O-Town's Remarkable Journey

To any O-Town fan, these mere two sentences are the ones they looked forward to hearing all week, antipicitating Friday nights hottest new show- Making the Band. In the beginning, there were thousands. At the end, only five ended up making the cut. It took an amazing cross-country search to find the top 25 guys in the country- Ashley Parker Angel, David Brooks, Bryan Chan, Antonio Dennard, Erik-Michael Estrada, Christopher Gonzalez, Roy Harcourt, Ikaika Kahoana, Sam Lacy, Jesse Littleton, Rik Mapes, Paul Martin, Dan Miller, Mike Miller, Junior Mika, Steve Mooney, Clifton Oliver, Trevor Penick, Earl Robinson, Justin Roman, Jackie Salvucci, Jacob Underwood, Jason Waldrep, Jason Yeager, and Matt Yoakum, ranging in ages from 19 through 27. After another demanding audition process, these 25 hopefuls were cut down to eight- Ashely Parker Angel, Bryan Chan, Erik-Michael Estrada, Ikaika Kahoana, Paul Martin, Mike Miller, Trevor Penick, and Jacob Underwood. These eight boys came together in a few days, though there was still much disputing between them the whole time. Much vocal training and learning of choreography was needed to be done, and it proved a lot harder than the guys expected. After a short time, Paul Martin unexpectedly left, saying it wasnt the right place for him. The remaining seven finalists kept working, recording their first ever single, "All For Love," and learned the dance routine for it. They all signed the record contract, then the cut was made. The five guys chosen to be in the next big thing to hit the music industry were Ashley Parker Angel, Erik-Michael Estrada, Ikaika Kahaona, Trevor Penick, and Jacob Underwood. They came together well, until Ikaika dropped a bombshell on the group: he was leaving. The other four guys felt they could surivive as only four members, but as they recorded more, they realized they couldnt. They all came to the unamious decision to have Dan Miller, from the top 25, as their fifth member. Dan came in, and blew everyone away with his talent and ability to catch up so well- he learned the dance in 2 days, the same one that had taken the rest weeks to learn. Dan fit in well, despite some band squabbles here and there. O-Town recorded their first album, which debuted at number 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart, making the Guinness Book of World Records. It came out on January 23, 2001. Their first single, "Liquid Dreams", was a staple on MTVs TRL Countdown. This record since then went double platium, a huge accomplishment for a new group, and also had a number one hit, "All or Nothing." They toured extensively across the US, Canada, and Europe, healing their own tours and one with Britney Spears, as well as making dozens of TV appearances including Good Morning America, Live with Regis and Kelly, The View, Montel, and All My Children. O-Town soon recorded their second (and what would be last) album in 2002, "O2". This album was released on November 12, 2002. They toured much more, and made many more tv appearances. On October 26, 2002, Jacob Underwood married his childhood sweetheart, Janie. O-town had much success, but decided to go on "haitus" following their August 15, 2003 show in Orlando, Florida. This eventually turned out the be their last ever show, when O-Town announced to the world through fan site Insideotown.com that they were breaking up on November 5, 2003. This broke many hearts all over the world, these five individuals were unlike any boy band they had ever known. They played instruments, sang, danced, and wrote much of their second album. Since then, Ashley has announced that he is working on a solo album and career, Jacob has his own band, called Jacobs Loc, Erik is working on many different options, Dan is working in the music industry, and Trevor is also working on a music project, as well as playing in celebrity basketball games.