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LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE FOR DIDDY’S BAD BOY:
#1 DEBUT BY “DAY26” FOLLOWS LAST WEEK’S
CHART-TOPPING PREMIERE BY DANITY KANE;
LABEL’S 15-YEAR HIT STREAK CONTINUES
WITH BIGGEST DEBUT FROM ANY R&B MALE GROUP
IN SOUNDSCAN HISTORY

Diddy and Bad Boy Records top the SoundScan/Billboard 200 album chart for the second consecutive week as Day26’s self-titled debut album explodes into the #1 spot in its first week in release. The #1 chart entry follows last week’s top-charting debut for Danity Kane’s smash second Bad Boy album, “WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE.” “DAY26” also debuts at #1 on Billboard’s “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums” chart and #3 on SoundScan’s “Digital Albums” chart.

With total sales exceeding 190,000, “DAY26” – which features the current hit, “Got Me Going” and the upcoming single, “Since You Been Gone” – officially logged the biggest-selling debut album from a male R&B group in the 17-year history of SoundScan.

“We just want to offer love and thanks to our many fans for making this band America’s #1 group,” said Day26, a.k.a. Brian Andrews, Mike McCluney, Qwanell Mosley (a.k.a. “Q”), Robert Curry, and Willie Taylor. “Of course, our endless gratitude goes out to our families and our friends at Bad Boy and Atlantic Records for helping us to achieve success that’s already beyond our wildest dreams.”

The blockbuster success of “DAY26” marks yet another major milestone in the storied history of Bad Boy Records. Since the label’s 1993 inception, Diddy and Bad Boy have created a true hit machine like few others in the annals of the music industry, with total global record sales of 66 million and counting. Over the past 15 years, no less than 10 Bad Boy artists have achieved #1 debuts, with 55 label releases appearing on the Billboard 200. To date, 20 Bad Boy albums have been certified platinum at least once, with many of them going on to earn multi-platinum awards.

In addition, Bad Boy has unleashed a seemingly endless stream of hit singles. 81 Bad Boy singles have hit Billboard’s “Hot 100,” 27 of which reached the Top Ten. The label has earned RIAA gold certification for 22 of its singles thus far, with nine achieving platinum status.

Diddy has been personally responsible for a stunning array of chart successes, with five solo albums reaching the Top 5 on the Billboard 200, three of which – 1999’s “NO WAY OUT,” 2002’s “WE INVENTED THE REMIX, VOL. 1,” and 2006’s “PRESS PLAY” – reached the #1 position. A three-time Grammy Award-winner, the label founder topped the singles chart with two now-classic hits, “I’ll Be Missing You,” which spent eleven weeks at #1; and “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down,” which held the pole position for six weeks. Furthermore, Diddy has been a prolific producer/executive producer, helming six albums in 2007 and three in just the first three months of 2008. Since launching Bad Boy Records, Diddy has racked up an astonishing 80 producer credits, a prime contributing factor in the label’s extraordinary string of hits.

Executive Produced by Bad Boy CEO Sean “Diddy” Combs and Bad Boy Entertainment president Harve Pierre, “DAY26” was recorded in just three short weeks. The five gifted performers were chosen by Diddy and MTV viewers around the world on the record-shattering Making The Band 4 season finale last August 26th - the source of the quintet’s moniker.

“Got Me Going” – the first single from “DAY26” – looks set to continue Bad Boy’s winning streak. The Mario Winans-produced track has bulleted its way into the Top 25 at Urban radio outlets nationwide, while also drawing serious airplay at Rhythmic, Top 40, and Urban AC.

“DAY26” is also proving a digital sensation, presently standing at #1 on the iTunes Store’s “Top R&B/Soul Albums” chart, with the iTunes Exclusive “Bonus Track Version” not far behind at #5. “Got Me Going” continues its run as one of the week’s top 10 best-sellers on the iTunes Store’s “Top R&B/Soul Songs” chart, while the track’s companion video recently reached #1 on the “Top R&B/Soul Music Videos” tally (where it remains a Top 3 favorite).

In addition, the “Got Me Going” clip – directed by Syndrome (Danity Kane, Pretty Ricky, Lupe Fiasco, and Trey Songz) – is now in “Big 10” rotation at MTV. The group is the #1 most-searched artist at MTV.com, where the online premiere of “DAY26” received over 350,000 streams via “The Leak” in the week leading up to its release.

Last week also saw Day26 spending quality time at BET’s 106 & Park, where “Got Me Going” recently received its “New Joint” premiere before going into network rotation. The quintet opened and closed the week, performing “Got Me Going” on Monday and “Since You Been Gone” on Friday. Day26 will next perform on BET’s annual Spring Bling extravaganza, set to debut on April 10th (check local listings).

Currently featured on the cover of Right On!, Day26 also performed “Got Me Going” on last Tuesday’s installment of the nationally syndicated Tyra Banks Show. The show is slated for rebroadcast in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday, April 9th (check local listings for airtimes and additional markets).

Day26’s out-of-the-box triumph was further proven by the quintet’s day-of-release in-store event at New York City’s Best Buy. The autographing session drew multitudes of screaming fans to the Fifth Avenue store, marking Best Buy’s biggest in-store event of the year by far.

Day26 kicked off the release of “DAY26” with an appearance on MTV’s TRL. The visit also celebrated the hugely rated season finale of the latest and greatest season of Diddy and MTV’s hit reality series, Making The Band. The blockbuster episode included the official unveiling of “P. Diddy Presents The Making The Band 4 Tour,” a major North American concert tour featuring Day26, alongside their MTB4 co-stars Danity Kane and Donnie Klang. Slated to hit the road in May, a full itinerary and on-sale information will be announced shortly.

For up-to-the-minute information, please visit www.day26online.com, www.myspace.com/day26, and www.badboyonline.com.