News of O-Town’s Announcement about Their Breakup Goes Global
(November 20, 2003) Our thanks go to a number of our message board members who posted about media outlets that mentioned O-Town's breakup. First Mahsa alerted Popdirt about O-Town’s announcement and then posted on our message board that they had printed an unedited edition (much appreciated) of O-Town's letter announcing their breakup on November 6th. MTV USA mentioned the breakup on their November 7th news page. Brittany posted to alert fans that Gideon Yago mentioned O-Town’s breakup on the MTV news segments that ran during the weekend of November 7-9. Dariel informed us that the morning DJs at at New York's Top 40 station Z100 mentioned the breakup on November 10th as follows: Christine(DJ): Guess when O-Town's third CD is coming out?; Elvis(DJ) When?; Christine: Never, they broke up according to a fan website.

On November 11th, Cassie posted that she was watching ESPN’s SportsCenter and was surprised to hear this mention of O-Town’s breakup, "Coming up on SportsCenter tonight … we'll go down to O-Town and check in on the Magic (Orlando) - Grizzles (Memphis) game… "O-Town, the band, broke up, Kev (the other host) and I know you're upset about that." Mahsa said on November 11th that she had found that a board member at JJB had posted that “… Penn and Teller just made a joke about it on Jimmy Kimmel Live…” Mandy mentioned that she received an email with a link to the mention printed in USA Today on November 11th and Betsy stated that she came across this item in TimesDispatch.com.

Franca posted that the news also spread to Germany. And according to Kary, the breakup was even mentioned on TV is Switzerland!

We thank Laura Watson for the following English translations. From MTV Germany News: O-Town has broken up! The five boys from the MTV-produced show, "Making the Band," have posted a message on their fansite, "Insideotown.com," where they have stated that despite remaining the best of friends, they will not be making any more music together. In addition, a multitude of plans are in the works: Erik, Ashley and Dan are already working on solo projects, Trevor is taking acting classes and Jacob is currently reading the Bible in order to develop his direction for the future.

From the website for the German teen magazine Yam: The rumours concerning an impending split weren't exactly anything new, but the official split of the boyband did hit many fans like a bolt out of the blue. But there is some sunshine after the rain: The guys aren't planning on disappearing altogether, rather they are already eagerly at work on solo projects. On their Fansite www.insideotown.com. Ashley & Co. posted a message to their fans - here are the most important statements in German: (following quoted from the statement, translated into German) "O-TOWN will always be the greatest blessing any one of us could have ever wished for ... unfortunately, however, we had to sign several contracts that were not in our best interests. We wanted you to know that our decision not to continue forward as O-TOWN was mutual and we all still remain best friends ... that will never change...As you know, we truly appreciate all the support of our fans. Talk to you soon! So the story continues for the guys: Ashley and Dan are already making progress on their solo albums. Trevor is continuing to take acting classes, Erik is starting up a new career, both musically and in front of the camera, and Jacob is studying the Bible in order to gain strength for the future. As soon as there's something new from the boys, you will of course hear it from us!”

From the German teen magazine Bravo: Over and Out: O-Town have broken up! Yesterday was a sad day for all O-Town fans: The five boys declared their split in a personal message on the band's homepage, Insideotown.com! In the message they say that they continue to be friends, but will not be making any more music together. However they do say with all certainty that there is no need for concern: Trevor will be attempting acting, Ashley, Dan and Erik will now embark on solo careers, and Jacob is currently studying the Bible in order to develop a direction for the future.

From NDR2, the website for the Norddeutscher Rundfunk: The made-on-TV singers have broken up! According to news on the fansite "insideotown.com" the five guys from the MTV-produced show "Making the Band" do not want to make any more music (together). However, they will without question remain best friends. In addition, there are already lots of plans in the works: Erik, Ashley and Dan are already working on solo projects, Trevor is taking acting classes, and Jacob is currently studying the Bible in order to develop his direction for the future.

From Radio Energy: News on a fansite quotes O-Town as saying goodbye to their fans, and then continuing to talk about the futures of the band members. The guys of O-Town have separated amicably. That's what they tell their fans on the website www.insideotown.com. The chemistry in the band was still there: Jacob, Dan, Trevor, Ashley and Erik-Michael gel as much as they ever did. But apparently the made-on-TV Band are not reaping sufficient financial rewards from their success. At least, that's how it seems if one reads between the lines: "Unfortunately we had to sign several contracts that were not in our best interests." The majority will stay true to music. But, there is life after their time with the band. Dan and Ashley are already back in the studio singing songs for solo projects, Erik-Michael is hard at work writing songs. Trevor will be making a career change and is studying acting. Meanwhile, Jacob will first take some time for reflection and is reading the Bible.

We appreciate the fact that many of the above news sources mentioned that Inside O-Town was their information source. Unfortunately, some of the above sources took liberties with O-Town's wording, even though we asked that their letter be quoted verbatim. Click here to see O-Town's letter exactly as Ashley submitted it to us after receiving the other members' approval of its content.