Ashley Parker Angel’s early 20s may have been distinguished by the success of O-Town and his time performing as Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway.
But he still worried about becoming a member of the “27 Club.” The “27 Club” refers to a list of famous musicians, actresses, artists, and celebrities who passed away at the age of 27, including Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Janis Joplin, for those who are unaware of this tidbit of pop culture knowledge.
In the early 2000s, Angel rose to fame as a member of O-Town, a boy band that was born out of the popular reality TV show Making the Band.
Because there is a darker side to dealing with fame, he continued, “fame can cause a lot of depression and anxiety, as well as a lot of substance abuse issues and all kinds of psychological issues that people have to work through.” He added that he had witnessed “close friends in the industry” commit suicide.
Following the release of two albums in 2001 and 2002, O-Town broke up, and Angel followed his quest for solo success in the reality series There & Back.
He then declined to take part in an O-Town reunion in 2013, going on to play in the Broadway versions of Hairspray and Wicked.
Liquid Dreams (No. 10) and “All or Nothing,” two of O-songs, Town’s both reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. (No. 3). The boy band had two entries on the Billboard 200, including O-Town (No. 5) and O2 (No. 28).
