O-Town: 25th Anniversary of the Debut Album

O-Town’s story began in 1999, when TV network ABC produced the very first musical reality show in major network history. Making the Band was produced in conjunction with Lou Pearlman, creator of both the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. The show chronicled the creation, development, and rise to success of O-Town throughout three seasons of the series; the first two on ABC and the final season on MTV. The group became the first to be signed by Clive Davis to his label, J Records, and released two full-length albums, which included #1 singles, “Liquid Dreams” and “All or Nothing.” The latter of which was nominated for Song of the Year at the Radio Music Awards in 2001.

By 2003, O-Town found themselves amidst an industry that was beginning to experience dramatic changes. Former mentor Lou Pearlman’s legal battles and eventual conviction regarding embezzlement of more than $300 million as well as a complex contract left the group in dire financial strain. “We really had little choice but to close up shop at that point,” Jacob explains. “We learned so much during those 4 years, but it was obvious the time had come to walk away, hoping we could do it again one day, differently.”

Reunited in 2014 as a four-piece, following the departure of member Ashley Parker Angel, band members Jacob
Underwood, Trevor Penick, Dan Miller and Erik-Michael Estrada, released their third studio album, Lines & Circles, and set out on a national tour for the first time in 10 years in support of the album. They spent the summer of 2016 on the MY2K Tour, with artists 98 Degrees, Ryan Cabrera, and Dream. They also performed alongside the likes of New Kids on The Block, Boyz ll Men and Paula Abdul for the 5th Mixtape Festival, held in July 2016 in Hershey, PA. Additionally, the group made their acting debut starring in Backstreet Boy member Nick Carter’s cult film, Dead 7, amongst members of all of the generation’s biggest boy bands, which was premiered on the Sy-Fy channel.

After touring for the last three years and realizing the incredible support of their loyal fans, it seemed clear to the band that they could produce their fourth album free of any label, and could rely solely on their fans for funding. In October 2016, the group launched a Kickstarter campaign to do just that. The campaign was so incredibly successful that they met their initial goal of $47,500 within the first 7 hours. At the end of the 30 day campaign, they nearly doubled that goal, proving their loyal fan base will continue to support the group as they pursue new musical endeavors.

O-Town is now preparing to release their fourth studio album, which will be split into 2 EPs. The first single, “Empty Space,” premiered in April 2017 on Yahoo! Music with an exclusive performance will at iHeartMedia.