by: Jonelle Knox

In the 90s, music mogul Sean “P. Diddy, Puffy” Combs started Bad Boy Records, showcasing artists such as Notorious BIG, Faith Evans, Total, Black Rob, and the list goes on. A few years ago, he teamed up with MTV to create one of the top-rated reality shows, Making the Band, to give talented singers the opportunity to sign a major label record deal under his guidance and to record with Bad Boy Entertainment.

From that television show, Puffy created a girl pop group, Danity Kane, and a boy R&B group, Day 26. There was a huge bet by the two groups on who would outsell the other in the first week of release. Well, platinum-selling group Danity Kane won the bet slightly, but who really has the best best-selling CD?

Danity Kane

“Welcome to the Dollhouse”

Bad Boy Records, 2008

Danity Kane has big shoes to fill…Already a platinum-selling pop group, they recently released their sophomore project, “Welcome to the Dollhouse.” As shown on the television show Making the Band 4, the group had differences with P. Diddy over what they wanted to accomplish on this project. He wanted slower mid-tempo songs; the group wanted upbeat dance tracks. Damaged, an upbeat dance track, was the first release from the CD. The song has been a short-lived pop favorite on pop stations across the county. The girls truly do have a great chemistry and blend their voices together very well; however, they don’t do a great job on this album overall. The CD has the sound of rejected Britney Spears music, only with great vocals overlaying it. Most disappointing is their failure to fully use their powerful voices; unfortunately, this CD is not a must-have. It will be no surprise if their sophomore project fails to reach platinum-selling status.

Day 26

“Day 26”

Bad Boy Records, 2008

Day 26, the R&B boy band, released their debut self-titled project on Bad Boy Records only to discover they have a hit on their hands. The CD starts off with a great up-tempo track, I’m The Reason, and from there the production continues to only get better. The CD is one of the best R&B male group releases since Jagged Edge and 112. Very similar in style to 112, the CD has great slow-, mid-, and up-tempo tracks. One of the project’s best is the slow-tempo Don’t Fight The Feeling that will make you want to cuddle up with that special person and turn on repeat. The only downside to the group’s performance is that unlike Danity Kane, vocally, the guys’ voices are very similar in style. It can be very difficult to tell one member of the group from another while they’re singing; however, that can be both a good and bad thing. So if you’re looking for a great R&B CD, this is one to make sure you add to your collection.