Jon Camano was a freestyle\dance singer from the early ’90s. Not much information is given about this artist, but he was signed to the Requestline Records label.
In 1990, Jon released his only single “Stop Playing With My Heart.” It’s unknown how or if the single made the charts at all.
After that, it seems as if Jon Camano has faded into obscurity. Not much has been heard from him since the ’90s.
To see a video for “Stop Playing With My Heart,” go to:
Talent was a short-lived R&B trio that consisted of Ernest Dixon, Keith “Sugg” Murrell and Marlon Hatcher. They were signed to Interscope Records.
Previously, Keith and Marlon were part of R&B group Kansas City Original Sound in the 90s. Ernest has written songs for artists such as Chico DeBarge, Samantha Mumba, Profyle and Joe’s hit song “Stutter.”
In 2000, they released their only single, “Celebrity” (produced by R. Kelly) which peaked at #90 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for only 2 weeks.
During that same year, Talent released the EP “Celebrity.” They were supposed to release their debut album “Bulls Eye”, but for reasons unknown, it was never released.
After that, it seemed as if Talent disbanded. It’s currently unknown what the members of the group are up to these days.
To see a video for “Celebrity,” go to:
Kansas City Original Sound (or K-OS) was an R&B group from Kansas City, Missouri. Not much information is given about this group, but some of the members consisted of members Adrian Washington, Keith “Sugg” Murrell and Marlon Hatcher.
In 1994, the group released their debut single “Bounce” on RCA Records which peaked at #73 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 10 weeks. Their follow-up single, “Baby It’s On” was released in 1995, but didn’t make the charts.
During that year, the group was dropped from RCA Records and their debut album “K-Otic” was never given an official release, although promotional copies of the album appear to be available.
After that, Kansas City Original Sound appeared to have disbanded. In the 2000s, Keith Murrell and Marlon Hatcher went on to record with R. Kelly and formed a short-lived R&B trio called Talent.
These days, it’s unknown what the members of the group are currently up to and it seems as they have faded into obscurity.
To see the music video for “Bounce,” go to:
To see a video for “Baby It’s On,” go to:
IV Xample was an R&B group from Los Angeles, California which consisted of Andre “Dre” Allen, brothers Robert “Bobby C” & Raymond “Runni Rae” Chevis, and Bryant “Lucious” Woodert.
In 1995, they released their self-titled debut album on MCA Records which peaked at #69 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart and #15 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart.
Their debut single, “The Swang” achieved local radio play in Los Angeles, but it’s unknown if the single ever charted at all.
The group’s next single, “I’d Rather Be Alone” peaked at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100, #44 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart (staying on the chart for 17 weeks), #59 on Billboard’s R&B\Hip-Hop Airplay chart and #8 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Songs chart.
The follow-up single from the album, “From the Fool” peaked at #82 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 6 weeks.
IV Example toured in various countries such as Japan, Canada and Australia. Bobby Chevis would later leave the group for a solo career where he had moderate success on the R&B charts with the single, “Why-Oh-Why.” By 1998, the group had disbanded.
Dre Allen went on to become a songwriter\producer for artists such as Outkast, Jesse Powell, Babyface, Lil Romeo, Master P, Montell Jordan, Will Downing, Az Yet and Stevie B. He also formed the Dre Allen Project which featured his then-wife Dawn Robinson (of En Vogue) where they released two albums in 2003 & 2005.
According to research, Bobby Chevis is still pursuing a solo career and has released a few albums independently. Bryan Woodert has also released two solo albums as well. It’s unknown what Raymond Chevis is up to these days.
To see Bobby Chevis’ Soundcloud page, go to:
To see the music video for “I’d Rather Be Alone,” go to:
To see the music video for “From the Fool,” go to:
As a bonus, here is the music video to Bobby Chevis’ song “Why-Oh-Why” (released as “Bobby C.”):
Optimystic was a Scottish pop music group from the ’90s that consisted of brothers Ian & Stuart McKeith, Bryn Downing, Shola Finni and Selina Charlier. They were signed by Clive Black to Warner Bros. Records in 1993.
In September of 1994, their debut single, “Caught Up In My Heart” peaked at #49 on the U.K. Singles chart.
The group’s follow-up single “Nothing But Love” fared better, peaking at #37 on the U.K. Singles chart in December of that same year, making it their highest charting single to date.
Optimystic’s last charting single to date, “Best Thing in the World” peaked at #70 on the U.K. Singles chart in May of 1995.
In 1996, the Record Shack Records label released the group’s only album, “Heartbeat.” It’s unknown how or if the album ever charted at all.
After that, nothing much was heard from Optimystic and it seems as if they faded into obscurity. It’s currently unknown what the members of the group are up to these days.
To see a video for “Caught Up in My Heart,” go to:
To see a video for “Nothing But Love,” go to:
To see a video for “Best Thing in the World,” go to:
To see the music video for their song “Test of Time,” go to:
To see the music video for their song “Hey Girl,” go to:
Bad Boys INC was a British boy band formed by record producer Ian Levine in 1993, who were signed to A&M Records. The members consisted of Ally Begg, Anthony “Tony” Dowding, Matthew Pateman (also known as Matthew James) and David W. Ross.
The band embarked on a publicity blitz and tours of under & over 18 nightclubs and schools.
In 1993, they released their debut single “Don’t Talk About Love” which peaked at #19 on the UK Singles chart, making it their first hit song on the chart. It also peaked at #17 on the Irish Singles chart in Ireland.
Their follow-up singles “Whenever You Need Someone” (which peaked at #26) and “Walking on Air” (which peaked at #24) were moderately successful on the U.K. Singles chart.
In 1994, Bad Boys Inc released their debut and only album which peaked at #13 on the UK Albums chart and #62 on the Scottish Singles and Albums Charts.
The band’s fourth single, “More to This World” peaked at #8 on the U.K. Singles chart, making it their only highest charting single to date.
The fifth single from the album, “Take Me Away (I’ll Follow You)” peaked at #15 on the U.K. Singles chart.
The last charting single from the album, “Love Here I Come” peaked at #26 on the U.K. Singles chart. In 1994, Bad Boys Inc were awarded “Best International Newcomer” in Denmark & Finland. They also gained success in mainland Europe and in Japan.
In 1995, they disbanded due to creative differences with their producer during the recording of their sophomore album (which was never released) although one of their songs “Change Your Mind” was being promoted and a promotional music video was completed.
David W. Ross went on to become an actor & screenwriter in Los Angeles, California, and is also openly gay. He starred in the film “Quinceañera” which was a breakout hit at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and appeared in the short film “The Receipt” which won the award for “Best Comedy” at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival.
David wrote the 2012 film “I Do” which tackles the controversial issue of gay marriage inequality in America; the film went on to win seven awards, including the Jury Award for “Best Film” at the Out on Film, Atlanta, US.
Matthew Pateman has been focusing on writing, recording and producing. He played the lead role in the musical “Boyband” at the Gielgud Theatre in London’s West End. In 2005, he created his own electro\pop-rock band called JEAN! and competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 to represent the United Kingdom with the song “A Better Man,” but did not win the selection.
These days, Ally Begg works as a TV sports producer & blogger is also a fan of Aberdeen FC (according to his official website). It’s unknown what Tony Dowding
is currently up to and it seems as if he’s faded into obscurity.
To see the music video for “Don’t Talk About Love,” go to:
To see the music video for “Whenever You Need Someone,” go to:
To see the music video for “Walking on Air,” go to:
To see the music video for “More To This World,” go to:
To see the music video for “Take Me Away (I’ll Follow You),” go to:
To see the music video for “Love Here I Come,” go to:
To see the music video for “Change Your Mind,” go to:
One True Voice were a British boy band from the 2000s that was created on the ITV television series, “Popstars: The Rivals” where pop groups of both genders were created through a public vote & competed in the UK Singles Chart for the number-one Christmas single of 2002.
The members consisted of Anton Gordon (from Louth, Lincolnshire), Matt Johnson (from Mancot, Wales), Daniel Pearce (born on May 29, 1978 in Ashford, Kent, Engand), Keith Semple (born on September 20, 1981 in Larne, Northern Ireland) and Jamie Shaw (from Cardiff, Wales).
On “Popstars: The Rivals”, One True Voice lost out to girl group Girls Aloud as they hit number one with their song “Sound of the Underground” as their double A-side single, “Sacred Trust\After You’re Gone” peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart & #9 on the Irish Singles chart.
The band’s follow-up single, “Shakespeare’s (Way with) Words” peaked at #10 on the UK Singles chart and #39 on the Irish Singles chart. After that, One True Voice disbanded in 2003 without ever releasing an album.
In 2006, Anton Gordon auditioned for “The X Factor,” but didn’t make through the preliminary screening. He continues to perform music under the name Anton Romero.
Matt Johnson signed a solo deal with Jive Records after One True Voice disbanded, but he ended up leaving the label after being unhappy with the music direction. These days (according to research), Matt is currently signed to his own record label, Tristar Records (which has a distribution deal with Believe Digital since 2013).
Daniel Pearce played a lead role in the musical “Jailhouse Rock” in London’s West End. In 2009, he auditioned for the 6th series of “The X Factor,” but wasn’t chosen to be in the finals. These days, he continues to be a backing singer for British rapper Dizzee Rascal and in 2011, he co-founded a funk, rock and soul band called Shuffler.
Keith Semple formed a band called the Keith Semple Band and later fronted the band Alibi. After he moved to Chicago, Illinois, he performed with the band 7th Heaven between 2006 and 2012.
In 2010, Keith successfully auditioned for the 9th season on “American Idol,” but lost his spot due to U.S. legal status and residency issues. In 2013, he formed a rock band called SEMPLE and auditioned for the 9th season of NBC’s “The Voice,” but was eliminated in the Live Playoffs.
Jamie Shaw continued to produce music and supported the Backstreet Boys for some of their live dates in the UK, and toured with boy band US5 for 18 shows in Germany & Austria. Since 2014, he has moved to a career in television where he currently works as an Executive Publicity Assistant on shows such as “Doctor Who” and “Class.”
To see the music video for “Sacred Trust,” go to:
To see the music video for “After You’re Gone,” go to:
To see the music video for “Shakespeare’s (Way With) Words,” go to:
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