O-Town (also known as OTWN or OTOWN) is an American

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

formed from the first season of the reality television series '' Making the Band'' in 2000. As of 2015, the group consists of Erik-Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick, Jacob Underwood, and Dan Miller. The original line up included Ashley Parker Angel. Ikaika Kahoano was originally part of the band but was replaced by Miller after dropping out of the group. After releasing two albums near the end of the boy band fad of the late 1990s and early 2000s, the group disbanded in 2003. The group was originally managed by Lou Pearlman during their first season of ''Making the Band'', but later managed by Mike Cronin and Mike Morin for their debut album and remaining television seasons.

History

Formation and debut album (2000–2001)

O-Town was assembled in 2000 for the first season of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

reality television series '' Making the Band''; the group was named after

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, the city where auditions were held. In the selection process, Lou Pearlman and a panel of judges selected Ashley Parker Angel, Erik Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick, Jacob Underwood, and Ikaika Kahoano. However, Kahoano left for personal reasons and was replaced by Dan Miller. After season one, former

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

executive

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

signed O-Town to his new label J Records. Their first release, the self-titled '' O-Town'', boosted by the publicity of the weekly television series, debuted at no. 5 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart and sold more than three million copies worldwide. Their first single, "Liquid Dreams", peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In the late spring of 2001, O-Town released "

All or Nothing All or Nothing may refer to: Film and television * ''All or Nothing'' (film), a 2002 film by Mike Leigh * ''All or Nothing'' (game show), a 2004–2005 Russian game show based on ''Deal or No Deal'' * ''All or Nothing'' (sports docuseries), ...

", and the song became their biggest hit of their career as a group. "All or Nothing", reaching no. 3 on the Hot 100. In 2001, the group was the opening act for

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

' Dream Within a Dream Tour in the U.S.

''O2'' and split (2002–2003)

O-Town's second album ''O2'' was released in November 2002 by J Records. It included a newer single, "We Fit Together". The album was observed to have a different sound from O-Town's debut album, with a mix of "soulful ballads and songs with more of a rock ‘n’ roll approach," according to ''Contemporary Musicians''.

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

reported that O-Town hoped that the album would show the group to be more than "

'NSYNC NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to Europe ...

wannabes." However, with teen pop trending down in listener interest in 2002, ''O2'' did not sell as well as the first O-Town album. As a result, in 2003, J Records released O-Town from their contract, and the group disbanded.

Solo careers (2003–2013)

The members of O-Town moved on to solo careers. The most successful member was Ashley Parker Angel, who was signed to

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

's Blackground Records, and also given his own reality show on MTV, '' There and Back''. Angel released a solo album, '' Soundtrack to Your Life'', in 2006. In 2007, he began playing the role of

Link Larkin ''Hairspray'' is a 1988 American comedy film written and directed by John Waters, starring Ricki Lake, Divine, Debbie Harry, Sonny Bono, Jerry Stiller, Leslie Ann Powers, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Michael St. Gerard, and Ruth Brown. ''Hairspray'' was ...

in the Broadway production of '' Hairspray''. Trevor Penick signed to Mach 1 Music and performed as Tre Scott. Erik Michael Estrada stayed in the music business as a songwriter. Jacob Underwood went on to start his own country band, Jacob's Loc. In 2013, Angel declined to join an O-Town reunion: "It was a difficult decision, but ultimately necessary to move on with the next chapter of my career."

''Lines & Circles'' and single ''Empty Space'' (2013–present)

On May 28, 2014, O-Town released a preview of the single "Skydive" on SoundCloud. The single is from their third studio album ''Lines & Circles''. The album was released on August 24, 2014. In 2017, they premiered a new single "Empty Space" in addition to announcing a new EP. They also announced a new 2017 tour featuring Ryan Cabrera on select dates, as well as some spots on the ''I Love the 90s'' nationwide tour. Their ''Part 1'' EP was released on August 4, 2017. In June 2019, O-Town planned on filing a trademark for their band name, which Universal Music Group believed was too similar to the

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

label. On August 2, 2019, they released ''The O.T.W.N. Album''.

Members

;Current * Erik-Michael Estrada (2000–2003, 2013–present) * Dan Miller (2000–2003, 2013-present) * Jacob Underwood (2000–2003, 2013-present) * Trevor Penick (2000–2003, 2013–present) ;Former * Ashley Parker Angel (2000–2003) * Ikaika Kahoano (2000)

Discography

;Studio albums * '' O-Town'' (2001) * '' O2'' (2002) * '' Lines & Circles'' (2014) * ''The O.T.W.N. Album'' (2019)

Awards and nominations

Tours

Opening act

– Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001) * Pop2000Tour hosted by Lance Bass. (active) *Viral campaign surfaced which suggested O-Town as the headliner for the Upstate NY annual festival at the Afton Fairgrounds. Rumor turned out to be false, disappointing many local fans (2000).

References

External links

O-Town Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otown American boy bands Lou Pearlman Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Musical groups established in 2000 Musical groups from Orlando, Florida Musical groups reestablished in 2013 Teen pop groups Participants in American reality television series Sony BMG artists Vocal quintets