Listening Party Los Angeles Style!
November 8, 2002
By Debbie Braasch
Photos by Debbie Braasch

It may have been cold and rainy outside in Universal City on November 8, 2002, but it was HOT inside the local Hard Rock Cafe. The heat was created by the crowd of fans and the hotness of O-Town, who were here for a party to preview their new album, O2. As the fans entered the Hard Rock (after waiting for hours in the cold and the rain) and crowded up to the stage, they saw 5 empty stools with name tags on the seats. They pushed to the front in an effort to see which of their fabulous O-Boys would be sitting on each of the seats. They jockeyed for position to ensure that they were standing in front of the stool where their favorite guy would be seated.

The noise of the crowd began to swell as JoJo, a DJ from the local KIIS FM radio station, took the stage. After chatting with the crowd for a short time, JoJo got down to business and introduced Dan! Flashbulbs went off as Danny took the first stool. He chewed on a toothpick as he started playing to the crowd. As he told us that his favorite song off the new album was "These are the Days," the song started to play and the crowd went wild! Danny sang along on occasion and seemed to enjoy watching and listening to the reaction of the fans.

Then Trevor came on the stage looking wicked hot, as usual. He and Dan clowned around for a bit and then Trevor introduced "Suddenly," a sweet, catchy "lost my love" song. Trevor sang along and closely watched the reaction of the crowd. Trevor really plays to the fans - he took time out to shake hands with those closest to the stage and to mug for my camera a time or two.

Next they brought out Erik-Michael to the sound of screaming fans - seriously, the crowd went wild! Erik smiled that sweet little grin of his and looked out at the audience, making full eye contact with many of the fans. He is just charming! Erik chatted with the crowd for a bit and then introduced "From the Damage," a song that many of the fans were familiar with from the O2 Preview tour this summer.

Mr. Heartthrob, Ashley, then sauntered out on the stage and the girls screamed like crazy! Ash was looking dazzling as usual and was flashing that gorgeous smile of his as he took his seat. He introduced "The Joint," a hip-hop/rock song that had the audience dancing and bopping their heads. Ashley just smiled as the song played and the fans rocked out.

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