Thursday, March 11, 2010
Most adolescent girls at the turn of the millennium had their respective boy band crushes: A then bleach-blonde Justin Timberlake of *NSYNC, or bad boy crooner A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys. My obsession began with the premiere of ABC’s, Making the Band. Before P. Diddy and Danity Kane, Making the Band was about putting cookie-cutter 18-year-olds into a decently harmonizing group called O-Town.
After a suspenseful season of sappy love songs and pelvis thrusting dance moves, the finale occurred. The members were Trevor, Jacob, Ikaika (who went on to be replaced by Dan), Erik, and my personal favorite: Ashley Parker Angel. (Yes he’s a dude, contrary to the feminine-sounding name).
I adored Ashley’s highlighted blonde hair, chiseled features and sparkling blue eyes. The rest of the season, I watched him and the boys bicker and somehow produce a self-titled CD featuring one-hit wonders such as “Liquid Dreams” and “All or Nothing.”
I got a chance to live out my O-Town obsession in person when the band came to Sokol auditorium in Omaha. It was my first concert. My best friend Paige and I went with her mother, who pulled us to the front of the standing-room only crowd.
The band arrived and most likely faked singing through their set, but I didn’t notice. When Ashley stepped forward I couldn’t breathe. I frantically jumped up and down in my red Abercrombie wind-breaker, hoping he’d be able to reach my outstretched palm. I swore we made eye contact.
Check out Mary’s personal essay to read about her journey to find self-confidence. Like her, I too fell victim to the ideals and media hype of pop stars. Sometimes, celebrities (even non-famous boy band members) can create unrealistic and skewed expectations of appearance and love, blurring the line between reality and fantasy.
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