If you grew up in the early 90’s, then you, like me, probably swooned over a certain boy group, Color Me Badd, and a certain member of that group, Mark Calderon. And if you, like me again, have been waiting for Mark to take that solo career leap, well the wait is over. Today, with much anticipation for those loving and longing for the nostalgia of hearing that voice over your iPhone, Mark has released his first solo single “It’s Like Good Sex”. He has created his own genre of music for this single that I have dubbed, dance R&B. It gives the audience the George Michael vibe of “I Want Your Sex”, the soulful notes of Marvin Gaye, and the unmistakable influence of Bruno Mars through the lyrics and the beat.
I was able to sit down and speak to Mark before his release and this endeavor has truly been a leap of faith for him. “I wanted to grab people’s attention and write what I was feeling in that moment,” Mark says. “I wanted to give it a chance and see what comes back.” The new single was co-written by himself and the writing styles of Todd William Nystrom and Isaiah Pittman. Mark has always loved writing music, evident in the fact that he helped co-write all the music for Color Me Badd, and as “time went on and I tried to put new music together, but it just didn’t work. I finally got to the point of finally doing it and getting it out there. I wanted to come out with a great song and put time into it, you know? Put that effort into one song and make it great.” While Mark is not looking at an EP at the moment he does hope and plan on going with the flow of releasing a new single every 2-3 months with a possible dip into other genres of music.
Mark is all about feel good/happy music and this song will definitely make you roll the windows down and feel good. Mark knows that the industry has changed since CMB first broke onto the scene, and knows he has to go along with the times. “Technology, the internet, YouTube, and with one click can reach millions. Every generation has its own thing. The 80’s and 90’s was an amazing era of music. The beauty of music though, no matter the generation it’s reaching, is that it can take you anywhere you want to go.” The idea/concept for “It’s Like Good Sex” hit him while he was in Boca Raton with CMB. “I was walking through the hotel lobby and heard music coming from the restaurant/bar area. You never know when inspiration will hit you,” Mark said. “A certain chord hit and I took out my phone and began recording the idea that was coming to me. I went back to my room and started to play with the melody and lyrics. In the end we had ‘It’s Like Good Sex’.”
While Mark loves performing and being with the rest of CMB, he loves the creative freedom that this solo venture is bringing. “It’s my time to explore on my own time and terms. It’s the freedom as an artist, a songwriter, an entertainer, and now it’s my time. I’m so excited about this new journey.” When asked about the obstacles that he has come across he said that, “doubt creeps in at times and that’s just a part of being human, but when you have real and true friends that can push you and tell you that you can do it, that changes everything. Everyone needs that encouragement and I’m fortunate to have those people in my life lifting me up.”
Mark’s new single “It’s Like Good Sex” is out on tomorrow on all music platforms including Amazon Music, iTunes, Apple Music, and Sound Cloud. If you are in need of soulful nostalgia with a hot dance beat behind it Mark Calderon is ready to give it to you like good sex.
Music In My Lyrics 