MTV Making the Band

MTV Making the Band is a talent-based reality TV show headed by music mogul P. Diddy. The show creates and follows musical acts starting with auditions and judging, and then culminating into tours and recordings.

Making the Band actually started as a mainstream reality show on ABC. The first season in 1999 featured Lou Pearlman, manager for The Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, as he searched for the next great musical sensation. Auditions were held across the country, and 25 semi-finalists were chosen. These 25 were cut down to eight finalists, and five were eventually selected to become the new band O-Town.

The show received lukewarm ratings, and was picked up by cable network MTV for successive seasons.

One of the things that makes Making the Band unique is that there's no set format that each season will follow. With each new band creation, viewers get the audition and selection process along with famous judges and performances from the contestants. There are also lots of retrospectives in every season, looking back at all the bands and acts that have come from the show in previous seasons.

The first two installments of Making the Band on MTV continued to follow O-Town as they rode the path to success. Fans watched as O-Town toured, recorded their second album, changed record labels, and went about the daily business of becoming a successful pop group.

MTV brought in P. Diddy for the next session to oversee the talent searches and guide the new bands along their paths to stardom. Diddy has received a lot of negative press as a result of the musicians and rappers who auditioned being asked to do many tasks that wouldn't normally be required of a musical act, like fetching Diddy's dry cleaning or picking up his lunch.

Six band members were finally chosen for this season and formed a group called Da Band. Members of the group were prone to bickering, however, and this affected their relationship with Diddy. Even though their debut album, Too Hot for TV was certified gold, the band was dissolved by Diddy during the season finale of the show.

Diddy returned for the next season of Making the Band in which he decided to put together and all-girl super group. The talent scouts and judges were looking for girls who could not only sing, but also dance and provide the look that Diddy was going for.

At the end of the first session Diddy decided that he didn't have enough talent on board to form a band and kept only three of the hundreds of girls who auditioned. During the second installment of the season the band was formed with five members and called Danity Kane.

Viewers got to watch as Danity Kane struggled to find an identity for themselves as a band, recorded hit singles, made their record, recorded music videos, and prepared to tour.

Making the Band 4 brought us our first solo act as well as an all-boy band. Donnie Klang, who showed huge promise throughout the audition phase of the show, was offered a solo contract. Five other contestants were selected and formed the band Day26.

The season was a mish-mash of current and past bands, including Day26 and Danity Kane as they prepared to record and tour the United States. Donnie Klang was also invited on tour, and the three acts went out together on tour.

During the season finale, after much in-fighting and tension with the girls of Danity Kane, Diddy announced that he was letting two of the girls go - Aubrey O'Day and D. Woods - and the group would continue on as a trio.

To catch up with past and current seasons of the show, visit the official MTV website for Making the Band..

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