Over the group's objections, Motown released a piece of cash-in product titled The Remix Collection in late 1995; in retaliation, Boyz signed a distribution deal with Sony, not Motown, for their new vanity label, Stonecreek. It was the beginning of a souring relationship that only worsened upon the release of Boyz II Men's next album, Evolution, in 1997. The record started out strong, debuting at number one and sending "4 Seasons of Loneliness" to the same position on the singles charts; its Top Ten follow-up, "A Song for Mama," gave Boyz II Men their record-setting seventh platinum single. However, Motown was unable to throw its full promotional muscle behind the record (perhaps because of their transition to a new label president), meaning that Evolution didn't have the shelf life of II, selling only two million copies. The group were also forced to postpone parts of their supporting tour when Wanya Morris developed a benign polyp on his vocal cords. He recovered fully, though, and in early 1999, amid major record company mergers, the group had their contract transferred from Motown to Universal.
Then things started to go downhill. Her next two albums, while successful, were not the pop juggernauts of her early career. She wanted more creative control. The label did not want to give it to her. They were less willing to promote her work, and sales began to slow. As her relationship with Columbia began to fall apart, so did her relationship with her husband, and she separated from both in the early 2000s. She signed with Virgin Records in 2001, and things went from bad to worse. Under Virgin, she basically fell apart, was hospitalized, disappeared for an extended period of time, and her only project under the label, "Glitter", a film and soundtrack, was panned by critics, and largely ignored by the public. She signed with Island/Def Jam a few years later, and over the course of 2003 and 2004, the label carefully shepherded her through a career comeback. Her tenth album, "The Emancipation of Mimi", proved that their strategy had worked. It became the top selling album by a female in 2005, and sold nearly 8 million copies worldwide. Since then, she has continued to remain musically relevant and popular.
Boyz II Men, Evolution Full Album 91
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