Seventeen (band)

Seventeen is an American music band consisting of four members: Donnie Lanningburg, Kelli Love, Alisa Love, and Jon "Alias" Banner. The group is well know for their songs, "You Blow My Mind" and "Crazy On U" and many more songs. Seventeen has become one of the famous R&B/Pop bands, selling 4 consecutive Platinum albums and hitting #! on the Billboard 200 chart. The group has currently sold 40 million copies worldwide.

In 2007, the group went on a 7-year hiatus to re-focus on solo careers and other ventures. Seventeen reunited in 2014, confirming a new album in the summer of 2015.

Musical beginnings
As the group Seventeen formed in 1995, Kelli Love and Alisa Love, both sisters, met with Lanningburg and Banner in New York, NY at high school. The quartet agreed that their voices seemed well together, and they performed for many gigs as well as for NYU. The group had began receiving praise from audiences, and Columbia Records head discovered the group while promoting Mariah Carey's Daydream album during the time.

Seventeen, meanwhile, signed a contract with Columbia Records in 1996, and became the second group to be signed to the label. In order to introduce their group to fanbases, Seventeen were featured in Mariah's song for Daydream, and many praised their vocals.

Success with debut album (1997-1998)
On November 8, 1997, Seventeen released their self-titled debut album under Columbia Records. Through strong marketing and promotion of their singles "The Way U Do It," a Timbaland-produced track featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and Mocha, and "You Blow My Mind," the group achieved great success for their first album. Critics praised the chemistry, vocals, as well as diversity in the group. The group was managed by Columbia's producer, who helped increase their fanbase through interactive marketing. The success of their debut album led to numerous Grammy Award nominations in 1998, which they won Best Pop Album and Duo or Group Performance respectively for "The Way U Do It."

Their debut album introduced Seventeen to a large fanbase, as it led to sponsorships with Pepsi and other commercials, as well as special appearances on TV shows such as Moesha and Family Matters. The group embarked on The Seventeen Tour from June 14, 1998 to December 18, 1998.

XVII2 and other musical ventures (1999-2000)
Prior to the group's tour from June to December 1998. On November 10, 1998, members Donnie Lanningburg and Jon "Alias" Banner both revealed in a post-interview that they were already working on their sophomore album. Recording for their second album, which was titled "Seventeen 2" as a placeholder, lasted for an eight-month period due to multiple delays behind the scenes. In August 1999, rumors alleged that Kelli Love was expectong her first child with her boyfriend, Randy Alexander. In a follow-up interview a decade later, Kelli Love admitted that the recording process for their second album is what delayed their second album, which was intended for an early release. Love then revealed that Columbia Records executives, including their manager, insisted that Love should consider leaving the group or getting an abortion when the news got out. Because of Love's moral and religious beliefs, she refused and her sister Alisa agreed that if Kelli left the group, she would as well.

Another part of the delay, according to Love, was Alias's side duties working on his solo project with Columbia Records. According to Love and Lanningburg, the group were all given renewal contracts that allowed them to release solo projects based on the success of their debut album. Although they all agreed, Love revealed that she wasn't happy about Alias going solo and it created friction between him and the sisters.

Due to Kelli Love's pregnancy, the group managed to release several singles from their sophomore album before Kelli Love's pregnancy became noticeable. In October 14, 1999, the group released their second album XVII2 to mixed to positive reviews from critics, who complimented the new, modern sound as well as the vocal arrangements, but believed that the chemistry lacked compared to their debut. The album, however, was met with a very strong commercial response, reaching #1 on the Billboard 200 charts and selling over 500,000 copies within its first week.

The trouble with the album's rollout, however, became obvious as Columbia insisted on doing another tour. However, due to Kelli Love's pregnancy and Alias's focus on his solo album, the tour was ultimately put on hold. Kelli Love gave birth to her daughter Danielle Hope Alexander on February 10, 2000, around the same time Alias prepared the rollout for his solo album. With consideration for Kelli, Seventeen announced their temporary break from touring and performing in support of Alias and Kelli's endeavors. Donnie Lanningburg began roles in multiple films, while Alisa continued music collaborations with other artists. On July 3, 2000, Alias released his solo debut album B.O.A.T.S.: Based on a True Story featuring collaborations with Nas, Lil' Kim, and Mary J. Blige. The album received positive reviews from critics and became an instant commercial success.

Controversy with Columbia (2001)
Amid Alias's success as a solo artist, Donnie Lanningburg's success as an actor, and Kelli Love's focus on motherhood, Columbia Records allegedly insisted on Seventeen releasing their third album. However, Alias's solo success caused him to become less invested in the group, as he began working on his sophomore follow-up to the album in 2001. After Alias released his sophomore album The Infamy in June 29, 2001, the album did not fare well critically and commercially compared to the debut. In fact, a majority of the recorded songs from his second studio album were rather recycled and re-recorded strictly for Seventeen's third album under Columbia, which did not sit well with Alisa and Kelli.

Due to a breach in the contract, however, which insisted that Seventeen recorded consistent material every year, Seventeen was ultimately dropped from the label. As media outlets were informed about this, fans of Seventeen created petitions and hate messages to Columbia Records for dropping the group. However, on November 20, 2001, the group signed to Island Def Jam Records.

Donnie Lanningburg

 * Born: July 3, 1977

Kelli Love

 * Born: April 25, 1980

Alisa Love

 * Born: October 6, 1979

Jon "Alias" Banner

 * Born: March 4, 1976

Group albums:

 * Seventeen (1997)
 * XVII2 (1999)
 * XVII: The Third Level (2002)
 * XVII Forever (2006)
 * 17 Y.O. (2014)
 * XVII VI (2016)

Kelli Love albums:
Donnie Lanningburg albums: Alisa Love albums: Alias albums:
 * Reflection (2003)
 * Bold (2007)
 * Love, Kelli (2009)
 * Colorblind (2010)
 * Black Velvet (2015)
 * 1980 (2018)
 * The Masterpiece (2003)
 * Headstrong (2005)
 * Evolution (2009)
 * White Lines (2017)
 * Alisa Love (2004)
 * Four Letter Words (2005)
 * Secrets (2008)
 * Touch (2012)
 * B.O.A.T.S.: Based on a True Story (2000)
 * The Infamy (2001)
 * Head of the State (2004)
 * My Name is Jon Banner (2006)
 * Unfinished Business (2008)
 * The Red, White, and Blue Microphone (2012)
 * B.O.A.T.S. 2: Based on a True Story 2 (2015)
 * 3 B.O.A.T.S. (2018)