b4-4, later known as Before Four (stylized as before four), was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...
from
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. The band was composed of twins
Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, along with Ohad Einbinder. They were signed to
Sony Records
Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation.
Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the label ...
and achieved commercial success in Canada and later toured as Before Four in Germany.
["RyanDan grew up through B4-4 experiences"]
''Regina Leader-Post'', Jun 21, 2008 . Mile Devlin
History
As b4-4
The Kowarskys and Einbinder were friends for several years before the group officially formed in 1998. After an audition for
Mike Roth
Mike Roth, originally from Northampton, Massachusetts, is an A&R man, notable for discovering and developing numerous famous Canadian bands including Our Lady Peace, Chantal Kreviazuk, Amanda Marshall, The Philosopher Kings, Prozzäk, Junkhouse ...
of Toronto's
Sony Records
Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation.
Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the label ...
studios, they were signed to the label. They also signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV.
[" TWINS PEAK"]
Elizabeth Renzetti, LONDON — ''Globe and Mail'', Oct. 13, 2007
In 2000, they released their debut album ''
b4-4
b4-4, later known as Before Four (stylized as before four), was a Canadian boy band from Toronto, Ontario. The band was composed of twins Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, along with Ohad Einbinder. They were signed to Sony Records and achieved commer ...
''. b4-4 achieved success in Canada with the single "
Get Down
Get down is a stance, posture or movement in many traditional African cultures and throughout the African diaspora. It involves bending at the waist and knees, bringing the body low to the ground in moments of ecstasy or intensity. Bending at the ...
" and its accompanying video, and later "Go Go".
Other releases included "Everyday", and "Ball and Chain". The album was certified Platinum in Canada.
In the summer of 2001, B4-4 joined
Snow
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
,
Wave
In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (res ...
and
soulDecision
soulDecision was a Canadian pop band active from 1993 to 2005. They are best known for the single, " Faded", which hit number-one in Canada in 2000, and " Ooh It's Kinda Crazy" which became a hit as well the following year in early 2001.
Caree ...
on the
YTV PsykoBlast Tour and opened for
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...
on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's
Total Request Live Tour
The Total Request Live Tour (also known as MTV's TRL Tour) was a co-headlining tour featuring American groups, 3LW, Destiny's Child, Dream, St. Lunatics and American artists Eve and Nelly. Jessica Simpson joined the tour for select dates before ...
. They were also nominated for Best New Group at the
2001 Juno Awards.
Also in 2001, they starred in the episode ''Howlin' with B4-4'' in the TV series ''Eddy the Eco-Dog Unleashed''.
As Before Four
Following their success in Canada, the trio b4-4 headed to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, signing with
Universal Music
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...
/
Polydor
Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
under the name Before Four. In 2003, they released their second album, ''In Your Face''.
That album generated three singles: "Player (You're My Ecstasy)", "I'll Be There" and "Feel Free (To Say No)".
B4-4 disbanded in 2004. Ryan and Dan Kowarsky went on to form the vocal, musical, songwriting and producing duo
RyanDan
RyanDan (born December 5, 1979) is a Canadian musical, songwriting and producing duo, consisting of identical twins Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, whose music is a mix of pop music, pop, opera, and classical music, classical.
They were originally part ...
. Einbinder moved to the United States to focus on songwriting and became a businessman, founding and operating ''Boomphones'' and ''Circa Homes''.
In 2021, "Get Down" was used as a Lip Sync for Your Life number in episode 7 of
Canada's Drag Race second season, with which
Gia Metric won her
Lip sync
Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals.
Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...
competition.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Music videos
See also
*
RyanDan
RyanDan (born December 5, 1979) is a Canadian musical, songwriting and producing duo, consisting of identical twins Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, whose music is a mix of pop music, pop, opera, and classical music, classical.
They were originally part ...
Notes
References
External links
Ohad Einbinderat
MySpace
RyanDan.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:B4-4
Canadian boy bands
Musical groups established in 1999
Musical groups disestablished in 2004
Canadian pop music groups
Sibling musical groups
1999 establishments in Ontario