Key Takeaways
- Motown legend Bunny DeBarge, 71, returns with “Wishing,” a new Lounge Renown Records single about desire, temptation, and boldly eyeing another woman’s man, which she co-wrote and co-produced with Daniel Richardson and Jaee Logan.
- The track leans into the vulnerable, emotionally tense R&B she helped pioneer as the only woman in DeBarge, where she co-wrote classics like “I Like It,” “Time Will Reveal,” and “A Dream,” the latter later covered and sampled by artists including Mary J. Blige, Blackstreet, Ne-Yo, and Moneybagg Yo.
- Framed as a comeback after decades marked by addiction, family trauma, and public rehabilitation, “Wishing” positions Bunny’s enduring artistry—and her post-Motown journey through ministry, touring, and her memoir series “The Kept Ones”—back at the center of her own story.
Bunny DeBarge is back—and the 71-year-old has her eye on somebody else’s man. The Motown legend returns with “Wishing,” a slick new single built around desire, temptation, and one blunt reality: if a woman’s partner is looking elsewhere, the R&B icon is not afraid to look back.
Released through Lounge Renown Records, “Wishing” was written by DeBarge and Daniel Richardson and produced by DeBarge and Jaee Logan. DeBarge handles both lead and background vocals, backed by bassist David Agent, guitarist Romerico Geroso, keyboardists Richardson and Logan, and violinist Colin Logan. Jaee Logan engineered and mixed the track.
The timing makes sense. Decades before vulnerable R&B became a streaming-era lane, DeBarge was writing songs filled with longing, uncertainty, and romantic tension. As the only woman in DeBarge’s classic lineup, she helped build the group’s signature sound while her brothers El, Mark, Randy, and James became its most visible faces.
Bunny co-wrote the 1982 breakthrough “I Like It” and the chart-topping R&B ballad “Time Will Reveal.” She also wrote and sang lead on “A Dream,” a centerpiece of the group’s 1983 album, In a Special Way.
That catalog never stopped moving. “A Dream” was later covered by Mary J. Blige, while DeBarge’s songwriting and melodies have been sampled or revisited by artists including Blackstreet, Ne-Yo, and Moneybagg Yo.
Now “Wishing” puts the source back in front. Release materials call the song “a celebration of her enduring artistry” and declare that “every setback can become the foundation for a comeback.”
After DeBarge reached crossover heights with 1985’s “Rhythm of the Night,” Bunny left the group and released her solo album In Love through Motown in 1987. Her career then slowed as she faced substance-use disorder, family trauma, and repeated attempts at rehabilitation.
She eventually returned to public life through recovery, ministry, touring, and writing.
Her memoir series, The Kept Ones, pulled back the curtain on her childhood, the abuse she survived, and the painful reality behind her family’s polished Motown image.
She also discussed that history on TV One’s Unsung and later completed a rehabilitation program after appearing on Lifechangers.
