All-4-One are all for the Minions' spoof of their song

R&B band All-4-One loved the hilarious Despicable Me 2 version of their hit I Swear

In the Minions' (far left) parody of I Swear by All-4-One, comprising (clockwise from far left) Delious Kennedy, Jamie Jones, Tony Borowiak and Alfred Nevarez, the words "I swear" were changed to "underwear".
In the Minions' (far left) parody of I Swear by All-4-One, comprising (clockwise from far left) Delious Kennedy, Jamie Jones, Tony Borowiak and Alfred Nevarez, the words "I swear" were changed to "underwear". PHOTOS: ALL-4-ONE, YOUTUBE
In the Minions' (far left) parody of I Swear by All-4-One, comprising (clockwise from far left) Delious Kennedy, Jamie Jones, Tony Borowiak and Alfred Nevarez, the words "I swear" were changed to "underwear". PHOTOS: ALL-4-ONE, YOUTUBE

R&B group All-4-One's hit I Swear was famously parodied in animated feature flick Despicable Me 2 (2013) - and the American band loved every moment of it.

In the film, four Minions - those cute yellow characters that spout gibberish - sing their hilarious version of the song, changing the words from "I swear" to "underwear".

Instead of being offended, All-4-One lapped it up.

Member Delious Kennedy, 45, tells Life! over the telephone in between laughs: "I thought that was just awesome and I loved how they mimicked each of us from back in the day. You know, with the glasses and the beret, and Alfred Nevarez with no hair. It was just so funny."

His bandmate Jamie Jones, 41, adds: "That's actually one of the reasons we get younger fans these days, when our songs get played in new movies.

"Other than Despicable Me 2, I Swear has also been featured on Earth To Echo (2014) and The Social Network (2010)."

The love ballad was originally a country tune sung by John Michael Montgomery in late 1993.

A few months later, All-4-One recorded their version, which hit No. 1 in many countries, including the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained at the top for 11 consecutive weeks. The song also earned the group a Grammy Award in 1995 for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

On Saturday, fans here will get to hear the group belt out the popular song live, when they perform it at joint concert Retrolicious at Fort Canning Park. All-4-One comprise Kennedy, Jones, Nevarez, 42, and Tony Borowiak, 43.

This latest edition of the annual event celebrating older acts will also feature American singer Tommy "Shoulder To Cry On" Page and R&B group Color Me Badd.

Ask All-4-One how they feel about being considered a retro act and they appear not to be bothered.

Jones says: "The funny thing is, I think, we feel so young and we're still young, but it has been 20 years that we've been doing this professionally, so I guess that's why a lot of people may look at us as retro.

"But that's cool. If people look at old acts, but still think their music is great, that's more important. I look at Motown music from the 1960s as retro, but I still think the music is great."

Besides, the band are actively working on a new album, which is slated for release later this year and will feature re-recorded versions of old songs as well as new original music.

One highlight is a duet of I Swear between All-4-One and Montgomery, 50.

Kennedy says: "We've been talking about this duet for the longest time, but never got around to doing it. We sang it once with John at the Grammys in 1994 but, this time, we'll have a proper recording of it. It'll be pretty awesome."

Until then, they are looking forward to their trip to Singapore, their first time here in almost two decades. They last performed at Suntec City in 1996.

Kennedy gushes: "We love, love, love Singapore and the people are just amazing. I remember the last time we were there, I went to a bar and had a drink that was on fire, and that was the first time I ever had anything like that.

"I was like, 'How do I even drink this?' Singapore has great memories for all of us and we can't wait to be back."

yipwy@sph.com.sg

Follow Yip Wai Yee on Twitter @STyipwaiyee

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