Back before they were Boyz II Men, Micheal McCary, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, and Nathan Morris were just four guys who admired the musicans they heard on the radio from afar. The quartet were especially big fans of the early-80's group, New Edition - so much so that the very first they ever sang as a foursome was New Edition's "Can You Stand the Rain?" And maybe even more significally, it was New Edition's song "Boys to Men" that Michael, Wanya, Shawn, and Nate chose to use as their group name.
These days, the boyz are blown away to think that the people they listen to on the radio-including their recent duet partner, Mariah Carey - are actually fans of theirs. Perhaps even more gratifying is the fact that their fan-base now features performers they idolized while growing up. That list includes former New Edition member Michael Bivins, who helped the guys get their first record deal after hearing them sing several years back.
"It really (takes) us by surprise to have so many entertainers as fans now," Boyz' Michael has said. "Someone will come back stage and say, 'Prince is in the audience,' or we'll hear that Michael Jackson likes our music and wants to work with us. Every now and then it hits us, like, 'Wow!"