After dropping hints about a reunion late last year, Day 26 delivered–and the results promise to be nothing short of epic.
Day 26–Rob, Brian Angel, Willie, Que and Mike–were the five young superstars selected to be part of Diddy’s all male super group during season 1 of Making the Band 4.
After dropping a number one album in 2008 and a second in April of 2009, the group found themselves missing a member when Que parted ways with the group.
“I wasn’t as ready as I am now,” Que explained. “We’ve all needed a break at different times; that was my time and my break,” he continued.
Shortly after Que’s departure, the rest of the band seemed to disperse, leading to a swirl of break up rumors.
However the rumors, as rumors tend to be, were wrong.
The group never actually broke up, as Brian explained:
“We didn’t really break up, we were taking a break. We weren’t at each other’s throats, group members didn’t have issues. We just needed time away to grow and be with our families. Some of us needed to grow musically. The group never actually broke up but if you’re on the outside looking in and you don’t know what’s going on, it might have looked like a break up. We all strive to make it clear we weren’t broken up and we were just taking a break. People put us in a box like we’re not human beings, but we are and so we needed that break. Every group goes through differences; every group has disagreements. People took bits and pieces and taped it together, but we love each other, we’re like a family. We’re brothers. There was no break up,” he clarified.
This past Sunday, all five guys hit the stage in New York City, for the first time since Que’s 2009 departure.
“We got Diddy’s blessing to do this reunion tour because we’ve always been a group and the time was right for us to be together again,” Que said.
“We’ve matured. There’s topics we’ve never touched on that we’re gonna touch on. Everyone sounds amazing. It’s gonna be amazing,” Willie offers, with Que agreeing that he felt everyone had matured during the break.
Rob revealed that he was the one who started making phone calls to bring them back together: “I speak for myself, but I think I can also speak for all of us when I say that we pretty much knew it was just time. I actually called everyone after seeing all of us experiencing the same things on social media–”
“Stalker!” quipped Brian, eliciting laughter from the rest of the group, Rob included.
“I was seeing our fans congratulating our solo projects, but at the end of every sentence, they always asked the same question, ‘When will Day 26 be back?’ The reunion pretty much came together on its own. As soon as I called these guys, everyone was on the same page,” Rob continued. “Having Que back has been a dream come true. His presence was felt from the moment we split. There was a void. We had a great four part harmony but we were missing that fifth. Him being back affects us in the best way possible. The response to him being back has been great from fans. We knew this was a decision that had to be made and we made it,” he added.
“People love Que on stage,” said Mike. “I’m happy he’s back. I’m happy we’re back!”
Mike and the guys aren’t the only ones feeling the excitement; the fans are ecstatic to see the band making music again, too.
“We got here on Sunday,” Willie explained. “And the fans, the energy, it’s all been great.”
“We have the best supporters ever!” Brian exclaimed.
“We don’t like to call them fans; they’re like an extended fam,” Rob elaborated.
Continued Brian, “For us to be gone so long and come back and see the same faces that have been here from day one, plus so many new faces…that means a lot to us. I feel blessed.”
“All our supporters, they’re diehard supporters. I saw this one girl in Baltimore who had half of her head shaved and she had Day 26 tattooed on her skull. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is!” Rob mentioned.
“With supporters like that, how can we call it quits? We can’t let them down,” Brian added. “When we see that, it lets us know that we’ve accomplished what we set out to do. We’re gonna be around like the Temptations, New Edition, Jodeci.”
Willie speaks up, crediting Day 26 fans. “The people that listen to us and love us…we love y’all. You’ve changed our life tremendously. We do it for you. This tour is dedicated to y’all. I wanna make sure you understand when I hit that stage, I’m hitting it for y’all,” he said.
“I gotta shout out the fans too, and tell y’all thank you for rocking with us. We’re gonna kick a lot of ass on this tour,” Mike declared.
Now that they’re reunited, they’re making up for lost time, with Rob promising that Day 26 fans won’t just be treated to the current reunion tour–a new album is in the works, too.
“We’ve got creative control and we’re in the studio. Keep your ears to the street and you’ll be hearing something very soon,” Rob revealed. “Day 26 is gonna be like the Temptations–they’re still touring!”
“After this, we’re going straight–naw, scraight, we’re going scraight to the studio!” Brian laughed.
Congratulations again, Brian, Rob, Mike, Que, and Willie! We can’t wait to see what Day 26 comes out with next!
Day 26 fans, how excited are you to see the guys together again?!
April Dawn (@scarlettsinatra)
