Boyz II Men talk death of the love song, why they've endured: 'Love is lengthy'

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NEW YORK − Young musicians don't make love songs like they used to.

At least that's what Nathan Morris, one-third of Boyz II Men, tells me. He's sitting backstage squeezing in a quick dinner before a concert Tuesday in Great Neck, a wealthy enclave on Long Island.

I bring up a recent study I saw examining the supposed death of the love song. Before I finish, he interjects with, "I believe that." Seated next to bandmates Wanya Morris (no relation) and Shawn Stockman, he embarks on a soliloquy that is one part "kids these days" and one part earnest concern for the state of modern romance − and its soundtrack.

The supposed death of the love song is "why most people don't fall in love anymore, don't want to be in love, or whatever the deal is," Nathan says.

"You also have to think about the way the climate of the industry is, and the way that everything is coupled with social media," Wanya adds. "Everything is short, you know what I mean? It's a minute to 30 seconds (on social media). So expressing love in that time, it's kind of hard."

"Love is lengthy," Nathan agrees.

"Love is looong," Stockman quips, elongating the vowel and dropping his register to demonstrate a sort of cosmic knowingness.

The exchange hints at the three- (once four-) part harmony that forms the backbone of the group's enduring success. More than 30 years after they broke on to the scene and captured hearts with songs like "One Sweet Day" and "I'll Make Love to You," Boyz II Men still make fans swoon.

Rising to fame in their early 20s, both Morrises and Stockman were irrefutably boyz at the start. Now, rounding out the predictive metaphor at the heart of their name, they are men.

Concertgoers are just as excited to see them as ever. The venues may be more modest than the arenas of their past, but tonight, midway through "On Bended Knee," one of the group's more famous ballads, you'd never know it. Stockman's voice struggles to be heard over a scream-singing crowd, and the audience remains on their feet for most of the 90-minute show.

In all white with diamond-encrusted accessories, the men offer attendees a version of time travel. Pulling off the same dance moves (Stockman spent much of our interview stretching) and nailing those signature gravity-defying vocal riffs, the group's swagger and "love you down" appeal remains intact. Only now it is adorned with a well-earned wisdom.

Once fresh-faced crooners reviving the Motown record label, they are the elder statesmen of R&B.

"Intention and articulation of that intention" − that's what makes a great love song, Stockman says. "Putting it together in melody and music … it's just one big recipe. But the intention has to be there first. That's why there are certain songs that will last forever."

Wanya adds, "It's very important to make sure that with our songs, that we tell stories that invoke thought because those are the types of songs that actually last longer in the hearts of people."

They would know. With tracks like "End of the Road" and "I'll Make Love to You," Boyz II Men have proved themselves capable architects of a timeless tune. Both songs spent over 10 weeks in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts and continue to rake in streams on Spotify.

When they appear on stage for this concert, the feeling of communal elation is palpable. Couples who secured a sitter for date night sway back and forth, and girl groups a few drinks deep grab one another's arms in excitement.

Garrett Meacham, 39, and Evay Richardson, 40, had never been to a Boyz show but were eager to fix that.

"I'm very excited to be here," Richardson said. "It's a group that I grew up on. I love their music."

"It's timeless," Meacham added.

In one sense that's true, but in another, the Boyz might argue they're very much of their time. Could a near-six-minute track as misty-eyed and slow-grooving as "End of the Road" dominate the charts today?

"It's hard to cultivate something like love in a world that breeds instant gratification. How can love exist?" Stockman says.

"When everything is about now and about fast and about quick … love is not that. It never has been that," he says. "Yet somehow we have managed to beguile the masses that yes, love can come in 90 seconds. Just put it in the microwave and hit. That's crazy. That's why there are no love songs, because no one really understands what it is to write a love song. How can you believe in love without love songs?"

The love song lives. But the ballad? Not so much

There are actually are love songs still. They just look different.

It turns out that data I referenced earlier is a bit more complicated than it appeared. The statisticians behind it argue that the "serenade" love songs that hit music charts in the past – the ones that drip with devotion for someone else – are only one type of love song. They argue shifting generational attitudes toward love created subgenres like "it's complicated" (songs saying "We haven't put a label on it. I wish you would!") and "self-love" (lyrics saying "Forget you, I can buy my own flowers!"), which need to be considered alongside serenades.

In actuality, more love songs are topping charts than ever before, the study found.

So what actually died? The ballad. Using data spanning from 1958 to September 2023, the model tracked how many Billboard Top 10 hits were ballads or "serenades." The proportion fell from 23% in the 1960s to 12% in the 2020s. When it factored in the "new" kinds of love songs, the proportion jumped from 62% to 69% over the 65 years.

Boyz II Men are balladeers if there ever were any. Singing in the first-person, they lean heavily on the love letter format − making it impossible to tell where they as individuals begin and where their musical personas take over. That narrative structure is part of why they have remained heartthrobs among a loyal fan base.

But the magic trick lies in making that highly individualized format adaptable so would-be-Romeos listening can easily purchase it right off the rack.

"Love is one of those things that we all try to find all the answers to, but we're never going to know because everybody's love is personal," Nathan says. "Eventually you get the gist of it, but you've got to figure out what really makes you tick in the love that you have. … Love has always been difficult to pinpoint, but if you can shoot broad enough, you cover enough people that, you know, it works out."

For Meacham, that's the allure.

"Classics, you know, like from back in the day … making songs that relate, making songs that hit you in the heart," he says.

But it's buyer beware.

"It could be a double-edged sword, you know what I mean? Because the music is so endearing and it embodies so much of a connection that if a man plays it, they don't really have to mean it; it just works for the woman," Wanya says. "So a woman has to be careful. You understand?"

"The guy may never be able to live up to that," Nathan jokes.

It's in the name: Boyz II Men's lasting impact on masculinity

Good guys, bad guys, the ones who haven't yet decided − the Boyz like to think that they've had an impact on the whole bunch.

Throughout our conversation, all three members make a point to remind me that Valentine's Day (the timely plug for our interview) and love itself are not just about what a woman wants.

"A lot of times, women think that men don't desire to be desired," Wanya says. Centering that desire in their music has given listeners permission to do the same in their own lives, he explains.

"We can bear witness to it," Wanya says of the group's larger impact on masculinity. "It's men, manly men, I'm talking about MAGA-supporting men. We've been in barns where we performed for an audience that you would never think that Boyz II Men would be at. We do meet and greets for these things and you see people walk up and those men say: 'Thank you. Thank you because when I couldn't say it, you said it for me. When I couldn't express it, your music expressed it.'"

Boyz II Men babies: Music to make love to

The live show is rife with sexuality.

Wanya's hip-thrusting alone is enough to elicit a warning from the FCC. But it's fitting, nay, essential for a group known not just for making love music, but lovemaking music.

"It really with helped with population, you know what I'm saying?" Wanya says of their chart-topping success in the '90s.

"We call them Boyz II Men babies. There's a lot of Boyz II Men babies out there," Nathan says.

Then they tell me a story I have to fact-check in the hallway, just to make sure they're not pulling my leg.

In 2013, the group was hired by Vladimir Putin to perform a pre-Valentine's Day concert as part of a campaign to boost Russia's declining birthrate. While Putin never confirmed the news, leading to doubts about the claim, the group stands by the story.

"No bull − that's the reason why," Wanya says.

Either way, it seems as if it could be true. That's the nature of their music: just hot and heavy enough to warm even the coldest of tundras.

Certainly enough to warm a Long Island theater midweek as girlz now women and boyz now men embrace their love songs.