MC's Music Lounge: The western boy band has been revived with R&B/pop foursome, Soulidified

Shade, Malik, Bradley and Landon met on Building The Band where they were formed as a group before any of them saw each other’s faces. They only heard their voices. The premise of the show was a combination of Making The Band and The Voice, and the result was a set of strong vocalists. The western boy band has felt like a relic of another pop era for the better half of this decade and the later half of the 2010s. Building The Band was the industry’s attempt at reviving the model, and alas we meet Soulidified, an R&B/pop foursome that leans heavy on the sounds of bands like *NSYNC and B2K from the early oughts.

K-pop bands like BTS, Stray Kids, SEVENTEEN and more took the boy band model to another level of global popularity. By doing so, they’ve opened the door for that model to make a comeback in the west, proving the appetite for cute guys with strong voices and killer dance moves is never truly gone. We are about to start witnessing the fruits of those labours. Soulidified are launching their first album and the lead single is hot. For any of us who grew up with bands like O-Town and Danity Kane being formed in front of our eyes, we know how deep you can connect with a group that you are invested in from the jump – and that was the secret that K-pop has leaned into so well. For Soulidifed, getting to watch them from the stage of formation to their debut has helped them build a solid connections with their fans – a new generation of music listeners who weren’t around in the early 2000s.

A recent performance by Soulidified in Brazil resulted in a series of viral tweets that have landed on millions of eyeballs, and in turn, sped up the rollout. The guys have caught the attention of fans online for everything from their sound, their look, their dynamic, and their choreography and they are filling a gap in the market that has been vacant for quite some time. Bands like Backstreet Boys and New Kids On The Block borrowed heavily from Black influences and music but were very white in their aesthetic. Soulidified, on the other hand, are a mixed race group and have talked openly about this being a superpower with the intention of bringing a bigger message of unity to the forefront.

Next week, new music arrives from Troye Sivan, Pet Shop Boys and Pitbull. This week, we have a diverse range of pop, R&B, country, hip-hop and dance tunes from Quavo with Justin Timberlake, Victoria Monet, Dom Dolla with Skepta, Miranda Lambert with Ella Langley and of course Soulidified. Plus, TLC scores yet another viral moment with one of their most beloved and meaningful 90s classics.

Listen on…

MC’s PICKS OF THE WEEK

“Man Ain’t Me” by Soulidified

The first release from their new record deal with Atlantic Records, “Man Ain’t Me” is the true arrival of Soulidified. I’ve been loving the boom in Y2K-sounding pop songs that have come back into the conversation over the last few years. “Man Ain’t Me” sounds like it came straight out of 2002. It’s easy to sing along to and it sticks in your head. “Man Ain’t Me” fits all the criteria but with one extra treat: all four members can really sing. There’s a level of cheese that is required to make these types of songs work and the boys from Soulidified more than deliver in that department (said lovingly of course). The music video shows the guys going after the same girl in an auto shop as they break out into random choreography and lip synch to the camera with their best heartthrob facial expressions on full display. It’s like an updated version of *NSYNC’s “Girlfriend” music video but this time all the members get to sing. The beat is nostalgic, the vocals are on point and the guys look like a cohesive unit. If this song doesn’t become a hit I just may riot.

“House Music” by Quavo, Justin Timberlake

From Soulidified to Justified (see what I did there), I present you all a fire new Justin Timberlake track, a thought that I haven’t written or even conjured up in my brain since 2013. I’m in disbelief but here we are. “House Music” is a musical departure for Quavo who generally sticks to his mumble rap formula. This track is definitely far more dance oriented than anything he’s ever experimented with but also has some funky elements to it. From the jump this song has got the sauce but the second the bass kicks in, you’re immediately hooked. Justin’s portion is in the second half of the song and brings it to a new level. I was surprised by how much I was vibing to this but then I saw the production credits and saw it was a Pharrell Williams original. No wonder! Justin Timberlake has a lot of questionable songs in his discography, but his shining stars are all the collaborations between him and The Neptunes; and his features – he does those very well. “House Music” is destined to be a hit – whether it will get the opportunity to become one is yet to be seen, but it earns the MC approval stamp with flying colours.

“Almost” by Victoria Monet

Victoria has dropped her sophomore project Frequency of Love – a 22-track labour of love filled with alternative R&B sounds blended with very cleverly used 80s and 90s samples. We’re talking The Isley Brothers, Joe, SWV, Kenny Lattimore and even a portion from Halle Berry’s dialogue in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. My personal favourite though is in this track, “Almost”, where she uses a sample from Brandy’s “Almost Doesn’t Count” and flips it around to create a sultry new song. “Almost” is one of the more sexually explicit songs on the album. Warning: the following lyrics are SPICY. She sings lines like “If it’s really ladies first, let me cum first tonight” and the very clever interpolation of the Brandy classic on the line “I almost came so loud, but everybody knows almost doesn’t count”. It isn’t just Brandy’s sample that is used, but also her vocal layering techniques. I can hear so much of her influence in Victoria’s vocal delivery and it makes for an exceptional listening experience. Especially for those who cherish the sounds of the true Cinderella. Brandy’s original version of “Almost Doesn’t Count” is far more innocent and not about sex at all, but rather more about leaving a bad relationship. Victoria’s clever usage however is just as empowering. Because yes ladies, you SHOULD be putting your needs first. Victoria’s pen game is on another level – I’ll always respect a solid double entendre but sometimes it’s dope when an artist can be so literal without being cringe. It’s definitely a fine line but Victoria has found the sweet spot because while I was certainly clutching my pearls a little bit at the innuendos, I also was intrigued.

“DANGER DANGER” by Dom Dolla, Solomun, Skepta

I have Nelly Furtado to thank for introducing me to the bumping wonderous sounds of Dom Dolla after their collaboration “Eat Your Man” dropped a few summers ago. Since then, his tunes have been staples in my workout playlists. “DANGER DANGER” is yet another heavy house anthem that will literally set your speakers on fire. Besides, put Skepta’s voice onto any beat and you’ve got me but he sounds especially hunky on anything that brings you to the dance floor. This is the type of song that plays as the soundtrack for a highlight reel of a wild night out, it’s rave music on steroids. Dom Dolla’s production can feel relentless at times but Skepta brings the cool factor so that it isn’t overwhelming. Instead, it’s sweaty, sexy and dangerous. You will be staying out much later than expected with this song playing, however, as Skepta says in the song, this is music for both the daytime AND nighttime ravers. All you need is the will to be wild.

“Snakeskin Boots” by Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley

I haven’t been f-cking with Ella Langley’s music at all this year – no personal reason, I really just don’t enjoy the sound of her voice but clearly I’m outnumbered based on all the records she keeps breaking. Good for her! Miranda Lambert on the other hand? I have ALWAYS f-cked with her. Together, they have created a truly catchy and feel-good country-pop jam that reminds me of the songs from The Chicks and Shania Twain that I used to devour in my childhood. “Snakeskin Boots” is fun and makes you want to dance even if country music isn’t your cup of tea. The song sounds like it belongs to a western film with a bunch of baddie cowgirls. I maintain my stance regarding Ella’s voice, but I will give credit where its due and her deeper tone does compliment Miranda’s higher pitched babydoll-like vocals very well. Those “oooooooohs” in the chorus are also contagiously catchy and pleasing to the ear. I even hear a little bit of 70s pop influence in there. It’s exciting for the world of country music to watch two powerhouse females teaming up to create something that is sure to take over the charts.

MC’s VIRAL PICK

“Unpretty” by TLC

Just a few weeks ago, I wrote about “No Scrubs” going mega viral to the point where the song is now charting on the Billboard charts for the first time in 27 years. Now, just a few weeks later, another song from the same album is making similar noise. “Unpretty” was the second single from their 1999 album FanMail and was written by Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Dallas Austin. The lyrics are deeply personal to T-Boz who would express her insecurities through poetry. She would go on to also release the 1999 poetry book Thoughts in tandem with the single. In a society that places so much emphasis on the way we look, this is the kind of song whose message will always be significant. The music video may have been created in 1999, but the storylines are more relevant than ever. Plus, wow what a stunning visual.

Fast forward to 2026 and a new viral trend has started circulating using the song. The “no makeup no filter” trend has thousands of women across America sharing videos of themselves lip synching the lyrics of the song while showing off their natural beauty at all ages. Lyrics like “You can buy all the make up the man can make” and “Who am I to be in the position to make me feel so damn unpretty” reinforce the song’s central message: no amount of altering our appearance can quiet the insecurities that come from being overly critical of ourselves. TLC’s official social media accounts have been constantly sharing clips of the trend as the band finishes up their tour with Salt-n-Pepa and En Vogue. This trend is also especially important now given T-Boz’s current health as she has had to step back from the tour to heal from a sickle cell flare up that left her hospitalized. Back in 1998, she wrote this song during one of those hospital stays, so the fact that it’s going viral at this specific time is especially poignant. At its core, “Unpretty” challenges the beauty standards that make us question what we naturally look like and encourages us to find confidence beyond them. Nearly three decades since “Unpretty” was first released, the “no make-up no filter” trend is both introducing the song to the next generation, while also giving it new life for the generation that loved it when it was first on the radio.

@tlc
We LOVE seeing all of you continuing to embrace the meaning of this song and showcasing what self love looks like! 🤎🖤 Let's keep it going!!
♬ Unpretty - TLC

The 2026 “MC’s MUSIC LOUNGE” Spotify playlist is live. You can add it here to keep up to date with my weekly picks throughout the year.