All-4-One

Formed in Los Angeles in 1993, the quartet All-4-One—Tony Borowiak, Jamie Jones, Delious Kennedy, and Alfred Nevarez—secured multi-platinum sales and a Grammy early on through doo wop-tinged adult contemporary R&B. Although their chart visibility faded after the late 1990s, the singers maintained an active recording and touring schedule that stretched beyond twenty years.

Their 1994 debut arrived as an a cappella treatment of “So Much in Love,” the Tymes’ hit from three decades earlier; it peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 before being eclipsed by the follow-up “I Swear.” That cover of John Michael Montgomery’s recently issued ballad reached the top of the Hot 100 and earned platinum status, propelling the self-titled album—roughly half ballads, half post-new jack swing R&B uptempo cuts—to multi-platinum certification.

In 1995 “I Swear” brought All-4-One a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The group responded with “I Can Love You Like That,” another contemporary Montgomery ballad remake that became their third and final Top Five pop single while lifting the parent album And the Music Speaks to platinum. The album’s remaining singles underperformed, and All-4-One’s mainstream profile contracted sharply. Between 1996 and 2002 the releases “Someday,” “I Will Be Right Here,” and “Beautiful as U” appeared only on the adult contemporary chart.

During the 2000s and early 2010s the group issued a Japan-only album and several independent projects, most prominently Twenty + in 2015. That set honored their longevity by pairing new songs with re-recorded versions of earlier material.