They might be the hottest group you’ve never heard of. Unless, of course, you’re a tween girl with boy band radar and a Facebook account.
So what if Mindless Behavior is a fabricated crew of 14-year-old boys christened with the designed-for-coolness stage names Prodigy, Ray Ray, Princeton and Roc Royal?
They – along with fellow pop-R&B shriek-magnets Diggy, The New Boyz, Jacob Lattimore and others on this year’s “Scream Tour” – have a sold-out show at the Fox Theatre on Sunday along with upcoming dates in Chicago, Detroit and numerous other cities.
As befits young stars of this generation, the boys’ success can largely be attributed to social networking.
They’ve culled more than 1 million Facebook fans and this week debuted on Billboard’s Social 50 chart, an achievement largely credited to their rabid interaction with fans on the social networking site – where they usually hold contests for concert tickets – Twitter, and a social radio app called Spins.fm.
Prior to this tour, they’ve opened for Justin Bieber, Backstreet Boys and Janet Jackson and landed their first single “My Girl” on Billboard’s Top 40 R&B-Hip-Hop chart.
Prodigy, in fact, was a bit of a Bieber before joining Mindless Behavior and could be found in self-made videos on YouTube.
Though the group was assembled in 2008 through a casting call by Walter Millsap, CEO of Conjunction Entertainment and Vincent Herbert, head of Streamline Records, they’re now as bonded as siblings.
“We’re all very different and very similar in many ways,” said Princeton, the chattiest of the bunch, at least on this phone call. “We have our disagreements, but at the end of the day, we’re all kids and we’re all brothers now. It’s all about the music.”
In their pre-Mindless days, Princeton performed in music videos (including Travie McCoy's "Cupid's Chokehold") and commercials; Ray Ray did the talent show circuit and danced with Tommy the Clown; and Roc Royal said he was, “a normal kid going to school every day, playing wide receiver on the football team.”
After a couple of years of training and grooming, the boys were ready to craft their debut album, “#1 Girl,” with producers Millsap, Candice "Goldie" Nelson and an assist from Atlanta’s Polow da Don (on the bonus track “I Love You”).
Growing up, the boys listened to an array of pop and soul artists: Diana Ross and Otis Redding for Ray Ray; No Doubt and Nirvana for Princeton; Jodeci and TLC for Roc Royal; and Chris Brown and Usher for Prodigy. All of them also cite Michael Jackson as a tremendous influence.
They even pay homage to the old school in their new video for “Mrs. Right,” which prominently features LL Cool J.
Along with his rap knowledge, Cool passed along other helpful guidance, at least to Roc Royal.
“He inspired me to read a little bit more. I never got into books, but now he told me you have to get into them to learn how to speak. He called my attention to that,” Roc said. “I want to thank him for being such a nice guy.”
Concert preview
Scream Tour – The Next Generation
With Mindless Behavior, Diggy, The New Boyz, Jacob Lattimore, Hamilton Park and OMG Girls. 7 p.m. Sunday. Sold out. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
