O-Town Members Distance Themselves From Diddy: “We Have Nothing to Do With Him”
By the time O-Town wrapped their third season of Making the Band in 2002, the boy band had two top 10 hits, toured with Britney Spears and were putting the series behind them as they prepared to launch their second album. As a new iteration of the show, helmed by disgraced Sean “Diddy” Combs, premiered months later, they never fathomed how they would be impacted.
Now, as the group nears 25 years since forming on the musical reality series, they’re facing brand damage, hesitant show bookers and a major event cancellation due to being associated with Diddy through Making the Band. Yet the group’s episodes were helmed by another disgraced music mogul — late Lou Pearlman — and they weren’t involved with the series once Diddy took over.
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“We already inherited our own infamous producer/manager [Pearlman] from our version of Making the Band and now another version and its mogul is affecting us,” says Erik-Michael Estrada, 45. “For our livelihood to be impacted this many years after the brand was moved to him is so unfortunate.”
Since Estrada, Jacob Underwood, Trevor Penick and Dan Miller reunited in 2011 (without original fifth member Ashley Parker Angel), the group has released two albums (2014’s Lines & Circles and 2019’s The O.T.W.N. Album), toured, hosted destination events, starred in horror flick Dead 7 and grown their fanbase of “Townies.” However, they tell THR their image and livelihood has been stained by Diddy’s September arrest, on charges including racketeering and sex trafficking. The fallout saw a lucrative contract for a large gaming company’s year-end party pulled.
“The corporate events O-Town does tend to be the strongest offers for the group,” says the band’s agent, Matt Rafal of Universal Attractions Agency. “The offer was pulled due to the perception of the group being attached to Diddy. We made it clear O-Town’s Making the Band had no association with Diddy, but the company worried guests may be confused.”
“Since the Diddy news, we’ve received questions and hesitancy from several talent buyers, especially for soft tickets like fairs and theme parks, as well as city-funded events,” adds Rafal.
The group are also finding their image plastered over posts about Diddy’s charges and their name popping up in articles related to the scandal.
“Of all the bands in Making the Band, we’re the only one not tied to him,” points out Underwood, who’s never met Diddy. “The more people confuse us with a Diddy band and post our pictures with his story, the more it goes against us. We make a living touring and can’t afford to have [bookers] Googling us to find the latest Diddy clickbait.”
While they remain grateful for the show that brought them together, Estrada says subsequent series of Making the Band were more “the Diddy show” rather than focusing on talented acts like Danity Kane. He believes the “power abuse” displayed by Diddy onscreen was a “peephole” into the person he’s accused of being.
Estrada got a glimpse of Diddy’s character while attending the rapper’s New York parties at the time.
“There was always a salacious energy,” he recalls. “He encouraged people to dip into their wild side, but I never witnessed anything firsthand. It wasn’t until I moved to L.A. that I started hearing how crazy things got. Gratefully, I can look my fiancé in the face and swear I never attended any after-hours version of a Diddy party.”
Although the “All or Nothing” singers are frustrated about the fallout, Estrada feels worse for those affected long-term by Diddy. “I can’t play victim because there are people who have experienced atrocities from this person and are scarred for life,” he says. “We have financial and booking stress, but they have emotional stress. We just have to take this on the chin and keep going.”
It wouldn’t be the first time O-Town has weathered storms, whether it’s the legal action they faced from Motown Recordings, or working with Pearlman, who created Making the Band to try and repeat the success of his previous boy band projects — the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. Both acts sued Pearlman for fraud and misrepresentation. The conman was also rumored to have acted inappropriately with minors.
In Netflix’s documentary Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam, Estrada said he never witnessed anything that supported such rumors, but that there was “some suspect behavior.” He added that O-Town had “massive concern” about Pearlman’s legal disputes.
Estrada tells THR he’s grateful for the “angels” who had O-Town on high alert for sketchy behavior from Pearlman. “We had talks with people who had dealt with Lou and the allegations against him,” he says. “That made us look out for suspicious activity. Then once we got signed, we were so busy there wasn’t time for anything salacious.”
Ultimately, the likes of Pearlman and Diddy have only made O-Town stronger, says Estrada.
“I wish people looked at Making the Band and went, ‘Making the Band was O-Town and it was the pioneering brand for music reality television in the States. It created the blueprint for The Voice and American Idol.’ Unfortunately, the actions of one man have tainted the reality, which is four individuals who met on a reality show and are going strong 25 years later.”
“We’ve already had a Lou and now we’re dealing with a Diddy … it’s the MO of our career,” Estrada adds. “Despite the steep climbs, we’ve generated a successful national tour with Pop 2000, had families, done other projects and strengthened our bond with fans, so when noise like this creeps up, we’re in good standing with the people who matter most.”
And that’s the Townies, who can look forward to new O-Town music in 2025. The group will also relaunch their Pop 2000 tour (with shows featuring LFO’s Brad Fischetti, *NSYNC’s Chris Kirkpatrick, Ryan Cabrera, BBMak and Mark McGrath) and play events including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cruise, Ladyworld, Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival and Bobby Bones’ Million Dollar Show. And despite Making the Band’s tainted image, they plan to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary.
“We’ll be doing a couple of smaller, intimate dates, which will be fun, reminiscent nights celebrating how many fans found us,” says Underwood, 44.
Estrada’s also touring symphony halls with Kirkpatrick and 98 Degrees’ Jeff Timmons for their Boy Band Symphony show. As he continues exploring new musical and business ventures, he recognizes how easy it can be for aspiring artists to fall in with the likes of Pearlman or Diddy, but urges them to remain close with family, find trustworthy associates and build their brand independently.
“As an adult doing business, I’ve learned not all money is good money,” he says. “You have to research the people you’re going into business with. Lots of young people are like we were — willing to sign a contract that wasn’t favorable because we didn’t have leverage. It’s important to build your leverage and fanbase on your own. Record labels are more tech companies than musical ears now, so if you go that route, lawyer up!”
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