— by Alyssa Rashbaum, with reporting by Matt Paco
With just a little stereo and a lot of performing experience, the five brothers that make up B5 managed to impress P. Diddy so much that the hip-hop mogul wanted to sign them on the spot.
"We performed in his hotel suite ... with a little boombox with low music and everything," B5's Dustin said.
"We did a showcase for him," Kelly explained. "He just loved it, so he wanted to sign and everything right there."
Since that fateful meeting, the Breeding brothers — Dustin, 16; Kelly, 15; Patrick, 14; Carnell, 13; and Bryan, 10 — have worked with sought-after producers including Rodney Jerkins, who produced their debut single, a cover of "All I Do" by the Jackson 5, a group with whom they are often compared.
"It's a good feeling to be compared to the Jackson 5," said Dustin. "But then again, you know, we want to be our own group and stuff."
The four oldest Breeding brothers started performing seven years ago as the TNT Boyz, at the prompting of their mother and aunt. They worked the talent-competition circuit for years, and won many of them, including the Radio Disney contest, which they frequently competed in.
"We used to do this Radio Disney contest all the time, to win tickets to concerts and stuff," said Dustin. "But every time we did it we'd win, so they eventually had to stop. They had to stop using us because we won all the time. Then they made us the official dancers."
When youngest brother Bryan was old enough, he joined the lineup, and the guys changed their name to B5.
With the lineup of five in place, B5 hit the stage dancing, performing with artists such as Kanye West, Usher, Bow Wow, Ginuwine and Twista. They traveled to Monte Carlo and performed for Prince Albert of Monaco, whom Patrick recalls as being "real nice ... not stuck up or anything."
After seven years performing, Patrick said the group's love of being onstage keeps them going. "This is what we love to do," he said. "Ever since I was little, I would watch Michael Jackson on the TV, and ever since I saw him, I've just wanted to perform."
Like Jackson in his heyday, B5 regularly perform for throngs of hysterical young girls.
"We were performing," Patrick recalled. "We went down off the stage and were singing to this girl, and then we went back onstage. And the girl was running, and a police officer was like, 'Stop! Stop!' So when he stopped her, she punched him in the face and so he ... put handcuffs on her."
"After we were done, [girls] just broke through and started chasing us," Kelly added. "We were running for our lives. It was crazy."
B5 know how to work a crowd of women, with sweet tracks like "All I Do," which finds the group crooning to that special girl ("I can't wait to get to school each day/ And wait for you to pass my way/ [And bells start to ring] and angels start to sing").
"Teacher's Pet" is middle brother Patrick's favorite track. "It's real fun if you listen to the lyrics," he said. "It's about a boy liking a girl, and then he finds out she's a teacher, a substitute teacher. So it's real funny."
Oldest brothers Kelly and Dustin, meanwhile, favor the sped-up dance numbers like "Twirk It," a track which Kelly says is "about telling a girl to get out on the dance floor and, like, twirk it."
Despite their young ages, the members of B5 understand the pressure that will inevitably be put on them as they release their debut album. The group is nonetheless optimistic about the future and how B5 will be received by a wider audience.
"B5 is one family that you'll want to be a part of," they declared.
For more news, info and music from Breakout Stars check out "Spankin' New Presents Breakout Stars Week."
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