 |
| **Articles** |
| O-Town Talks P. Diddy's 'Making The Band II' (www.launch.com) (7/31/02, 6 p.m. ET) -- O-Town, the pop band that came together on the original ABC/MTV reality show Making The Band, learned about Sean "P. Diddy" Combs's upcoming show, Making The Band II, along with the rest of the world when the CEO of Bad Boy Entertainment announced it at a press conference on July 17. Making The Band II, which will document Combs's talent search for a new hip-hop group, is scheduled to air this fall on MTV. "Making The Band II was news to us," O-Town singer Jacob Underwood told LAUNCH. "When we got into this show we had no idea whether it was going to be one, two, or three seasons, or if there was going to be like a Popstars thing where there was going to be a new cast every year." "The bottom line is we really have no affiliation to the new one. I mean, none at all," added Underwood's groupmate Dan Miller. "We sure wish them the best of luck, but we're moving on. Maybe it's time for somebody else to have a chance...who knows?" Underwood noted that the members of O-Town are still curious to see how Combs's foray into reality television will play out. "I think we're kind of anxious to see what they are going to change from our seasons to this one, if anything. I know that the cast makes the show, so we'll see. I hope they get a good cast." Meanwhile, O-Town is still hard at work in the recording studio putting the finishing touches on its sophomore album, O2. The album was initially scheduled for a July release, but it has now been pushed back to October 8. Miller told us that the delay in getting O2 released has to do with finding the first single. "It's just all about finding that right song. You know, we actually have probably plenty of songs for the album. It's just that I don't think we have that one yet--we don't have the one that will come out and say, 'O-Town--this is us.' We don't have the one that we want to present to everybody, like, 'This is the way we're coming for the second album.' We have singles, and good songs--really good songs--just not the first one," he said. The group is still focused on locating that first single, and it is currently collaborating with the likes of Linda Perry and, more recently, Rodney Jerkins. When the still-unknown first single does arrive, it is scheduled to go to radio August 26. The O-Town members also shared with us that they are planning to kick off a major U.S. tour in support of O2 in November. -- Jason Gelman, New York O-Town Fans Must Hold Their Breath A Little Longer For 'O2' (www.launch.com) (6/7/02, 1 p.m. ET) -- O-Town has pushed back the release date of its second J Records album, O2, from August 6 to August 27. The group's label had originally hoped to have O2 in fans' hands by July. O-Town singer Dan Miller told LAUNCH that that the group is really doing its best to ensure that O2 will be a quality album. "The material has been coming in slow. We've been taking our time, and you can look at it both ways. I mean, it's bad because it is getting very close to when the album is going to come out in August, but it's good because we're not taking every piece of crap that comes across the desk. Whether it's from us or whether it's from another writer, we're not just settling because it's getting down to the wire." Miller also explained that the album's title can really mean a host of different things, including the fact it is O-Town's second album and it's being released in 2002. He gave LAUNCH his interpretation of what O2 means. "I personally think O2 is kind of like oxygen," he said. "I feel like we've got a little breathing room now--you know, we've kicked open the door a little bit, and we can call a couple of shots, and we didn't really have that breathing room before." For the new album, O-Town teamed up with multiplatinum rapper Nelly on "Favorite Girl," and with Shep Crawford (Whitney Houston, 98 Degrees) on "I Showed Her," both of which the group is currently performing on the road. The album also features "From The Damage," a song co-written by groupmember Ashley Angel and Steve Kipner (Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson). O-Town's self-titled debut album spawned the hits "All or Nothing," "Liquid Dreams," and "We Fit Together," but Miller says the group's upcoming album will be a step up from its debut set. "O2 is definitely not what you would expect from us." Miller concluded. "We're just coming from a totally different angle this time." -- Jason Gelman, New York O-Town Readying 'O2' For August Release, Nelly Contributes 'Favorite Girl' (www.launch.com) (5/31/02, 12 p.m. ET) -- O-Town is putting the final touches on its second J Records album, O2, which is due out August 6. O2 is still a work in progress, but O-Town singer Dan Miller told LAUNCH that the group has teamed up with songwriters Steve Kipner (Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson) and Shep Crawford (Whitney Houston, 98 Degrees), who penned the ballad "I Showed Her" for the set. Miller added that O-Town is also currently meeting with Dallas Austin about doing a song, and that the group is likely to record a song written by songwriter-producer Linda Perry, the former leader of 4 Non Blondes. O-Town singer Jacob Underwood added that the group teamed up with St. Louis-based rapper Nelly, who wrote the song "Favorite Girl" for O2. Nelly does not rap on the album version of "Favorite Girl," but he did have a hands-on role in producing and recording the track, as Underwood explained, "We teamed up with him in St. Louis, and we spent two days with him vocally just arranging this, and we had a lot of fun, man. Everybody loves the name Nelly. They love his sound, and they love the vibe that he brings--the upbeat, just fun party vibe--and that's what this song is. It just makes you want to sing along. We had a good time recording it." Underwood also said that O2 has more of a rock edge than the group's 2001 self-titled debut. "We have a lot of rock-driven songs, I think," he said. "Most of us can play instruments, and that came from that. We wanted to play on our songs, so we wrote songs. It's coming from that angle, but we added a lot of the R&B and hip-hop to the tracks and things behind it." -- Jason Gelman, New York O-Town Defy Stereotypes on 'O2' (www.katrillion.com) (Katrillion) -- Can't get O-Town out of your dreams? The wait is almost over for "O2," the follow-up to the group's platinum debut. It hits stores Aug. 27. Don't expect canned lyrics this time around. After all, Ashley Angel penned two songs on the disc, and the band enlisted the help of producing phenoms Dallas Austin and Linda Perry. Other pop stars turn up on the disc, including Nelly, who wrote and produced "Favorite Girl," and LFO's Rich Cronin, who co-wrote "Suddenly" with Ashley. "It's been tough," Ashley told Rolling Stone about the "Making the Band"-style rise to fame. "We came into some very stereotyped scenarios to begin with -- the whole setup of us, and everybody watching us, and comparing us to all the pop acts that are out there. We've gotten to grow and mature as artists, and we've traveled together all over the world now -- and we're not the stereotype. We're not what people usually think we are. We're artists and a group who is very involved in every decision that gets made." O-Town will perform at Mix 93.3's Red White & Boom, taking place Saturday at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kan. Michelle Branch, India.Arie, RES, Toya, Train and Vanessa Carlton are also on the bill. -- Valerie Nome Jun. 25, 2002 11:21 AM EST O-Town Ready "02" (www.rollingstone.com) TV boy band collaborate with Nelly on second album O-Town's O2 is due out in August, but the pop group is still assembling songs for the follow-up to its 1.5 million-selling debut. Lined up over the next two months are writing stints with Dallas Austin (TLC, Boyz II Men) and Linda Perry (Pink, Christina Aguilera), according to O-Town's Ashley Angel. "We're writing as much as possible," he says, "right up until the last minute." The Florida five-piece, created on the ABC reality show Making the Band, have already recorded a song written and produced by Nelly. "It has some pop elements to it, but it's very urban sounding and a little dark, which we liked," Angel says of the track "Favorite Girl." "It was originally written for a solo performer, and Nelly let us work with him on building the harmonies and building the melodies." Angel is the only O-Town member so far to have landed two of his songs on O2. He wrote "From the Damage" with producer Steve Kipner and "Suddenly" with LFO's Rich Cronin. Angel also plays guitar on both. "We've all been writing a lot," he says. "We've written almost 30 songs as a group, but right now the idea is to get an album full of songs that can all be potential singles. We're trying to make a record of different sounds, and it's a process that takes a while." By comparison, O-Town's first album was made in just weeks. Making the Band had made Angel, Trevor Penick, Jacob Underwood, Erik Estrada and Dan Miller household names, but it wasn't until after the first season had been shot that the group was signed to record for Clive Davis' J Records. "It's been tough," Angel says. "We came into some very stereotyped scenarios to begin with -- the whole setup of us, and everybody watching us, and comparing us to all the pop acts that are out there. It wasn't like we were able to come together and organically write music together. But that's what happened [this time]. We got to spend time together as a group. We've gotten to grow and mature as artists, and we've traveled together all over the world now -- and we're not the stereotype. We're not what people usually think we are. We're artists and a group who is very involved in every decision that gets made." KAREN BLISS (June 24, 2002) O-Town: Making the Brand (www.katrillion.com) (Katrillion) -- They can sing -- but can they sew? According to Women's Wear Daily, O-Town members Ashley Angel, Trevor Penick and Erik-Michael Estrada will launch their own clothing line, called Atira, this fall. Described as an eclectic mix of urban, surf, skate, and '70s styles for both guys and gals, the line includes baby tees, baseball shirts, shorts and leather jackets. "I've always wanted to do this," noted Estrada. "I even had my own line of T-shirts that I used to sell in high school." O-Town Readying Second Album For July Release (www.launch.com) (4/3/02, 1 p.m. ET) - O-Town will return with a follow-up to its double-platinum, self-titled debut album in July, according to the group's J Records label. The first single from the as-yet-untitled album is called "I Showed Her." O-Town's debut set spawned the hit singles "Liquid Dreams," "All Or Nothing," and "We Fit Together." O-Town singer Dan Miller told LAUNCH that the group, which came together on the reality-television show Making The Band, has learned a lot about the music business since the release of its 2001 debut album: "Every day we just want to turn a couple of heads. There are always going to be critics that are out there, because that's their job, but I definitely think we've won a couple of critics over. That's our biggest defense is our live show. That's really, like, our biggest defense to the critics. They'll continue to be out there, but we'll just continue to do our music and do what we love." O-Town is expected to announce details about a summer concert tour shortly. O-Town Album, Tour Slated (www.katrillion.com) (Katrillion) -- The guys of O-Town are set to give fans their all. The made-for-TV boy band will drop its next album this July. The disc will feature none other than *NSYNC's newest rapper friend, Nelly. The first single, "I Showed Her," is scheduled to hit radio next month. The guys have also announced dates for their upcoming tour. Their opening act? LFO's Rich Cronin. Check out the dates! In the meantime, you can catch O-Town on Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards April 20. New CD Celebrates 'TRL' (www.katrillion.com) (Katrillion) -- Although the songs are not introduced by squealing girls, a new CD captures the spirit of MTV's "Total Request Live." "The Best of TRL Pop" features songs by acts who have topped Carson Daly's video countdown, including *NSYNC, O-Town, Backstreet Boys, 3LW and Willa Ford. New "TRL" favorites such as B2K and The Calling are not featured on the disc, which is due in record stores March 26. Maybe next time. O-Town's Ashley Is No Angel (www.katrillion.com) (Katrillion) -- Not all boy bands are squeaky-clean. Though O-Town may not be burning up the charts these days, a member of the made-for-TV pop group has confessed to playing with fire. "I got a misdemeanor charge when I was about 10 because I burned down the soccer field at an elementary school," Ashley Angel told worldpop. "And the fire spread to some neighboring people's yards." That's not where the mischief ends, however. According to Ashley, fellow O-Town member Erik-Michael Estrada is "the biggest villain in this group." Erik-Michael refused to confess his big sin without a lawyer present. Take that, Backstreet Boys! New O-Town Album To Include Track From Nelly (www.mtv.com) O-Town fans hoping for a change of sonic scenery will have to wait only three more months for new material from the pop group. The successor to O-Town's self-titled debut is due July 9, according to a J Records spokesperson. While the album has yet to be titled, "I Showed Her" has been chosen as its first single and is expected to surface at radio in mid-May. "Favorite Girl," another track off the album, was written and produced by rapper Nelly, and the group itself takes credit for penning three others. Since its release in January 2001, O-Town has sold more than 1.5 million copies, according to SoundScan, on the back of singles "Liquid Dreams," "All or Nothing" and "We Fit Together." And being the subject of the reality TV series "Making the Band" for three seasons didn't hurt either. O-Town tour dates, according to J Records: 5/15 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ Mid-Hudson Civic Center 5/17 - Wallingford, CT @ Careerbuilder.com Oakdale Theatre 5/19 - Lowell, MA @ Paul E. Tsongas Arena 5/21 - Portland, ME @ Cumberland Civic Center 5/23 - Lincroft, NJ @ Brookdale Performing Arts Center 5/25 - Portsmouth, VA @ NTELOS Pavilion @ Harbor Center �Joe D'Angelo O-Town Release Live DVD, Video (www.mtv.com) If you can't get tickets to see O-Town with Britney Spears this month or next, you can still see the O-dacious boys live on their new DVD and home video, "O-Town ... Live From New York," which comes out Tuesday (November 27). The collection features an hour-long headlining concert taped October 10 at the Hammerstein Ballroom, videos for "Liquid Dreams," "All or Nothing" and "We Fit Together" and exclusive interactive bios of each band member. The 12 concert tracks on the disc include the #1 hits "Liquid Dreams" and "All or Nothing," as well as "We Fit Together," "Baby I Would," "Sensitive," "Sexiest Woman Alive," "The Painter," "Shy Girl," "Love Should Be a Crime," "Every Six Seconds" and "Girl." The last U.S. date of the O-Town/Britney Spears tour is December 21 in Washington, D.C. In February, the guys head to Germany for nine shows. �Jon Wiederhorn |