Editing Bobby Brown (section)

=== New Edition ===
{{Main|New Edition}}
New Edition was founded in 1978 under the name "The Bricks" by 9-year-old Brown and childhood friends [[Michael Bivins]] and [[Ricky Bell (singer)|Ricky Bell]].<ref name="Jet">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YMQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58|magazine=Jet|title=Bobby Brown tells why he waited five years to make new album|issn=0021-5996|date=December 8, 1997|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|access-date=December 1, 2019}}</ref> [[Ralph Tresvant]] joined the group at the suggestion of Bell who sang with Tresvant as a duo. Brown was also familiar with Tresvant since they were children. In 1982, they became a quintet when their manager Brooke Payne insisted on bringing in his nephew [[Ronnie DeVoe]], to complete the group. After performing in several talent shows in the Boston area, they signed a deal with fellow Bostonian [[Arthur Baker (musician)|Arthur Baker]]'s Streetwise Records, who released their debut album ''[[Candy Girl (album)|Candy Girl]]''. The title track, on which Brown sang co-lead alongside Bell and Tresvant, was the group's first number-one hit on Billboard's R&B Singles Chart in 1983 and also became an international hit reaching number one in the UK and New Zealand. Brown's first full lead vocal performance was on the New Edition ballad "Jealous Girl", which was a minor hit when it also charted in 1983. The group became crossover pop sensations with their [[New Edition (album)|self-titled second release]] in 1984. The album included the pop hits "[[Cool It Now]]" and "[[Mr. Telephone Man]]", the latter in which Brown also co-led, often singing the now-memorable chorus.

Despite the group's success, however, Brown felt the group was never rightfully paid the money they felt they had earned, later saying, "The most I saw from all the tours and all of the records we sold was $500 and a VCR." Brown also allegedly grew jealous of the attention given to fellow New Edition member Ralph Tresvant, and during some of their tour performances would often step out of his position and perform out of turn, singing and performing seductively, which caused concern within the group's management team. Brown was featured on two more New Edition albums before leaving the group in early 1986.<ref>{{cite news|title= How Cruel Can Fame Be, Bobby Brown? |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=September 27, 1992|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-27-ca-63-story.html|access-date=January 4, 2023|first=Robert|last=Hilburn}}</ref> Brown later said he felt that the group's management treated them "like little slaves by people who were only interested in money and power, and not in the welfare of New Edition". Some controversy arose over the way Brown was removed from the group. Some say Brown asked to be let out of New Edition, but a [[VH-1]] ''[[Behind the Music]]'' documentary on the group claimed Brown was voted out by the group via their management team, with the members—most prominently Tresvant—against the decision.