good friend of mine and she goes to a high school and I told her I'm gonna go to her high school for like a couple of days just to feel the experience. I think that would be dope.
Princeton: I already lived my childhood. Five years is good enough for me and this is the life that I want.
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AP: You toured with Justin Bieber. Do you think he's being unfairly portrayed in the media?
Prodigy: Any time an artist ... gets really big and is at the top a lot of people just want to bring them down, which I think is just real stupid and they just need to stop.
Ray Ray: I've been places like with him and then seen the whole story get flipped around into something that never happened. But you know, he keeps his temper and I've learned that from him. He's really good at it.
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AP: How do you handle critics and naysayers?
Roc Royal: When people talk I just work harder.
Princeton: I was bullied in school. I had two worlds: I had the school world, my normal life, and I had the dance world. And there were dancers that I would audition with and they would say, "You're too short," ''You're too chubby," ''You'll never make it" (and) "You don't have this." Then I went to school and I heard the same thing. But ... I always stayed true to myself and now I'm sitting here.
Ray Ray: Us being like an African American group, we got a lot of people saying, "You're not going to make it to a second album." And it feels good to know that we did make it to a second album and we proved a lot of people wrong and we're gonna have a third album and a fourth album.
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Online:
http://www.mindlessbehavior.com
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Follow Nicole Evatt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NicoleEvatt
