Becoming O-Town

Becoming is an original MTV production, the brain-child of Hernandez, in which relative unknowns audition and are selected to "become" their favorite musician/band. The winners are surprised in their beds on the morning they begin filming the episode. They are taken to the same hotel where their celebrity stays when they are in town, treated to all the perks and promotional freebies that the celeb would receive and are then put through hair, makeup and wardrobe and even dance lessons if necessary. The result is that they become their favorite celebrities!

The day started as we pulled into the parking lot in the marina. We saw a large In N Out Burger truck and numerous trailers parked there, so we figured we must be in the right place. The MTV crew and the Becoming guys were all out filming on the yacht when we arrived, so we hung around while Cy and Jeff checked in and signed releases so they could perform as extras in the video. We were told to seek out Fernando when the crew returned. We were invited to get some lunch at the In N Out trailer, where the crew and the stars would dine on their return. Of course, we did not pass up that wonderful opportunity, knowing that O-Town would have chowed down had they been there –- In N Out is their favorite fast food restaurant!

Just as we finished our lunch, we saw the yacht dock right in front of us. Our excitement grew as we angled for a view of the guys -– would they look anything like our beloved O-Boys? We knew that we would be their biggest critics. As they disembarked the boat, we whispered among ourselves. We were pleasantly surprised to see that each of the boys was easily identifiable! We found Fernando and introduced ourselves -– he was so sweet to us! He introduced us to Antonia Napoli, the director of the Becoming O-Town episode and told us that as soon as the boys grabbed some lunch, we could start our interviews!

Joseph, who portrayed Dan, was our first victim … uh, I mean interviewee. Adrienne started the interview while Debbie started snapping photographs. Joseph, a 17 year old from San Antonio, Texas, was extremely poised as he told us that he had auditioned in St. Louis at the Hard Rock Café after hearing an ad on the radio and convincing his grandfather to drive him there. Joseph revealed that he is an O-Town fan and hopes that his appearance on Becoming will lead to something else as he is very interested in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. Click here to hear the interview.

On January 8, 2002 off the coast of Marina del Rey, California, we witnessed five handsome, talented and energetic young men "become" O-Town under the watchful eye and guidance of Fernando Hernandez, Director of Music Development for MTV and Executive in Charge of Production for Becoming. These five guys hail from all over the United States and Canada, but a shared love of music, performing and O-Town brought them together. Mike, Greg, Adam, Joseph and Tyson were transformed into Erik, Ashley, Jacob, Dan and Trevor in the blink of an eye!