Their time at the top was indeed very brief, but they did leave their mark and what a mark it was. For a band that started as they did, they broke through boundaries and accomplished a lot in their first few years as a musical unit.

And although they definitely had throngs and throngs of fans that bought their music and helped them land a number one hit, their strong fan base has kept them alive all these years, as they weren’t considered and can never be considered one of the “big four” in boy band history—NKOTB, The Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and 98 Degrees—they do have their place in the annals of the music business, regardless.

O-Town definitely started very differently than other bands, as you’ll soon read, and their career sure went in a lot of different directions, and their journey for their music to come to fruition is a considerably interesting story full of anecdotes and inside info that even extreme fans may not have known.

So join us here at TheGamer for a trip down memory lane, as we take a look at some little known facts about a band that have gone through hell and back again.

20 Got Their Start On Reality TV

To say that reality television flooded the TV sets of the world in the early 2000s would most definitely be a grave understatement. People were abandoning the family sitcom and instead tuning in to watch “real” people battling it out for one reason or another. Some extremely popular ones were Survivor and The Apprentice.

Well, our band in question got its start on a reality show, and it went by the name of Making The Band—the set-up was simple: young dudes battling it out for a spot in the next boy band. Cameras followed the youngsters as they practiced and fought it out for the top spot, trying desperately to out-sing the other.

It made for decent TV and, by the end, it gave the world O-Town. The series ended up going for 12 seasons and was hosted and produced by none other than P. Diddy.

19 Their First Run Was Short

The longevity of a band means a lot. It means that they can endure, make it through all their problems and dilemmas, and most importantly, it proves that they can be prolific and continue making excellent music. Bands like The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Metallica prove that they can endure, no matter what obstacles have been thrown their way.

Unfortunately, the boy band era wasn’t and can never be considered like the rock band era whose inceptions date back to the 60s 70s and 80s.

O-Town’s first run unfortunately barely lasted 3 years.

A lot of boy bands had short stints and although a lot of them have been re-formed, they haven’t been together for all the years since their inception.

18 Reformation In 2013 Minus One Member

The world was O-Townless for a whole decade and it seemed as though they had gone the way of tie dye shirts and fanny packs, but as 2013 got under way, the internet was rumbling with rumors that O-Town would be getting back together.

But it seemed as though their return would be made without a crucial member of the troupe. As it turned out, all members returned except for Ashley Parker Angel, who decided not to return. This was indeed a big shock to most fans of the band, as he was one of the more popular members. The comparison wouldn’t be quite like NSNYC reforming without Justin Timberlake, but pretty close when thought about.

The other four members decided to move forward regardless.

17 Were Actually Signed By A Legend

The above photo is such an iconic and pivotal moment in the music industry because it was when the late and astonishingly talented Whitney Houston was signed to a record deal by Clive Davis, A&R executive and world famous record producer. The many acts and performers he has under his belt are the topmost earners and pivotal members of the musical community. Performers like: Janis Joplin, Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith and so many more, including members of today’s musical scene. The once president of Columbia Records and the current COO of Sony Music Entertainment, there probably isn’t anyone alive that has more influence in the history of music.

As it turns out, right after season 1 of Making The Band, Clive Davis actually signed O-Town to a record deal for his then new label, J Records.

16 Their Peak Was Indeed Quite High

Although their time at the top was very, very short, many would be surprised to know that their music did soar quite high, and as it turns out, higher than most.

Their first single peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and that’s no small feat, as many bands, especially boy bands of their era failed to peak that high.

Their success was temporary, yes, but the short amount of time they were on top was pretty successful and they would have to content themselves with--at least--what they did achieve. After all, it was pretty spectacular; especially considering that they did better than some of their counterparts and peers, like 98 Degrees, who never had a hit that soared quite as high as O-Town’s.

15 2nd Offering Crashed And Burned

But, the fact that O-Town’s inception came as it did, they kind of rubbed a lot of music fans the wrong way. Very quickly, the band started to lose favor among music fans everywhere. And even though they scored high with one or two of their songs, they began to lose steam rather quickly.

So by the time they recorded and released their second album, O2, they had indeed lost a lot of fans and the album plummeted rather low. In fact, we’re being nice. Plummeted isn’t the word we’re looking for, or rather it isn’t the right expression.

Crashed and burned is more like it and the sales were just about embarrassing, and there is no doubt that it had a hand in the band’s demise.

14 A Changing Industry Was Their Downfall

The turn of the century brought with it a plethora of musical acts and all of them were as different from each other as night and day. Of course there were many “movements” and genres that saw the light of day at that time, the tried, tested and true music that the world was accustomed to was pretty much on its way out—as far as the mainstream was concerned. Acts that had garnered success in the past were still going strong in their respective categories and sub groups, but the acts battling it for the top spot in the mainstream were showing the world very different styles and were gaining success because of it.

Seeing that O-Town had started right at the cusp of that change, it was difficult for them to evolve and change with the times, as they had just started out. It would have been difficult for anyone in their position, though.

13 Was Lou Pearlman Responsible For Their Downfall?

Sadly, Lou Pearlman is no longer among the living. He passed on in prison while serving a 25 year sentence for a reputed Ponzi scheme gone wrong. He had been responsible for the careers and formation of O-Town and other bands such as The Backstreet Boys and even NSYNC.

Unfortunately, all of the musical acts he was responsible for sued him in court, with the exception for one, and all of them claiming misrepresentation.

Backstreet Boys were the first to take him to court and then everybody followed suit. Members of O-Town have expressed that he was somehow responsible for their break-up, but reasons are unclear, as the ordeal should have unified them instead of separating them, but there is no way of being sure.

12 Some Of Them Had Decent Solo Careers

Although a few of the members had decent solo careers, the member that reached for the stars more than all was in fact Ashley Parker Angel.

Shortly after O-Town disbanded, he landed a record deal on his own. He also signed a deal and starred in his own reality TV series: There & Back: Ashley Parker Stevens—in which his plight and pursuit of a solo record deal was well documented from episode to episode. He made other TV appearances and gained tons of exposure.

In 2006, he released his first solo album and believe it or not, it debuted at Number 5 on Billboard and was entitled Soundtrack To Your Life.

He has since also acted in theater and on Broadway, and he seems to be headed somewhere after all, even though he refused to reunite with his band mates in 2013.

11 Launching Social Media Accounts In 2013 - New Territory

For stars and celebrities who have come to be famous in the last decade or so, adapting to social media wasn’t a difficult transition at all. In fact, for the younger portion of celebrities, social media and interacting on it comes as second nature to most.

But to most of the stars whose claim to fame came earlier than that, social media sure took a lot to get used to. For older celebs, it must have seemed weird that everybody, famous and non-famous people alike now had a voice in the media, and interacting with them day to day must have seemed very daunting at first. Some have adapted well and some have fallen off the shelf, unable to keep up.

When O-Town returned in 2013, they decided to attack the concept head on, and they hit to social media extensively in order to reach as many fans as possible.

10 New Album In 2014

The much anticipated new album of the newly re-united band came out in 2014. It was entitled Lines and Circles and, although it did well among their best fans, it didn’t make the noise that their original album made. That would have been impossible.

But it sure seems to have been good enough for them to decide to stay together and they released another single in 2017 and fans believed that meant that a new forthcoming album was surely on the way. In actual fact, some new music was released on itunes in 2017, an album entitled Volume III. Some songs included: Mastermind, Club, When It Rains It Pours and No Love.

They have toured all of their new albums extensively and have garnered some success from their new offerings.

9 Had One Of The Biggest Pop Songs Of All Time

Although their new music is doing fairly, there is no way they will ever match the success of their biggest hit to date: All Or Nothing. That song reached all time highs and peaked on the US Mainstream Top 40 at number one. In fact we’re sure, as you’re sitting there reading this, you have the song playing over and over in your head. The song was played and overplayed on radio all over the world.

In fact, the song was so big, it registered higher than any song ever released by 98 Degrees and that’s saying something, considering that O-Town was always considered lowest on the boy band totem pole.

Can they be considered a one hit wonder? No, not really, but close enough.

8 Teen's Choice

For a band like theirs, awards and accolades weren’t really plentiful when looked at closely. They weren’t nominated or won any Grammys or American Music Awards, and that is understandable if we’re all being honest with ourselves.

But they were nominated and won 1 out of their two nominations at the 2001 Teen’s Choice Awards. And let’s be honest, that’s where boy bands of all sorts did very well, as teens were what gave this band their success.

They were nominated and won that year’s Breakout Artist category and were nominated for Pop Group and ultimately lost.

Is there another nomination in the near future? Probably not, seeing that their music isn’t doing as well as it used to in better days. But hey … there are many that have never even won a Teen’s Choice Award.

7 Touring With Their Peers

The music that saturated the airwaves right at the turn of the 21^st century definitely had a lot of things in common. Tempos, style and arrangements were most certainly a lot alike.

This led to many fans of other bands in the boy band genre to like and become fans of other bands in the genre. Very similar to fans of the metal scene to like various acts that erupted onto the metal and thrash scenes of the 80s.

Bands, especially boy bands at the turn of the century, or rather the Y2K years were definitely mainstream and impressionable teens of the era flocked to their shows.

So it was no doubt that when O-Town re-formed in 2013 and decided to tour with 98 Degrees of all bands, the fans went wild and flocked to see these bands that had so much in common, live.

6 New Approach To Music

Seeing that they were a member less and a very creative member at that, the rest of the troupe definitely had to change the way they approached the creative process, as well as the recording process.

The four members who decided to continue things on their own, sans Ashley, had to come up with their own and original ways of putting music to tape, either digital or analog.

The other 4 members were indeed talented, but it is a well known fact that Ashley was the brains behind the operation and was instrumental in choosing the songs the band would sing and record. This time around, the band would have to work together and without Ashley's input to whatever they decided to work on.

Judging by the music they've put out, they seem to have done alright on their own.

5 Reunited & Touring

It's hard to come back after any size or duration of time and/or hiatus. O-Town had to come back after 10 years away from the limelight and that's a long amount of time indeed. A decade has the power to shut people down completely and any chance at a comeback is impossible.

Many bands have tried and many bands have indeed failed. However, O-Town seems to be doing alright. Their return can't be considered anything but small scale, but at least it's a return and they are back and entertaining the fans that have remained loyal to them and their music.

After all they've been through, they deserve their success. After all they were underdogs and we all know what they say about the underdog, now don't we?

They have strategically put out new tunes and have toured and continued to tour their new music like any other band and they need to be commended for that.

4 Underwood Went To School During Hiatus

Back in the day Duff McKagen of Guns N' Roses made news by going to school when the band disbanded back in the early 90s. It was awesome that a member of a band that had been so influential had returned to school to better himself, seeing that his band had gone the way of bell-bottom jeans. An inspiring feet, no doubt.

As it turns out, Jacob Underwood of O-Town went to school during the band's decade long hiatus to better himself and well ... to move on with his life. He studied business and it was a great idea on his part. He didn't know that the band would be back in one way or another by 2013. As far as we're concerned, he was smart. He used the success he did achieve and he decided to move forward in another direction altogether and he was the better for it. Who knows if he actually would have needed the knowledge ... after all, the comeback might have gone badly. And where would he have been then and without a plan B ... hunh?

3 They Feel They Could Have Done It All Better

When they look back at their entire body of work at the beginning of their career, we have no doubt that they can get a little squeamish at the reception they received and, of course, the popular opinion that they amassed.

Boy bands aren't exactly regarded as the greatest musicians of all time. There's no way they could ever be on a plain as, say, John Lennon or the likes of Kurt Cobain. No, boy bands have their place, but the members of O-Town seem to be a little embarrassed about their past as they have claimed that they would have definitely done things better than they did ... maybe approached their career differently.

Just think of the fact that Ashley Parker Angel not wanting to come back for the reboot of the band speaks volumes of what they accomplished and how they accomplished it, despite the fact that they had such a huge hit.

2 True Meaning Behind The Popular Lyrics

Bands in other genres write their own music. They write their own lyrics, play their own instruments and perform entire songs themselves. So if there's a particular message that those particular bands want to get across, then listeners know that the meaning of the words come from them and there's something very genuine about that.

For boy bands, it isn't a secret that the music and lyrics are written entirely by someone else and the bands in question choose what they want to sing; song selection being one of the most important aspect of the recording process.

As it turns out, when O-Town was choosing songs for their first album, the self titled O-Town, when they came across the song that would become their biggest hit, All Or Nothing, the members of the band saw in the song the story that they had lived until that point. They felt the song represented their career up until that point and the choice became a no-brainer, hence the popularity. Fans can pick up on feeling and emotion and the fans felt that emotion coming through in that song, we're sure.

1 They Finally Get Along & Better Than Ever Before

Yes, then there were four. But the remaining members feel that they are better for it. They haven't gone as far to say that Ashley Parker Angel was responsible for the band's initial demise, but they have gone on record to say that they are getting along better than ever.

Many bands have been through this through the ages and many bands have indeed done better when particular members have gone out the door in one way or another. Sure, the band seems to get along better, but their statements could also be because of some bitterness at the fact that Ashley refused any and all offers for him to come back and join them after 10 years.

Regardless, though. If the statements are true or not, they are indeed back and fans are happy. And despite not being back in the band that made him, Ashley seems happy too.

We wish all of them the best of luck in their quest for all or nothing at all.