II (Boyz II Men album)

II
Studio album by Boyz II Men
Released	August 30, 1994 (Release history)
Recorded	October 1993—May 1994
Studio	Doppler Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, and others
Genre	R&B, pop, soul, hip hop soul
Length	57:31
Language	English
Label	Motown
Producer	Babyface, Tim & Bob, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Dallas Austin, The Characters, Tony Rich, L.A. Reid, Brian McKnight
Boyz II Men chronology
Christmas Interpretations (1993) II (1994) The Remix Collection (1995)
Singles from II
"I'll Make Love to You" Released: July 26, 1994 "On Bended Knee" Released: November 1, 1994 "Thank You" Released: February 7, 1995 "Water Runs Dry" Released: April 11, 1995

II is the second studio album by American R&B quartet Boyz II Men, released on August 30, 1994 on Motown Records.^[1] It contained the No. 1 singles "I'll Make Love to You" and "On Bended Knee", the latter of which replaced the former at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, making the group the third artist to replace themselves at No. 1 in the United States after Elvis Presley and The Beatles and the first to achieve the feat in 30 years.

"I'll Make Love to You" also spent 14 weeks at the top of the Hot 100 making them the first artist to achieve consecutive double digit runs at the top, with their prior single "End of the Road" topping the charts for 13 weeks and also equaled the record set by Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" for the longest run at the top, a record which they held previously with "End of the Road". Other singles released achieved major success, including "Water Runs Dry", which reached No. 2, and "Thank You", which reached No. 21. "Vibin'", however, only reached No. 52.^[2]

The spoken track "Khalil (Interlude)" is a tribute to their road manager Khalil Roundtree who was shot in Chicago, Illinois while the band was opening for MC Hammer's Too Legit to Quit tour.^[3] II became the inaugural winner of the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, first presented at the 37th Grammy Awards in 1995.

According to producer Bob Robinson of the duo Tim & Bob, he and his partner Tim Kelley were asked by Boyz II Men to produce most of II. However, Motown Records then-president Jheryl Busby didn't feel comfortable with the idea of two unknown producers dominating a second album from a group that was one of the biggest acts in the world at the time.^[4] As a result, Busby brought in Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Babyface to deliver hit singles for the project. Busby insisted on "I'll Make Love to You" being the first single, despite objections from the group- who felt there were songs that could have been much stronger singles.^[5] Ironically, the song went on to become one of Boyz II Men's biggest hits.

Over 20 songs were recorded for II, but most of them never made the final track listing.^[6] Two of the songs Tim & Bob produced - "Now That We're Done" and "Can I Touch You" - ended up on 112's 1996 self-titled debut.^[7]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[8]
Entertainment Weekly	A[9][10]
Robert Christgau	[11]
Rolling Stone	(favorable)[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[13]

The album debuted at No. 1 in the Billboard 200 with 350,000 copies sold. It spent a total of five weeks at No. 1 and was the third best-selling album in 1995 in the United States and sold 12 million copies in the United States.

It did not make a huge impact in the United Kingdom, where it only made No. 17 on the UK Albums Chart. A Spanish language version, II: Yo Te Voy a Amar, was also issued. The album also won Best R&B Album at the 37th Grammy Awards.

Track listing

1. "Thank You" (Michael S. McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Dallas Austin) – 4:34
2. "All Around the World" (James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Michael S. McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Glenn "Daddy-O" Bolton) – 4:56
3. "U Know" (Michael S. McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) – 4:46
4. "Vibin'" (Michael S. McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) – 4:26
5. "I Sit Away" (Tony Rich) – 4:34
6. "Jezzebel" (Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Troy Taylor, Charles Farrar) – 6:06
7. "Khalil (Interlude)" (Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) – 1:41
8. "Trying Times" (Wanya Morris, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) – 5:23
9. "I'll Make Love to You" (Babyface) – 4:07
10. "On Bended Knee" (James Harris III, Terry Lewis) – 5:29
11. "50 Candles" (Shawn Stockman, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) – 5:06
12. "Water Runs Dry" (Babyface) – 3:22
13. "Yesterday" (McCartney–Lennon) – 3:07

International edition

"Falling" (Brian McKnight, Brandon Barnes) – 4:09

Samples

• "Thank You" contains a sample of "La Di Da Di" by Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick
• "All Around the World" contains a sample of "Kid Capri" by Daddy-O
• "U Know" contains a sample of "Don't Change Your Love" by Five Stairsteps
• "Jezzebel" contains a sample of "Hootie Mack" by Bell Biv Devoe

Charts

Chart (1994)	Peak position[14]
Australian Albums Chart	4
Canadian Albums Chart	3
Dutch Albums Chart	7
European Albums Chart[15]	16
French Albums Chart[16]	1
German Albums Chart	18
Japanese Albums Chart[17]	9
New Zealand Albums Chart	1
Spanish Albums Chart[18]	13
Swedish Albums Chart	20
Swiss Albums Chart	21
UK Albums Chart[19]	17
U.S. Billboard 200	1
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[20]	2× Platinum	140,000
Canada (Music Canada)[21]	5× Platinum	500,000
France (SNEP)[22]	Platinum	300,000
Japan (RIAJ)[23]	Gold	100,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[24]	Platinum	15,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[25]	Gold	50,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[26]	Gold	100,000
United States (RIAA)[27]	12× Platinum	12,000,000
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[28]	1× Platinum	1,000,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard 200[29]	13

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United States	August 30, 1994	Motown Records	Cassette, CD
United Kingdom	September 12, 1994	Motown Records	Cassette, CD

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States
• List of number-one albums of 1994 (U.S.)
• List of number-one albums of 1995 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1994 (U.S.)

References

1. Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men’s II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
2. Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men’s II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
3. Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men’s II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
4. Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men’s II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
5. Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men’s II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
6. Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men’s II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
7. Williams, Chris. "Boyz II Men’s II LP revisited with Bob Robinson (of Tim & Bob) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Retrieved 9/2/2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
8. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "II". Allmusic. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
9. "II Review". Entertainment Weekly. September 9, 1994: 83. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
10. "Boyz II Men - II CD Album". CDUniverse.com. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
11. "CG: Artist 182". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
12. Evans, Paul (1994-12-29). "Boyz II Men: II : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
13. Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 100. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
14. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Boyz+II+Men&titel=II&cat=a
15. http://books.google.ca/books?id=YQgEAAAAMBAJ&lr=&rview=1|title=Hits of the World - Eurochart|work=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|date=22 October 1994|accessdate=25 July 2012
16. http://books.google.co.uk/books?lr=&rview=1&id=sAsEAAAAMBAJ&q=boyz+ii+men#v=snippet&q=boyz%20ii%20men&f=false
17. http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/154394/ranking/cd_album/
18. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
19. "Boyz II Men - II". Chart Stats. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
20. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1995 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
21. "Canadian album certifications – Boyz II Men – II". Music Canada. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
22. "French album certifications – Boyz II Men – II" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
23. "Japanese album certifications – Boyz II Men – Boyz II Men" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved July 15, 2012. Select 1994年月 on the drop-down menu
24. THE FIELD id (chart number) MUST BE PROVIDED for NEW ZEALAND CERTIFICATION.
25. "Spanish album certifications – Boyz II Men – Boyz II Men" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved July 15, 2012. Select the "Chart", enter 1994 in the field "Year". Select '' in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts"
26. "British album certifications – Boyz II Men – II". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2012. Enter II in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
27. "American album certifications – Boyz II Men – II". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 15, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
28. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1996". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
29. Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.