YRB Interview: Day 26

By Stephanie Amy Collazo Day 26 has come a long way since they were first introduced to us on MTV’s Making the Band 4. Since 2007, they have released two studio albums, lost a member, switched labels and now - after a short break from the limelight – the foursome is back with their third album, A New Day. We met up with them in the Atlantic Records offices in N.Y.C. to catch up about the new album and their Valentine’s Day plans. YRB: What have you been up to since dropping your last album, Forever In A Day? Willie: Well, we took a little break to do the family thing initially. Since 2006, with the reality show into the album and the tours, then back to the studio [and] the [second] album, we never slowed down. So we took a little time for that, and in the process of that, we lost a member and we ended up switching labels, which was another break for us. I did a movie and a play I’ve been writing and other things - now it’s back to the studio, just gearing up. YRB: Bands and artist who come from talent show competitions are sometimes scrutinized for their way of getting signed. Have you received any negative commentary? Brian: Of course, it comes with the territory. If you don't have people scrutinizing you then you’re not doing your job right. Willie: I think the biggest thing with that is the thought process for other people. As people getting famous from reality shows they think that people give it to them overnight. What they don’t know is that we were all doing this way, way before we ever showed up on television. I was in a group called Kwiet Storm; we had a video on BET in 2001. Rob was signed to Wyclef, and that was all before. People don’t know that we were artists before making the band. I think that’s what really makes people not believe it as real. The fact that they think, ‘Oh, they’re just walking around getting cheesecake for Diddy.’ It’s a journey; it’s a real struggle. I feel that if people knew the real story they’d think, ‘Oh, those are just some grinding dudes that took a chance, and that’s where the reality TV show comes in.’ Robert: What makes up for all that is that we have amazing fans, the best fans in the world, so it’s hard to pay attention to all the negative stuff because we have so many people lifting us up. We pretty much focus on that. YRB: A lot of artists that come out of those talent shows tend to fall off, how have you guys been able to hold it together? Willie: We had fell off. [Laughs] Mike: We went left when we should have went right. [Laughs] Willie: You have got to stay true to God first, and you never know when your opportunity is coming. You’ve got a group of guys coming from multiple situations and continue to win. Robert: This situation is a hard one to make it through as a group, in any way this is a hard situation for you to make it. So if you are expecting to come here and for it to be easy, you’re not going to last anyway. Ours is just a little bit harder than normal. We expect a struggle; we expect it to be hard. YRB: We know that the dynamic of your group has changed from when we were first introduced to you. What would you say the experience of losing a member has taught you as a group and individually? Mike: When there [are] only four people you get a lot more money. Day 26: Yeah. [Laughter] Mike: Check, please! [Laughter] Willie: We all came in the same, we all went through the same struggles together for the show on television, [and] for somebody to not be there that chemistry, of course, will be different. But the way we were put together was five amazing, vocally talented guys, so in the studio it’s not that much of a difference, but on the stage - or as far as the image of the group - of course, it will be different because he is no longer in the group. YRB: What is your current relationship with Que? Brian: I spoke to him recently; everything is cool. Willie: He actually just hit me on Twitter saying, ‘Great video.’ It’s all love; we support him, he supports us in different ways. If we can’t work together we aren’t going to kill each other over money. YRB: Has your music changed since the release of Forever In A Day? Robert: I think we catered more to what we think the people want from us this time. The first album was handed to us and we had to sing it. But out of the first album we noticed that we developed a style as a group and that people actually liked it and there was a necessity for it in the industry. I think, you know, this album we really harnessed in on it, and we definitely went out for that. Brian: What we feel that R&B music is to us, that's what we are doing now. Mike: What we were doing when we were putting out the first album and the second album was we were trying to figure out what was going to be the next thing. We tried to get the next thing before somebody else got the next thing ‘cause we were trying to be first, but on this album we’re going back to R&B. YRB: This summer you will be releasing your third album, A New Day, what has the recording process been like? Brian: Long as hell. Mike: How long have we been recording? Brian: Three years! Willie: Two. Brian: Two years! Willie: We’ve come up with an amazing record. We don’t live in the same states, so I think that that’s been the toughest thing - figuring out when we are going to get together to record on this because we all do our individual writing as well. So the process has been different because with Making The Band they had us all together because they had to film the show and see that process, so now it’s a lot harder, but we have so much more creative control. YRB: Can you tell us about your upcoming tour? Brian: [Shaking his head] Mm mm. Day 26: [Laughter] YRB: When is it starting? Brian: We can make something up. Let’s go with soon. It’s in the works. YRB: You premiered the video for “Made Love Lately” on 106 & Park and received a good response from viewers, what does it mean to you to have the same support after having taken a short break? Willie: That’s amazing, because you leave and you don't know what to expect, you don’t know if they are down with somebody else and they ain’t rockin’ with us anymore. So when they said Day 26 inside that room and the fans went crazy. I heard it was trending on Twitter. Mike: Number two. Willie: They hadn’t forgotten. They were being entertained by others, but they hadn’t forgotten. Brian: I second that. Robert: Best fans in the world. YRB: You have a strong female following, what kind of girls are you attracted to? Willie: My preference is just be sexy. Whatever that means to you, just be sexy. I love sexy. YRB: What are your plans for Valentine’s Day? Willie: I’m going to a private island. No one else can come. Mike: Hey, brother, we are talking about reality. [Laughs] Willie: I already got the tickets. [Laughs] Mike: Absolutely nothing. I ain’t got no girl. When you ain’t got no girl you don't have to do anything on Valentine’s Day. Robert: My mom’s going to get me something. Mike: His mom is going to get him a card and balloons. [Laughs] Robert: They are hating because they don’t get anything, but I do and it’s my mom. Every time I say that they try to hate on me. YRB: What’s next for Day 26? Brian: Taking over the world.