O-Town X-POSED
Author: Unknown
Popstar! magazine February, 2002

O-Town has entered a whole new level of superstardom. And they've earned it!

Hot on the heels of their opening spot on the spectacular Britney Spears tour, the guys have scored another big hit with "We Fit Together" and are about to stage a Third Coming in the form of the latest season of Making the Band.

But there are some big differences goin' on. And it's Popstar!'s job to expose the real story!

Unlike the old myth that O-Town was coasting on fame handed to them on a silver platter, these guys have won the grudging respect of radio programmers by consistently offering top-notch spins at a time when even some of the releases by usually reliable acts like Britney, *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys have failed to capture the imaginations of pop fans. They have shown that they can secure the #1 spot on TRL among the stiffest competition imaginable (and even host the show like pros!), that they can sing and dance live and that they have the guts to stick together through thick and thin even as their paralel reality-show peers Eden's Crush lose their unity.

Nosy folks wanna know the reason why. Why O-Town? Why now?

The guys seem to be benefiting from a go-team workaholism that Dan says came in handy when Britney came a callin' with an offer for a 45-minute slot on her arena tour.

"It was weird for us because this was the first tour where we hadn't been the headliner, the boss, per say. But we're really confident in what we're doing and we feel we put on a good show."

Were they "slaves 4" Britney this time around?

"You could kinda say that," Dan says gamely, "but I wouldn't put it that way. It's weird, y'know, not getting a soundcheck if you want it or not knowing things because you're not the main act. It's something we got used to."

Another part of the reason they're succeeding is their dedication to an attitude that centerfold-ready Ashley Parker Angel describes.

"The O-Town spirit is that anything is possible and that we're gonna continue to do our best to become the best at what we do," he says with a Califriendly sparkle in his eyes. "Our motto is, 'Prove people wrong.'"

On the mile-long list of people who've been wrong about O-Town is fellow MTV icon Carson Daly, who for a while took to ribbing the guys on his radio show for being more pre-fab then ab-fab. Carson's sarcasm grated on fans' nerves, but the band blows it off.

"In my mind, it's only offensive if it comes from somebody who has some sort of substantial job," says Jacob, who's never shy to speak his mind. "That's like the neighbor down the street saying they don't like your car when they are 14... what would they know anyway?"

Criticism from all corners is one reason fame has its ups and downs. But perhaps more ups then their detractors would like to think.

"Is fame all it's cracked up to be?" Trevor wonders aloud as he sits in a corner of the studio where he's about to pose for his fourth Popstar! cover.

"And more! And less. There's both sides, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons. I get to do what I love every day, I get to make people smile - that's a big thing for me. I love looking out and knowing I'm inflicting joy on their life. It's a great feeling. And man, I'm doing it with four other people that love it just as much as I do. That's a really cool thing."

While on tour, the guys willingly follow a strict schedule of performance, travel, publicity

on tour, the guys willingly follow a strict schedule of performance, travel, publicity and filming for Making the Band. Girls throw themselves at O-Town right and left, but who has time for romance?

"You have that kinda stuff," Dan admits shyly. "It has happened, but lotsa tims that's not attractive. It's not something that I'm intrested in goin' for. It's something that I choose to look past really quick. Use the stuble approach, just come up to me regular - you don't have to throw yourself, offering your body or other things."

"I wish my tour life was that crazy," Erik-Michael cracks about his rock 'n' roll tour fantasies. He strokes the sexy sould patch on his chin, the latest of the image tweaks that have left him looking hotter and more pinup-worthy than ever before.

Laughing at the idea of a steady stream of groupies, Ashley confesses, "I don't know that it happens right and left constantly, but it happens. It's a trip! We take it in stride and we tell each other about it, like, 'Hey, man, you'll never believe what happened...' and it's just... I don't know, I think we really just try to look past it and stay grounded. We really want to achieve more so now's not the time to get big heads."

But love is all around, there for taking. O-Town has millions of fans, a large percentage of whom would do anything to date a member of the best-looking band around. (C'mon, admit it - all five are P.H.A.T.!)

So who's single and who's double and who's telling the truth about it and who's lying through his shiny, white teeth?

Ashley claims, after a platinum pause, to be girlfriend-free. "Just the restrictions of time being all over the world and trying to sustain a relationship... it takes a lot of faith with both people... I don't know what will happen with Shelli and I, but I know that right now we just decided to kinda be friends and chill on the relationship thing because it's really difficult."

Erik-Michael is on the market, as is party-animal Trevor, who nonetheless claims that, "I'm kinda talkin' to this girl, but I don't know if I wanna make her my girlfriend and put her on the show. I don't know if I wanna make her my girlfriend yet. That's the thing."

Dan and Jacob? Forget it. Both taken. Dan says he has a girlfriend who is "not Cindy. It's kinda been a dating thing that I've been doing through and it's something that I'd rather not put on the television show." Consider that a scoop! And of course Jacob isstill with his longtime love Janie.

With Britney, Jessica and other female superstars going on the record as proud virgins, why are there no boy-band members out there holding themselves up to the same standards?

"Wow. Um, shoot!" Ashley sputters. "I don't know. That's a loaded question. I don't know if I could come up with a politically correct answer for that!" That's okay, Ash - you answered just fine!

"My mom still doesn't know I lost my virginity," Trevor teases as he fingers a wandering tuft of his hair. So don't expect any press releases from O-Town or any other boy stars in the near future.

With the trials and tribulations of maturing as a band over the course of a single album and doing it all on their own TV show - minus any down time for catching a flick or making out with a steady on a daily basis - things do get punchy with the guys at times. They disagree. But they never get out of hand; you won't be reading about and O-Town brawl anytime soon.

"No, never," Erik-Michael says firmly. "We vowed never to do that to each other."

"I definitely like to have the last word in an argument most of the time. I'm just a stubborn person when it comes to that," Dan confesses. "I don't win many arguments, but I don't get pushed aside easy. If I believe in something, I'm gonna fight for it. Most of the time it's me against four guys. That's find if I lose - I can give an 'I told you so' later, but I gotta go with the majority in a group situation."

They rarely fight for real, but tensions simmer from time to time. Even about stupid stuff. For example, when we asked each guy to pick which other group member he'd like to be for 24 hours, Dan used it as an opportunity to out Ashley as a roomie who is likely to leave his cereal bowl in the sink still full of milk and a few stray mouthfuls. Trevor also referenced Ashley's cereal-bowl transgression.

"I'm always being told off for spacing out," Ashley says matter-of-factly, as if he secretly enjoys driving his tidier bandmates a lil' bit crazy.

(The fact that the guys are so different will make for one hilarious segment on MTV's Making the Band - where the guys are asked to respond to interview questions as if they are another member. We heard "opposites" Dan and Erik-Michael were one such flip-flop!)

You could search and search for bad vibes, but you're likely to come away impressed with O-Town's overall cohesion and sensibility. They fit together aftre all. Finally.

And that's the secret to why they're only getting more popular and more successful, which is the most shocking thing about the group that nobody thought would last.

Jacob sums up the state of O-Town, population five, with his bit of boy-band wisdom: "I wish we would have written more songs for the first album, I wish we could have had more time together to be friends before we started - that's just nothing you can change. If I changed that, it wouldn't be the same story. The stupid things we've done - we've grown for it and learned from it. So I'm very happy with the way things have gone and where we are now."

Kiss & Tell: O-Town's Sexy Love Secrets!!!

Popstar!: If a girl were to suprise you with something for Valentine's Day, what would you love to receive?
Erik-Michael: I guess I would want time with her because that's the thing that's lacking most in my life.

Are you a good kisser?
Dan: Yeah! I feel like I'm a really good kisser.

You know what they say... good singer, good kisser.
Dan: Oh, really??? [Laughs]

Describe your first kiss in one word.
Trevor: It was in eighth grade and the only way I can describe it is... "Wow!"
Dan: "Nerve-wracking."

What about the *best* kiss?
Ashley: The best kiss I ever had was on a ski lift, I think, and it lasted the entire trip up. It was night time. It was a night skiing resort that had lights everywhere and it was snowing a little bit and it was the longest kiss ever. It was probably a 10-minute kiss.

What would you do if you loved a girl but couldn't have her?
Trevor: I've never really loved anyone that much. I've never been in love. The fact that you look foward to it means it's never gonna come, so I try to keep it off my mind. I would just be myself. Especially because I wouldn't want them to know, so I would just act the same way as always around them.
Dan: I've always believed that if you really love somebody and that's your true feeling, that's your heart right there. You don't like anything get in the way - you don't let a situation, you don't let another person, you don't let anything else get in the way of that. You don't not date 'em because you're far away, you don't date 'em because its not convenient. If you really love somebody, you find a way to make that work... or at least try your hardest!

Do you think there is a right time to fall in love, then?
Erik-Michael: No, I think that love just happens.

What's the best cure for a broken heart?
Erik-Michael: Laughing and music.

What is it like to date you?
Jacob: I don't know, you've got to ask my girlfriend. I'm sure it's pretty stressful. My lifestyle is very different and demands a lot of me, a lot of time. But I don't know... I love my girlfriend very much and we have a lot of fun together.
Trevor: I think it sucks dating me. To be honest! You can have a phone conversation with me every day for two minutes or for two hours, but you'll barely ever get to see me - I'll be on the road all the time.
Ashley: [Laughs nervously] Um, I don't know! That's a weird question. Thinking of dating myself... that's just weird! I like to cuddle. I'm a cuddler.

How can a girl tell if you like her?
Erik-Michael: I tell them! [Laughs]

What do you wish you understood about girls?
Erik-Michael: [Laughs] Everything! [More seriously] Everything...
Jacob: Why "no" is so hard to understand.

In what context?
Jacob: I think if you tell a girl "no", they don't understand. It's like they've never been told no before. I wish I understood why it's so hard to understand what no means.

What do you wish girls would understand about guys more?
Jacob: We're not as complicated as girls think we are. [Laughs]

Life with be meaningless without... what?
Dan: Love.