US5

US5 emerged as another boy band shaped and overseen by veteran impresario Lou Pearlman, whose earlier clients had included the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and O-Town. Pearlman formed the act to coincide with the reality series Big in America, which first aired on Germany’s RTL 2 network during summer 2005. The program selected an international roster of German-born Christoph Watrin and Mikel Johnson, American-born Izzy Gallegos and Richie Stringini, and London-born Tariq Jay Khan, then subjected the hopeful vocalists to rigorous training at an industry boot camp designed to sharpen both their skills and individual images. Because Big in America drew large television audiences, US5’s first single inevitably attracted heavy coverage; “Maria” reached number one in Germany while also landing inside the Top Ten in Austria and Czechoslovakia. The group’s 2005 debut album, Here We Go, likewise became a major commercial hit, helped by the subsequent releases Just Because of You, Come Back to Me Baby, and Mama. In late 2006 US5 issued its second album, In Control, which returned the act to the higher tiers of the German charts through In the Club and One Night with You. Even so, the band’s momentum was interrupted in 2007 once Pearlman’s long-running fraudulent investment schemes resulted in his imprisonment.