The cost was the money and the internal tension that came with unequal recognition. New Edition discovered early that Starr was paying them a fraction of what they earned, and they took him to court to gain control over their careers. The lawsuit became a landmark case for artist rights in the R&B industry. Bobby Brown's star rose faster than the others, and he left for a solo career with Don't Be Cruel that made him one of the biggest pop stars of the late 1980s. The remaining members continued as a quartet, releasing Heart Break in 1988.

Can You Stand the Rain is the one. The ballad showcased the group's maturity and remains the standard that every R&B group since has measured its slow songs against. Each member gets a solo moment that highlights their individual strength, but the whole is greater than the sum. The members went on to form Bell Biv DeVoe and launch successful solo careers. They reunited multiple times over the decades and proved that a boy band could grow up without embarrassment or diminishing returns.