Hometown New Jack Swing legends Boyz II Men had a number one R&B hit with the Babyface-produced “A Song For Mama” all the way back in 1997. In the popular culture, it never did eclipse The Intruders’ “I’ll Always Love My Mama” as being the Philly Mothers’ Day song, because that is just not possible. But on the Saturday Night Live season finale last week, the group turned in a performance that was especially poignant — not just for the circumstances under which it was delivered, but also for the way Boyz II Men have grown with the song. 

Whether it’s the images of “Motownphilly” that are burned into the brain or even just the youthfulness conveyed by their very name, you don’t necessarily think of Boyz II Men as having a gravitas, but this performance had exactly that. It was intimate to the point of being emotionally interior, which may actually be the definition of soul . You could hear the (wonderful) ways their voices have changed over the years — Boyz II Men are growing into their voices, as goofy as this sounds maybe, in the same way that Leonard Cohen grew into his. And it spurred the imagination for what might come next. The Boyz II Men comeback has been a slow burn, but what if it heated up to Marvin Gaye proportions? On Saturday night, they did just that.