Dream Street was an
American pop boy band that was formed in mid 1999 and broke up in 2002.
History
The group was initially put together by producers Louis Baldonieri and Brian Lukow and titled 'Boy Wonder' (a name borrowed from the nickname of
comic book character Robin from the
Batman comics and films). The band featured several boys aged 11–14 from the New York Broadway/Acting scene.
[[1] Biography at Allmusic] Baldonieri and Lukow hoped to make an impact on the pop music industry by introducing a group of teenagers to the scene, all of whom had prior stage-singing experience. Among these original members were Gregory Raposo and Chris Trousdale, who would continue on into the remade group in 2001.
The lineup was changed not long after they debuted the show in front of several talent agents and record label reps. Their debut involved among other things a tap dance number, and a jazzy theme song... both of which were sacked quickly after, as well as a cover of the main song from the musical
Rent "Seasons of Love."
Jesse McCartney,
Gregory Raposo, Matt Ballinger,
Frankie Galasso, and
Chris Trousdale would become the new faces of the group, and were given the name "Dream Street" (which incidentally was the name of Lukow and Baldonieri's recording studio in New York City). The only original song they kept was titled "Jennifer Goodbye", which was initially written as a folk-pop ballad, then was changed into its modern incarnation months later. Davis Knight later quit the group and Matt Ballinger replaced him.
Their eponymous debut album was released in 2001 It was certified
Gold in the US by the
RIAA peaking #1 on
Top Independent Albums and at #37 on
The Billboard 200[[2] Albums chart information on Billboard ]. The final Dream Street release was the soundtrack album to the released 2002 film
The Biggest Fan starring former Dream Street member Chris Trousdale. He co-starred in this film with Kaila Amariah.
Despite achieving gold status overall sales for the album were disappointing for producers who had hoped that the group would become another multiplatinum success like
The Backstreet Boys or
NSYNC. One of the big factors that contributed was the waning appeal and popularity of the teen pop movement around 2001/02.
Breakup
In 2002, the band broke up over a legal dispute between the group members and their parents. The producers wanted the boys to quit school and focus solely on their boy band occupation. The parents filed a lawsuit against the producers, but Chris Trousdale took the producers' side. The other Dream Street member and their parents won the lawsuit, but the decision had an unanticipated result: as per the settlement, the boys were never allowed to perform as a group together again.
Discography
Albums
Singles
- With All My Heart (2002)
- Sugar Rush (Limited Edition) (2002)
- I Say Yeah (2001)
- It Happens Every Time (2001)
- They Don't Understand. (2000)
- Matter Of Time. (2001)
- Gotta Get the Girl
- Jennifer Goodbye
Compilations
Videos
- Dream Street LIVE [3] (2001)
- Dream Street Live at Criterion Theatre [3] (2000)
