Ashley Parker Angel has opened up about a dark period in his career when he found himself constantly compared to Justin Timberlake.
The former member of O-Town spoke candidly about his career from Making The Band, to the early days and height of his group's success and his subsequent solo career, revealing the "immense" pressure of that time.
"It was really again the stress of that, the pressure of trying to make something of myself outside of O-Town and launch this solo career," the 41-year-old said during an appearance on the Behind The Velvet Rope podcast this week.
"Of course comparing myself to people like Justin Timberlake, you know, the stress and the pressure that I was under was immense," he continued. "And I think that's why that ended up being sort of a darker period for me when I went to tour on that album."
Parker Angel rose to prominence as a member of O-Town, going on to have brief solo music career before eventually making a name for himself as a Broadway star.
Much like Timberlake, he also left a successful boyband to pursue a solo career but Parker Angel didn't quite match the success of the NSync star.
As he was trying to make it as a solo performer, the singer was the subject of an MTV reality series, There and Back.
His solo album, Soundtrack to Your Life, was released in May 2006 and Parker Angel discussed how its debut single "Let U Go," was a massive success.
"That's where I hit a wall and I realized I started turning to really unhealthy behaviors," he revealed on the podcast. "I looked at myself in the mirror and I was like, if I don't make a change, I'm gonna join the 27 Club. I'm gonna die as this young performer like many have."
Parker Angel went on to say that he had an "epiphany moment" which prompted him to make a change.
"I had this epiphany moment where I knew I needed to, I needed to make a change," he said. "And for that reason, I think my perspective on even pursuing music after that really changed, that's why I pivoted into Broadway."
Parker Angel's Broadway career began when he joined the cast of the eight-time Tony Award-winning musical Hairspray, playing the lead character's love interest, teen heartthrob Link Larkin.
His performance was praised by critics and he went on to play Fiyero Tigelaar in Wicked.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
