All-4-One at the Big Dome on Sept. 7

MANILA, Philippines - There was a time when R&B songs extolled the purity and power of true love. A time when R&B singers were better known for their singing than their skanking. A time when All-4-One (photo) was all the rage.

The Filipino fans of such music will have the treat of their lifetime when All-4-One comes in to do a back-to-back concert with Color Me Badd, another musical luminary during the ’90s, on Sept. 7 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Back in the ’90s and early 2000s, James Jones, Delious Kennedy, Alfred Nevarez and Tony Borowiak, collectively known as All-4-One, took the world by storm with their songs I Can Love You Like That, Someday, Beautiful As U, So Much In Love and I Swear.

As members of All-4-One, they were a force to reckon with in the music world; acknowledged especially in the international R&B circuit as the “Dukes of R&B” for their unmatched skill in harmonizing and on the strength of each member’s dazzling voice.

At one point, All-4-One became so celebrated in the industry that the group was nominated left and right by prestigious award-giving bodies. To wit, So Much In Love was named Favorite New Artist Soul/Rhythm and Blues at the American Music Awards even as I Swear received a Grammy award for Best Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal both in 1995.

All-4-One has sold some 22 million records worldwide. It also has the rare distinction of having I Swear enter the Guinness Book of World Records in 1994 for Biggest-Selling Single.

I Swear has also been named by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) as one of the greatest love songs of the 20th Century. True enough, to this day, many couples still march down the aisle with the lines “For better or worse, till death do us part/I love you with every beat of my heart” on their lips and in their hearts.

The quartet also has had the honor of singing a Disney tune Someday, which instantly turned Gold upon release, is from animation film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The song was later remade by British R&B girl group Eternal and a Spanish version, Suena by Luis Miguel.

According to Wikipedia, the group’s 2004 album, Split Personality, was given an Asia-only release, and subsequently gave them Asian hits with Someone Who Lives in Your Heart and I Just Wanna Be Your Everything. For much of the 2000s, All-4-One has been spending their time touring South East Asia, in cities such as Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok, Shanghai, Sydney and Perth Australia.

In 2009, All-4-One released No Regrets that’s been hailed by critics as a “career album” for the group.

All-4-One and Color Me Badd will also perform at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu on Sept. 9; Limketkai Mall in Cagayan de Oro, Sept. 10; and Bacolod’s La Salle Coliseum, Sept. 12.

Apart from their hits, the highlight of the All-4-One/Color Me Badd shows in the Philippines will be their tribute numbers to the late Michael Jackson.

The concert is presented by Ovation Productions. Tickets are priced at P4,500, P4,000, P3,500, P2,500, P1,000 and P500. For details, call the Smart Araneta box-office and all Ticketnet at 911-5555.