Jacob Underwood
This 19-year-old native Californian has been inten on pursuing a musical career for as long as he can remember. Instead of heading off to college like the rest of his friends and peers, Jacob convinced his family to allow him to pursue his dream of music. He's not just a pretty face with a decent singing voice, either - Jacob writes songs and plays the guitar too. When Jacob auditioned for Making The Band, he didn't realize he would have to sing. As he describes it, "when I walked up there they were like, 'are you ready to sing?' And I'm like, 'sing what?' They said, 'Tearin' Up My Heart.' I had never heard that song in my life. So they sent me downstairs to listen to it for five minutes and try and learn it. I went up and did it."
Trevor Penick
Another California native, 19-year-old Trevor, is a theater major at California State Fullerton. Trevor concluded that it was probably his personality and charm that got him a callback for O-Town, though he is a sharp, skilled dancer. Trevor has always been a huge pop music fan, and his fraternity brothers at college made fun of his devotion to the Backstreet Boys and other pop acts. Trevor and fellow band member Jacob formed a special bond right away, since they were together from the first callback. The two became fast friends, spending weekends together and rooting for each other before either knew they had made it to the final five. Trevor says of their friendship, "when we both got picked from 25 [finalists] down to eight, my friends threw us a going-away party. And then to go from eight to five... [Jacob and I have] been together the whole way through."
Ikaika Kahoano [he quits the group]
21-year-old Ikaika hails from Honolulu, Hawaii, born into a familly of entertainers. An ex-football player, Ikaika looms over six feet tall, and practices kickboxing to stay in shape. Before auditioning for Making The Band, Ikaika intented to finish his degree at the University of Hawaii, where he was studying to become a doctor, Ikaika wasn't so confident about his audition when he first responded to the ad in his local paper. He remembers, "I walked in, and I had an aloha shirt and cargo pants on; I didn't look like anyone there. These guys had all this tight stuff on; they looked totally different than I did. I was like, 'Geez, do I belong there?' I was just ready to leave, and my father was with me and he said, 'No son, just get in there and sing and do your best.'" Look where it took him!
Ashley Parker Angel
Ashley is yet another O-Town boy hailing from sunny California. This blond soon-to-be star was blessed with loads of charisma, and he knows how to belt out the tunes. He also composes and plays instrument in his own self-penned songs. Ashley began harboring a desire to pursue music at the age of four, when his piano-teacher mother showed him how to play. His stepfather taught Ashley to play the guitar and drums. Ashley found out he was one of O-Town's 25 semi-finalists in an exciting manner. He recalls, "I walked in and there's Louis J. Pearlman and a whole board of judges, and they're all staring at me and the cameras are in my face. Louis says, 'You traveled a lot?' And I say, 'Yeah, I've traveled.' He says, 'So you ever been to Orlando, Florida?' I was like, 'Yeah, I went when I was younger.' He says, 'Well, you're going again.' I was like 'Oh my god, I can't believe this.' It was nuts."
Erik-Michael Estrada
20-year-old Erik was born and raised in New York City. He studied voice for years, and had performed with choral groups since the beginning of high school. He loves singing and performing because he loves the feeling of seeing pleasure register on his audience's smiling faces. Erik is proud of his "Nuyorican" heritage, and feels it deep impact on his soul and character. His Italian mother and his stepfather, who inspired and provoked his creative drive, raised Erik. Erik holds a strong belief in destiny, and feels it was fate that brought him to the first O-Town audition in Honolulu [should be in Orlando...]: "It's basically all about fate. I really don't watch TV, but I was in my mom's house, and I just happened to be watching the E [network] at the time, and I saw that [Lou Pearlman] was in Honolulu, having auditions for this boy band. Something inside me said, 'This is you, you have to go, you have to go,' it was this stomach feeling."
