"Candy Girl" is the debut single by

New Edition New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 19 ...

from their debut album ''Candy Girl''. It was released as a single in late February 1983 and the song hit number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, becoming the 31st-best-selling single of the year. It also peaked at number 1 on the

Hot Black Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart, passing

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

’s song "

Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a rock song on the album. Jackson l ...

" on May 14, 1983. "Candy Girl" established New Edition as a

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States ...

group with stylings from

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhy ...

History

New Edition was first discovered and mentored by their manager Brooke Payne. He entered them in a local talent show where they met songwriter/producer

Maurice Starr Larry Curtis Johnson (born July 14, 1953), better known by his stage name Maurice Starr, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work creating songs and albums with boy bands New Edition and New Kids on ...

who wrote "Candy Girl" for the group, envisioning them as a 1980s answer to

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

Ralph Tresvant Ralph Edward Tresvant (born May 16, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer, best known as the lead singer of R&B group New Edition. As a solo artist, Tresvant released the album '' Ralph Tresvant'' (1990). In 2008, he ...

was positioned as the lead singer, because Starr considered his high tenor as reminiscent of a younger

, while having members Ricky Bell and

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

sharing alternate leads. The 12" version features producers Starr and

Michael Jonzun Michael Jonzun is a musician and music producer. His specialty genres are electro, electronic dance, and electrofunk. Born in Florida, he formed the Jonzun Crew in Boston with Steve Thorpe and Gordy Worthy. In the early 1980s, the group record ...

doing some additional instrumentation in the outro.

Release and reaction

Released as a single in February 1983 before the album was released, the song made a slow ascent up the chart, peaking on June 25, 1983, at number 46 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 singles chart The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in ...

singles chart, and number 1 on the R&B singles chart in the US. It was most successful in the UK, where it peaked at number 1 for one week in May 1983.

Personnel

: lead and background vocals; rap *

: lead and background vocals; rap * Ricky Bell: lead and background vocals; rap *

Michael Bivins New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 1980 ...

: rap and background vocals *

Ronnie DeVoe Ronald Boyd DeVoe Jr. (born November 17, 1967), is an American singer, rapper, and actor known as one of the members of the R&B/pop group New Edition, and the R&B/ hip hop group Bell Biv DeVoe. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Career DeVo ...

: rap and background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1982 songs 1983 debut singles Bubblegum pop songs New Edition songs Number-one singles in South Africa Songs written by Maurice Starr Songs written by Michael Jonzun UK Singles Chart number-one singles Warlock Records singles