O-Town’s Ashley Parker Angel Releases Remade Song From The Hit Musical ‘Wicked’
Hunky O-Town singer Ashley Parker Angel is one of the latest stars to put his own personal spin on a song from the hit musical Wicked, in response to its #OutOfOz: Wicked Studio Sessions video series.
Angel decided to reunite with fellow musical buddies and Wicked alums Kyle Dean Massey, Jeff Heimbrock, Daniel Quadrino, and Jeremy Thompson. The O-Town singer, 37, tapped into his boy-band background for this lighthearted video covering “What is This Feeling?”
People has offered up the first glimpse at Angel’s clip from this very popular YouTube series. Other stars like Jennifer Nettles — and Wicked alums Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, Aaron Tveit, and Annaleigh Ashford — give their own take on Stephen Schwartz’s score.
Angel, Massey, Heimbrock, Quadrino, and Thompson comprise their own Wicked boy-band — and structure the duet between foes Glinda and Elphaba into a pop ballad reminiscent of songs released by other late ’90s boy-bands. Their performance is surprisingly stellar, with five-part harmony and synced choreography.
At one point in the video, Angel gazes into the camera and gives viewers a teasing wink — a tantalizing move and a sly mannerism taken straight from the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. O-Town formed from the first season of the MTV-produced reality show Making the Band in 2000. They produced numerous singles, including “Liquid Dreams,” All or Nothing,” and “We Fit Together.”
O-Town's Ashley Parker Angel Gets Back Into the Boy Band Game with Wicked #OutOfOz Entry https://t.co/yNWfcdYOfd
— People (@people) January 22, 2019
When O-Town disbanded in 2003, Angel advanced his career from concerts and music videos to Broadway. He appeared as part of the cast of Hairspray in 2007, portraying teen cutie Link Larkin — and then appeared as Fiyero in Wicked from July of 2017 to July of 2018. His former O-Town band mates Erik-Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick, Jacob Underwood, and Dan Miller reunited as a quartet in 2013, but Angel declined to participate, People reported.
Wicked has become a cultural phenomenon — and, according to People — has won more than 100 international awards, including three Tonys. It’s based on the novel The Wizard of Oz by Gregory Maguire, but the musical tells the story of the witches from their own perspective.
In October, the show celebrated its 15th Broadway anniversary. To celebrate, a whole host of guests — and original stars Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel — reunited to perform on NBC’s A Very Wicked Halloween special.
“I never thought I’d be in anything that lasted 15 years, let alone 15 seconds,” Chenoweth, 50, told People. “Nothing lasts this long. This has lasted longer than any of my romantic relationships! It’s amazing.”
Menzel, 47, described the production’s longevity as “profound.”
“It’s an honor to have this opportunity to commemorate Wicked, but it also forces you to look back on your life and see what the experience has taught you, where you’ve come from, what your journey’s been like… I feel very emotional and reflective,” she said.
