Boyz II Men: Leaner and meaner – The R group performs in Baton Rouge Saturday

Boyz II Men will perform at L’Auberge Casino & Hotel Baton Rouge Saturday. Tickets for the show are sold out. For more information, click here.

For Boyz II Men, it’s so hard to say goodbye to the stage and their fans, who are a little older but as devoted as ever.

The R&B group lit fire to the Billboard charts with singles like 1991’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” 1993’s “End of the Road,” and 1994’s “I’ll Make Love to You.” The last of those singles was featured on the sophomore album II, which sold 12 million copies in the United States.

Twenty years later, the quartet is now a trio, with bass vocalist Michael McCary no longer performing. Vocalist Shawn Stockman says in recent years the group has had to adjust to a music industry now geared toward technology and downloads.

“I didn’t see it as hurting us,” he says. “We were fortunate that we didn’t sit on our laurels. We always had that mentality that we would do what we needed to do.”

The group kept touring, doing shows in Asia, Africa and Australia, to keep their vocal chops and sound intact.

“Once we got a grasp of the changing industry, it was like we never lost a step,” Stockman says. “We’re a little leaner and meaner now. Really, nothing’s changed musically.”

The hard work has paid off and Boyz II Men has achieved staying power. The trio currently has an extended residency at The Mirage in Las Vegas. They’ve even made a few appearances on shows like Tosh.O and How I Met Your Mother, reminding those now-older fans that they’re still performing. On the latter, they performed “Slapsong,” an ode to the show’s long-running gag “The Slap Bet.”

“We graciously sang [‘Slapsong’],” Stockman says. “It was a beautiful arrangement. The men and women who grew up with us are now the ones who run the companies. They are basically the workforce of the United States. These same people who grew up with us have discovered that we’re still around, and they’re excited for us to be a part of their TV show.”

In 2014, Boyz II Men show no signs of slowing down, and the trio is currently working on a new album.

“I don’t like to pre-hype anything,” Stockman says. “But I can state that I’m very proud of it. It’s a creative departure from what people know us for. The music represents where we are creatively. Despite the categories we’ve been put in, we’ve always considered ourselves musicians, first and foremost.”

For more information on Boyz II Men, click here.