Editing New Edition (section)

===1985{{ndash}}1989: Bobby Brown's departure, Johnny Gill's introduction and ''Heart Break''===
Bobby Brown embarked on a solo career in 1986, while New Edition continued to promote ''All for Love'' as a quartet. In spite of their financial and internal conflicts, New Edition continued to peak. During this era of the group's evolution, the group appeared in the episode of ''[[Knight Rider (1982 TV series)|Knight Rider]]'' titled "Knight Song", performing "Count Me Out". As 1986 wound to a close, they recorded a cover of [[The Penguins]]' 1954 hit "[[Earth Angel]]" for the soundtrack to ''[[The Karate Kid, Part II]]''. The song peaked at number twenty-one and inspired the group to record ''[[Under the Blue Moon]]'', an album of [[doo-wop]] covers.

After having already lost a member when Brown was terminated from the group, New Edition's future became uncertain when murmurings began to surface that Tresvant was eyeing a solo career as well. To pad his potential departure, singer [[Johnny Gill]] was voted into the group by [[Ricky Bell (singer)|Ricky Bell]], [[Michael Bivins]] and [[Ronnie DeVoe]] in 1987, despite Tresvant ultimately deciding to remain in place. A native of [[Washington, D.C.]], Gill is the only non-Boston native among the group's six members.

New Edition's fifth studio release, ''[[Heart Break]]'', was released in the summer of 1988. Primarily produced by the production team of [[Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis]], the album was a departure from the group's previous [[bubblegum pop|bubblegum]] sound, and instead took on a smoother, stronger, and more adult resonance. Spinning off five hit singles: "[[If It Isn't Love]]", "[[You're Not My Kind of Girl]]", "[[Can You Stand the Rain]]", "[[Crucial (Single)|Crucial]]" and "[[N.E. Heart Break (song)|N.E. Heartbreak]]"; ''Heart Break'' became New Edition's most commercially successful album up to that point, certified double platinum in the United States. The success of ''Heart Break'' would launch the group on a successful concert tour as well in the closing months of 1988, with N.E. serving as the headliners while [[Al B. Sure]] and former member Bobby Brown served as the opening acts.