Next hasn't been heard from in a while, but that will all change very soon. The group's R.L. currently appears on Ideal's new single "Whatever," and now he and the rest of Next are getting ready to release a new album.

The new album, "Welcome To Nextacy," arrives nearly three years after the group released its double-platinum debut, "Rated Next," which featured the up-tempo club hit "Too Close." That song, as well as producer Kay Gee (of Naughty By Nature), taught the trio an important lesson that they would take back to the studio for portions of their second album.

Next's Tweety, who has dropped the "y" and now just calls himself Tweet, told the MTV Radio Network that songs such as "Too Close" are vital element in keeping the group's fans happy.

Tweet said. "You hear it and [you'll] be like, 'Oh, Lord.' You're skippin' over it on the CD.

"Anybody can sing a ballad," Tweet offered. "Anybody can sing a slow record and sing about, 'I'll give you the sun, the moon, the rain, the stars, and the mountains.' But if you're comin' out with an up-tempo and it's a banger, that's why we won eight "Billboard" Awards for "Too Close" when we was out. We just tryin' to keep the party goin'. We still have ballads and our ghetto, slow records, but it's all good." [RealAudio]

The group hopes to release a song called "Wifey" as the first single from "Nextacy." As R.L. recently explained to the MTV Radio Network, the song is similar in tempo to "Too Close" and talks about a special girl who will hopefully materialize in the future.

"'Wifey' is maybe not the best girl in the world," R.L. explained, "but she's the best girl for you in the world. You're not married, but that's my wifey; that's who you wanna be with forever. That's basically what it is. We kinda took 'Too Close' and 'Butta Love' and put 'em together. It's complimenting the women in our lives that we one day wanna have."

"Wifey" should surface as a single in the coming weeks; Next is expected to release "Welcome To Nextacy" on June 10.

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The Minneapolis trio Next finished 1998 with Billboard's number one song of the year for "Too Close," the group's second single from its debut album, "Rated Next," which was co-produced by Naughty By Nature's Kaygee.

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The guys in Next are among the artists lending their talents to the soundtrack of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?," the upcoming biopic about the late '50s R&B sensation Frankie Lymon.

While the film tells the tale of Lymon's ascent to the top of the pop charts as a doo-wop phenom, Next said that their contribution to the soundtrack is vintage Next.

"It's another one of those sensual R&B Next songs," group member R.L. recently told our friends in the MTV Radio Network of the song "Splash."

"It has a little acoustic sound to it and we try to bring a lot of different flavors."

Despite the fact that the film is rooted in music history, the soundtrack will carry a contemporary vibe. The Next track will join cuts by Busta Rhymes, Mase, Usher, En Vogue, and a collaboration between Missy Elliott and Spice Girl Mel B (see Busta Rhymes, Mase, Usher Sign On For Doo-Wop Soundtrack").

The soundtrack is expected to arrive next month.

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• Frankie Lymon

Not just a multi-platinum selling R&B act, Next are proving to be shrewd salesmen, as the group has just cashed in on its name to sign a sponsorship deal with Pepsi.

The trio is teaming up with the cola giant as part of its "Generation Next" ad campaign. As part of the deal Next will be featured in Pepsi's summer print ads and will be responsible for developing a jingle.

In related news, the band's breakthrough single, "Too Close," has just been certified double-platinum, which the band thinks is not too shabby for a song that is essentially about hitting on girls while night clubbing.

"From a conversation we had with several girls at a nightclub," explained Next singer T-Lo, "the basic idea started rolling around and I just kind of jumped in and we put the song together. But it's talking about the club scene, with guys getting out of hand and the female telling him to back up, asking 'What are you doing?'"

Next will head to the tropical paradise of Honolulu, Hawaii, for its next show, opening for singer Brian McKnight at the Waikiki Shell.

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Well, Next is finally "the big thing."

The hip-hop group, that is. Next has landed the number one single in the country right now with "Too Close," off the band's debut album, "Rated Next," which was produced by Naughty By Nature's Kay Gee.

Next just wrapped up a U.S. tour with Mary J. Blige and Usher, and plans to release their, er, next single, "I Still Love You," prior to returning to the road this summer to open for Boyz II Men. MTV News caught up with the band recently and discovered how Next dealt with all the ups and downs brought on by the sudden success.

"Some good and some bad," R.L. said, "but it's always -- you gotta' sacrifice. You have to meet people and, you'll be like, you'll be tired, haven't slept in days, and have to go, 'How ya' doin'?' And sometimes people will meet you and they'll be like having attitudes. But sometimes, I'll tell you what you need, this is what we do. 1... 2 ... we take a breather. 1 ... 2 ... 3...."

"It works," Tweety said.

"It's called a group hug," [1MB QuickTime] added T-Low.

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• Naughty By Nature
• Mary J. Blige
• Usher
• Boyz II Men