DAY 26 SAY'S THEY HAVE LEARNED FROM DANITY KANE'S BREAK UP!

NEW YORK (AP) — In order to keep their brotherly love flowing, members of Day26 felt they had to fight — both physically and verbally — to mature as a group.


On the latest season of their MTV reality TV show, "Making the Band 4," fans not only got to see the boys squabble and sing their hearts out, they also saw the demise of their labelmates, girl group Danity Kane.

The men of Day26 thought it would be best for their fans to witness first-hand what shaky moments they had gone through, unlike Danity Kane, whose break up came as a surprise.

"With the whole Danity Kane situation, that was like a shock. Well, of course we knew what was going on because we were on the inside, but they pretty much left their fans high and dry," Brian Andrews said in a recent interview.

Added Willie Taylor: "They kept their thing a secret, we didn't."

Day26 formed on "Making the Band" in 2007; Danity Kane formed in 2005. The groups were signed to Sean "Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy imprint.

Most of Day26's fights stemmed from who should lead the group and how the new album — "Forever In a Day," released in April — should sound.

"We had our problems and the world was able to see that. They were able to give their opinions on it and I think that was the best thing for us to do because at the end of the day, all the groups go through it, they just don't have a channel to show the world," Taylor said.

The group, whose self-titled debut CD hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart last year, is hoping the new CD will help them become superstars outside reality TV land.

But one of the problems they've faced is finding success on the radio. None of their singles have broken into the top 40; their highest single was their debut song, "Got Me Going," which reached No. 30 on the R&B charts.

But the group says their new single, "Imma Put It On Her," featuring Diddy and Yung Joc, will take them to the next level.

Qwanell Mosley calls it "a club banger" and "something different." ''We just wanted to take it to the next level, upgrade and evolve as artists," he said.

Unlike their debut CD, a record filled with slow jams and ballads, the new disc offers more pop-friendly tunes, like the uptempo "Need That" and "Your Heels," an upbeat tune about women's shoes and sex appeal.

"The debut record was hand-given to us by Diddy. The album was pretty much picked before we made the band," Taylor said.

"So with this album, he put the ball in our court and he let us do it ourselves... and now you really get to see us evolve, you get to see as true artists."