Unlike many well-known boy bands, S.O.5 was not put together by producers or a talent agency. In fact, it was put together by the future glue to the group TJ Kippen. Born in Panorama City on February 11, 2004 to Irish-American lawyer Miles Kippen and Creole/French-Canadian professor Liberty Lewis-Kippen, and raised in Lake Balboa, TJ is biracial. Remember this… because it will be important later. MUCH… later…
And like many biracial actors/singers before him, including the DeBarge family, Mariah Carey, Trinity Whiteside, Logic, Natasha Hamilton, Cameron Boyce, and Matt Murray, TJ was more “white-passing” (he really hates that phrase), meaning you couldn’t tell at first that he’s also Black. His hair texture was thick straight-to-wavy, not curly. And before he was barely old enough to go to school, he even faced taunts and ridicule from both sides of his family because he was biracial. He always tried to fit in with his Black relatives; tried so hard to “look Black, talk Black, be accepted Black.” “There’s no way you’re Black, you don’t look it.” Like, he literally grew up with Black music and went to an all-Black church (Rock of the Valley), for crying out loud! And the White side of his family was no different, with many of them not wanting to acknowledge him because they could tell that he was (in the words of an adult cousin) a mutt. He couldn’t help looking the way that he did. It was bad enough that strangers and peers were somehow bothered by his features, but it was annoying and hurtful that even relatives would throw it in his face that he wasn’t full-Black or full-White. But really, who is full-anything in North America? And if anyone from his church had any thoughts about his race, they kept it to themselves, like typical church goers.
Yet, despite that unwanted attention over his mixed race, no matter how much somebody made him cry, they couldn’t make him ashamed of his mixed race, even at a VERY young age. And his parents always assured him there was nothing wrong with how he looked or spoke. At Stagg Street Elementary School, he didn’t know if anybody else was mixed; it’s not something that you ask a random student or staff member. So, if there were any mixed-raced classmates, he didn’t know because growing up, a lot of mixed-raced kids are often told to just say that they are one or the other, based on their strongest features. TJ’s parents didn’t do that to him (despite the fact that he did indeed have stronger White features); they wanted him to be true to himself, even if that meant filling in the bubbles next to answers “Black/African-American,” “White”, and “Mixed,” respectively, in his emergency cards at school.
But sooner or later, by the time TJ was five years old, he would accidentally find his safe space through music, movies, TV, and theatre, develop a talent in rapping, dancing, and singing, and have an interest in performing and entertaining. He also became quite the class clown. And he fell in love Karate, which he voluntarily started learning at age 4, and became very helpful for him when it came to self-defense, even to this day.
His musical influences are truly impressive: The Black Eyed Peas, A Tribe Called Quest, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, TLC (especially T-Boz and Left Eye), Yelawolf, Logic, Corbin Bleu, Britney Spears, Rihanna, O-Town, Tokio Hotel, Billy Porter, Ricky Martin, Guy Sebastian, Justin Bieber, and Tiziano Ferro, to name a few.
Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, TJ was already a local performer in school plays and local talent shows, doing almost anything under the sun, from rapping, to dancing, to singing, to making music, to writing songs and poetry in a diary (yes, he said “diary,” not “journal”), to puppetry, to acting in commercials, and even making time to earn a black belt by the time he was 9 years old. Jesus… He was a very busy kid and had the confidence and flamboyance that made people young and old either love him or hate him, and even question him, if you catch my drift. And at the time, he thought nothing of it because he was used to the feedback and was just and being himself: a funny and carefree kid with a diary, a black belt, and a love for the arts.
TJ met Wally Brodski - a fellow Lake Balboa-raised kid who was also bitten by the art bug - in the first grade at Stagg Street Elementary School, and instantly clicked, as if they had known each other since they were in diapers. TJ’s over the top personality and Wally’s more cool and laid-back presence only made their bond stronger (still to this day). And for whatever reason, each one made it easy for the other to just be himself in a way that little kids couldn't describe it. And as lifelong fans of PBS, their favorite cartoon from the PBS Kids brand is 2000's "Clifford the Big Red Dog," a show that literally teaches kids to never judge a book by its cover.
Let’s rewind a bit talk about Wally before he met TJ, shall we? Wally was born in Northridge on May 16, 2004, and is African-American with roots going back to West Africa (Ghana/Ivory Coast/Nigeria). And his parents Wendy Brodski and William Brodski noticed Wally’s love for singing when he was a babbling baby singing along to Xscape’s cover of The Jones Girls’ “Who Can I Run To?” They still remember it as being the cutest thing they had ever heard. He never stopped singing after that. He eventually started rapping as well at age 5, after seeing a music video for Jacob Latimore’s “Like ‘Em All (featuring Diggy Simmons)” on Disney Channel. That’s how he developed a smooth-talking style of rapping.
But what’s hilarious - and more importantly, refreshing - about Wally’s early awareness of pop and R&B music is that he grew up annoyed at how so many singers unnecessarily showboat just to prove that they can sing. It got to a point where if he ever watched an undiscovered talent or an established recording artist perform the national anthem, or saw/heard an audition that required singing, he would dread it almost immediately because he knew that the singer would try to do those vocal acrobats. This hot take of his was never a secret and would earn him a mixed reception, specifically from R&B fans, even when he was still a child.
So, whenever he would sing a cover of a pop/R&B song at a talent show or audition, he kept the ad-libs and riffs to a minimum on purpose, and still managed to keep people’s attention. His main inspiration behind this technique was Elizabeth Wolfgramm, the lead singer of The Jets who never overdid it and still managed to keep audiences engaged.
In addition to The Jets, Jacob Latimore, and Diggy Simmons, other influences of Wally’s include Aaron Fresh, Mindless Behavior, Jesse McCartney, Mary J Blige, P!nk, Allstar Weekend, Lloyd, Lil’ Romeo, and B5, among so much more!
Okay, back to the story. Wally was also active in the world of talent shows and stage plays, and sometimes the two would star in the same commercials or sing/rap together as a duo, which could explain why by the age of 9 when they started the fourth grade, neither felt ready to pursue a solo singing career, whether or not they would do anything else together.
In the beginning of their 4th grade year, Wally and TJ met the Puerto Rican born Oscar Nero, who didn’t have the most positive experiences as a singer, dancer, actor, or person. Born in San Juan on July 24, 2004, Oscar Nero is of Afro-Puerto Rican descent. Fluent in both Spanish and English, Oscar was already an adoptee. He always knew that he was adopted, and he knew about his birth parents at a very young age, because his foster parents Trina and Alonso Nero (also Afro-Puerto Rican themselves) wanted to be honest with him and let him know exactly where he came from.
His birth parents were teenagers when they had him, with his birth mother Joseline Melendez being 15 and the biological father Ricky Morales being 16. Trina and Alonso were 26 and 27, respectively, when they adopted Oscar in 2004 shortly after his birth, so they already knew who his bio parents were, and even asked if they wanted to keep in touch to see how Oscar was doing (they basically wanted Oscar to know where he came from). Of course, the birth parents said no, but their respective parents (behind Joseline and Ricky's backs) agreed to stay in touch with Trina and Alonso, knowing that the two foster parents were going to be great parents for baby Oscar, and promised that if he ever wanted to know about his birth parents, the door would always be open.
Trina couldn't physically have kids herself, and thought that would be enough for her husband Alonso to leave her. But with or without a child, Alonso could not imagine a life without her, saying, "If you and I ever want kids, there's always room for adoption." Eventually, that led to them legally adopting Oscar. To both of them – and even to Oscar himself – it was always meant to be.
But as Oscar's birth parents put it, when he finally got to meet them when he was 9, it was just a hookup, he was an accident, it shouldn’t have happened, and neither wanted to keep him. Little Oscar’s heart dropped when they gave him that revelation. He was so embarrassed and heartbroken that he was lost on what to say after that. He hadn’t seen or heard from his birth parents since, but still keeps in touch with his biological grandparents, who he has a great relationship with to this day. His foster parents felt responsible for his devastation, because they didn’t want to keep his background a secret from him. But he assured them he didn’t blame them. “I wanted to know for myself, and now I know.” Outside his foster parents and extended bio/foster family, he never connected with anyone (staff or student) at school until he moved to Lake Balboa and met Wally and TJ at the beginning of the fourth grade. As they got to know each other, he told them about his story as an adoptee, and they eventually became his safe space and eventually a second family for him.
Oscar already had the early “signs” (for a lack of better term) that he might be gay. One time, in the third grade (while still living in San Juan), 8-year-old Oscar absent-mindedly stared at a male fifth grader’s bare chest during a basketball game at PE class, and when another male student noticed, that student laughed at him and said, “¿Qué estás mirando, maricón (in English, that translates to: What are you lookin’ at, fag)?” which caught Oscar off-guard, so much so, that he ran away from the area. Kids were already gossiping about Oscar because he was reserved, boring (in their opinion), and polite, and didn’t say too much until he had to or felt like it. Even homophobic and sexist faculty members joked about it. It was so bad for Oscar that he made it point to stay as invisible as he possibly could. He would realize years later that isolating yourself doesn’t solve anything. But at the time, when his foster parents told him that they were moving to Lake Balboa, Los Angeles (where he would attend Stagg Street Elementary School with TJ and Wally), Oscar was more than happy to leave Puerto Rico and start fresh in California.
His two new friends Wally and TJ always made him feel welcome, though Oscar never talked about the possibility that he could be gay, or the kids back in Puerto Rico spreading rumors about him being gay (and TJ and Wally were never even aware of their own sexualities at the time, so they had nothing to bring up as well). He wasn’t ready to talk to anyone about that, not even to his foster parents. Although he did accidentally overhear his foster parents randomly talking in the middle of the night about the kids and adults back in San Juan gossiping about Oscar prior to their move, worrying if that's why he didn’t talk to a lot of other kids before moving to California. They agreed that they wouldn’t force Oscar to open up about anything that he may not feel ready to open up about, and that they will always love him for who he is, not in spite of who he is. That moment gave him some hope, but it would be many years – following a mistake he makes in high school – before he finally realized that his foster parents meant what they said.
On the performance and entertainment side, Oscar didn’t have as much experience as Wally and TJ, but loved to sing, dance, and act. Musically, his influences were Menudo, Marc Anthony, Mario, Usher, Richard Lugo, Shakira, Lady Gaga, Shawn Mendes, Shawn Desman, Blake McGrath, 3T, Patra, The Fugees, Shontelle, Billy Crawford, and Craig David.
While still living in Puerto Rico, he always auditioned for a variety of shows/movies/talent shows but always got rejected once people realized that he was Afro-Latino. For most people, it wasn’t that easy to tell, but he never denied it or hid it. And as a result, he never once tried auditioning for anything created by the Mexican-based Televisa. It was disheartening for his foster parents who always encouraged him to not give up, but he was tired of always being shown the door, especially during an era where Afro-Latino actors, rappers and singers were still forced to just play the generic roles of typical African-Americans. Plus, the most common feedback he would get was, “Decent singing voice, but definitely attractive for the ladies, so who cares?” He didn’t want to be remembered for his looks, he wanted to be known for his talent. It was getting to the point where he didn’t think he was the right fit for entertainment.
So, when he moved to Lake Balboa, he mostly focused on school and just being a kid, and didn’t really want to risk rejection again, so he never auditioned for anything in Los Angeles, *at first*. However, it was clear to even his foster parents, Wally, and TJ that he missed it. The two friends knew about his situation as an Afro-Latino in Puerto Rico, and agreed that he should try again when he was ready, even if he had to be more assertive. Until then, he really looked up to both of them and admired TJ’s triple-threat energy and Wally’s artistry. If nothing else, Oscar felt more at home with his two new friends.
And after Wally won a talent competition that earned him a spot in a boy band being put together – quickly known as G-Heartbreak (what a horrible name) – TJ (after congratulating Wally) instantly had a secret lightbulb moment: “Wait, that’s it! A boy band.” And both TJ and Oscar would follow and support Wally on his journey as a G-Heartbreak member.
Little did TJ and Oscar realize - at first - what kind of experience G-Heartbreak would turn out to be for Wally.
G-Heartbreak was quintet created in 2014 by small-time talent manager Tyler Kash who was looking to cash in (get it?) on the 2010s boy band resurgence that gave us Mindless Behavior, Big Time Rush, The Wanted, and especially One Direction. The group consisted of Jackson O’Brien (13), Kevin Peterson (11), Wally himself (10), Reed McPhearson (12), and Cameron Webber (12). G-Heartbreak was a predominantly white group, with only one exception: Wally, the only Black member and the youngest to join. This immediately created friction — not because of Wally, but because of the other boys’ immaturity, insecurity, and the adults around the group.
Behind the scenes, G-Heartbreak was disorganized, poorly managed, undisciplined, petty, mean-spirited, racist, racially insensitive, and motivated by ego not teamwork. The kids mimicked the toxic adults surrounding them. And Wally, slowly but surely, became the main target. He came into the group being the most talented, the most professional, the most disciplined, the most educated, the most experienced as a performer, and (to the group’s earliest fanbase) the nicest, funniest and most relatable. Even the early fans said (as a compliment) that he was the only one that truly was an artist, and visually the most distinctive because everyone else who was White (and blonde-ish) was very arrogant, bland, looked too much alike and were just not very good at singing. Heck, even TJ and Oscar couldn’t you a positive thing about the other members. Oscar was personally over the “traditional white boy band” thing, and agreed with TJ and the fans that Wally was easily the best thing to happen to that horrible group, not the other way around.
The G-Heartbreak bandmates mocked Wally’s hair, his voice, his style, his mannerisms, his dancing, and his skin tone. They mocked him for being “too loud,” then mocked him for being “too quiet.” Tyler Kash gaslit him, saying, “You have to toughen up. This is just how boy bands work.” That was a lie; it was abuse. And after five months, Wally was not having it anymore.
One early afternoon, Wally had just finished rehearsal for a mall tour in Encino. He was alone in a food court and seemed really sad, looking like he had been crying, at least from the perspective of another fourth grader who accidentally spotted him. Enter the fourth grader Cyrus Farber, who debated whether or not it was a bad time to approach him. But he quickly built enough courage to do so, introduce himself, and let Wally know that he sounded really great during the soundcheck. He also mentioned that he had seen Wally and TJ’s performances and was a fan of theirs. Wally – who was a little timid – smiled at Cyrus’ feedback, and appreciated, and softly thanked Cyrus. When Wally asked Cyrus if he was a singer, too, Cyrus said, "Yes, but my parents won’t let me pursue a singing career, or even perform at a talent show. They want me to pursue sports, which I really don’t wanna do, you know?”
Let’s rewind all the way back and discuss Cyrus Farber. He was born on January 12, 2004 to Jewish parents Tobias Farber and Jane Farber in Woodland Hills, and raised in the gated communities of Encino. They were Jewish by ethnicity and religion. But even without fully understanding why, Cyrus couldn’t feel less attached to the religion (and he would end up outgrowing the religion much later in life). Either way, he was raised in a strict religious and conservative upbringing, and his parents were already pushing him to do things that typical “normal boys” should be doing, in their opinion.
Cyrus attended Lanai Road Elementary School. And by the time he was in the second grade, he was already playing basketball. And although he was great at the sport (still is to this day), and even the best on his local team, winning several trophies, it wasn’t his passion. His passion was singing and dancing. In fact, a lot of his favorite music came from Black music artists, ranging from R&B, to hip hop, to Gospel, to rock, to neo-soul (the latter of which he was least familiar with by name, but accidentally discovered it via Maxwell, D'Angelo, and Kina Cosper (a former member of Brownstone)). He also loved writing and drawing. And by the time he had reached the end of the second grade, he was reading about astronomy and geography.
Also, by that time, Cyrus often heard kids make fun of other kids who may or may not be gay. Cyrus was taught that homosexuality was sinful, and men and women are each supposed to behave a certain way. Each gender had a specific gender role that they had to play, and Cyrus didn’t… really feel that way. He didn’t know why, but he always got offended and heated whenever someone at home, church or school would comment negatively on homosexuality, and often wondered, “Is it really a sin?” Even his own father complained about television and film "pushing the gay agenda."
Speaking of which, Cyrus’s parents did not like the fact that he was spending more time singing and dancing (doing anything art-related basically), and less time playing sports. He never wanted to disappoint his parents, especially his dad. Tobias was VERY tough and abrasive, had a VERY firm hand, and was VERY critical of Cyrus’s behavior, choices and personal interests. He always put Cyrus down for any little mistake that was made (sometimes physically), and had an "I'm right, you're wrong, end of story" attitude towards Cyrus, which would make it difficult for Cyrus to communicate with him, the older he got. But Cyrus didn’t want to play sports full-time anymore. He wanted to sing and dance.
Cyrus was often told to stop being so soft. But unlike Wally, Cyrus (due to his conservative upbringing) gave in, ultimately believing, “I must be perfect to be worthy.” So, whenever someone (even unintentionally) made him feel unseen, he reacted with defensiveness, frustration, urgency, loudness, fear, depression, and anger. Interestingly enough, Cyrus might have suppressed his depression and anger (sometimes), but he was far from a shy person.
There was one family member who saw through Cyrus’ passion and struggles, and that was his uncle Jake Farber, a music teacher the younger brother of Tobias in his early 30s. Jake was always liberal and a parental figure for Cyrus in a way that made Cyrus feel safe and seen. Jake also saw musical potential in Cyrus. He knew that Cyrus was very attracted to rhythm, drumming anything from a table - until his father ordered him harshly to stop doing that - to his stomach, knees and thighs, until Uncle Jake gave him his first set of drums and bongos. Even when Cyrus was playing basketball, music was all he could think of, and by the time he was 8, he developed a personal taste in artists like the Bee Gees, Earth Wind & Fire, the Isley Brothers, Kina Cosper, Eternal, Toni Braxton, Keyshia Cole, B5, Luther Vandross, New Edition, Tonex, Phyllis Hyman, Teena Marie, Jon B, Guy Sebastain, Gorillaz, the list goes on. And going to a public elementary school allowed Cyrus to be exposed to R&B, rock, and pop, something that his parents don’t listen to. And he even got to join a Gospel choir in his elementary school, which bothered his parents because he’s Jewish. Regardless, it was through his time in the choir, that he learned how to properly sing. And Uncle Jake knew that Cyrus’ true calling was not sports, no matter how great an athlete Cyrus was and still is.
As for his singing, he was a powerful, dark and edgy singer. His falsetto was never strong, which didn’t matter to him anyway, so it didn’t bother him. When he was using his head voice, he was conveying emotions, and sometimes his most powerful moments sounded like shouting (think Johnny Gill, Jennifer Hudson, or Tyler Joseph from Twenty One Pilots), which could have led to the future popular opinion that he was doing too much. But when he would use his chest voice, his vocals were more restrained, soulful, and comfortable (not to mention a little sassier), which he inherited from learning how to properly sing while in the Gospel choir. Luckily around his time in the choir, Cyrus would find a vocal balance that has ultimately saved him from having a drastically different/weaker voice in the future.
So even without any experience in the entertainment/music industry, he was just as busy as Wally and TJ. Which takes us back to the day Cyrus met Wally for the first time. As an everyday kid, Cyrus never had a true group of friends until 2014, when he accidentally spotted a sad Wally who had just finished rehearsal for a mall tour in Encino, and the two instantly clicked. It was a very lovely conversation between the two, so much so that they lost track of time. Luckily, it was certainly not the last they had seen of or heard from each other, as they remained in touch immediately after that first meeting.
Two weeks later, during vocal rehearsal, an argument escalated into a full-on confrontation. 13-year-old groupmate Jackson told Wally he was “lucky to even be a group.” After that, Wally walked out and never came back. He stopped communicating with the boys and their management. This was a major blow for G-Heartbreak as they had to do a school tour in just two more days, and now they just had to figure it out themselves without Wally’s influence or undisputed talent. They did carry on for three more months, but fans who wanted to see Wally (aka the ONLY reason fans, and future S.O.5 members gave G-Heartbreak a chance) had tuned out once Wally immediately put the rest of the group and their management on blast just hours after quitting. How many 10-year-olds were this open and honest about industry abuse and drama within a singing group? Oscar was more scared than ever to try again as a performer himself after learning the truth about Wally’s experience. But you can imagine Cyrus’ immediate vocal support after Wally revealed everything about G-Heartbreak via social media.
And news of Wally’s exit and why he left became the talk of the school hallways. Practically every elementary/junior high kid in the San Fernando Valley was aware of this, and an Anatola Elementary student named Marcel Ortiz – who had followed the group mainly for Wally – was in shock that Wally was really treated this unfairly; not just by other kids, but by adults as well. He didn’t even know Wally (or any of Wally’s four friends), and still found his tragic story to be relatable in so many ways. More on Marcel later.
So, G-Heartbreak was over, after just eight months together. And while it didn’t take long for Wally to start fresh in his career, the others – Jackson, Kevin, Reed, and Cameron – have since kept a low profile following the backlash they received from Wally’s accusations, which the majority of fans believed, as they did notice some awkward tension and how Wally was treated compared to the others. Hell, even Tyler Kash has pretty much disappeared after fans called him out for his mistreatment towards Wally, as well as his response to Wally’s accusation – calling Wally ungrateful, a royal pain in the ass, and difficult to work with. Racial subtext? Uh, yeah. And even TJ thinks so.
In fact, TJ – who personally wouldn’t have lasted in that group despite being “white-passing” – had noticed G-Heartbreak’s dynamic when attending one of their mall tours. And when Wally told him what was going on (days before quitting the group), it all made sense to TJ.
Wally’s parents and TJ’s parents were absolutely disgusted when they found out about what happened and made sure that Wally’s five former groupmates and their manager Tyler Kash never worked in the industry ever again, hence why you never hear from the G-Heartbreak members or their management again.
This unfortunate era for Wally didn’t stop Wally or TJ from persuading Oscar to give his own career aspirations another shot. Slowly but surely, after a much-needed push from his family and two best friends, Oscar managed to book his first acting role in an episode of NCIS Los Angeles where he did get to speak Bilingual, played a singing role on an episode of East Los High (which allowed him to play a Puerto Rican kid, instead of a Mexican kid), and did a couple of commercials for Chuck E Cheese and Universal Studios Hollywood. However, he was still not ready to take a chance with Televisa (“Uh-uh.”) given their history with racism and colorism amongst the non-Eurocentric performers, but he didn’t completely rule it out this time.
By the time Wally was done with G-Heartbreak, TJ had already come up with a potential name for a group that he initially treated as just an idea: "Space Otters Five". The name was just a random collection of words put together, because he liked science fiction, thought otters were cute, and joked to himself that 5 would be the magic number for a boyband, not that he was trying to be traditional. But he also shortened the name to S.O.5 because according to him, it was less of a mouthful and didn’t sound as childish. Plus, "S.O.5" looked like “SOS”, as if somebody was sending him an SOS for a safe space. And that “somebody” in this case could have been Wally, who needed to get out of G-Heartbreak as soon as possible. And with the help from TJ’s parents – his dad Miles Kippen being a lawyer – TJ was able to trademark the names "S.O.5" and “Space Otters Five” just in case. And any future member would also have equal legal rights to the name and the future music as well, not their future management or future record label. But TJ would keep the S.O.5 concept a secret until further notice.
In the meantime, during the 5th grade, Wally introduced TJ and Oscar to Cyrus who came to Wally’s house that day (still in his basketball uniform, after finishing practice), and all four of them clicked instantly. Cyrus told them about himself, his family, and his love of singing and dancing, and they were just impressed by Cyrus’ passion for music – and even blown away by Cyrus’ singing voice – to the point where all four of them (yes, including Cyrus himself) forgot that he was a full-time athlete and not pursuing a singing/musical career. They even loved his raw acapella cover of Eternal’s version of “Amazing Grace.” What a fantastic voice.
He didn’t really go into too much detail about his relationship with his parents because he didn't want to overwhelm them. But the others could tell that he was embarrassed (and even a little scared) to talk about them, so they didn’t push for clarity. But Cyrus did say that they were pretty strict and conservative, and don’t really believe in his potential.
He related to Oscar over their reluctance, Wally over feeling like you have to toughen up, and TJ over how whiteness could clash with their love of Black music.
It was also noticeable that he had more positive energy when he would talk about his Uncle Jake, implying (at least to his 3 new friends) that Cyrus doesn’t really get along with his parents at all.
Unsurprisingly, his parents don’t like Wally, Oscar, or especially TJ, the latter of whom Tobias quietly described as fruity during a "private" conversation with Jane, thinking that Cyrus didn't hear him.
But Uncle Jake knew instantly that Wally, Oscar, and TJ were the best people to ever enter Cyrus’s life, as he has never seen Cyrus so happy to be around kids his age until he met his 3 new friends. They didn't even have to attend the same elementary school.
After enough time had passed, and school was finally out for the summer vacation 2015 after completing the fifth grade and graduating from Stagg, TJ approached Wally, saying that he had an idea of starting a boy band from scratch, and told him about the S.O.5 concept. TJ wanted to form a group with boys he loved, boys he trusted, boys who wouldn’t tear each other down, boys who wanted to sing about real things, not just fake-girlfriend fantasies. And he asked Wally if he would like to join the group. Wally thought the idea sounded great, but was torn about joining, not wanting to go through what he went through with G-Heartbreak. His time in G-Heartbreak broke something in him — not his confidence, but his trust in the industry and in other kids. And TJ’s response was the promise that shaped the next decade: “It won’t be like that this time. I swear. Not with me or anyone else.”
After Wally eventually said yes, he and TJ both approached Oscar about it, with TJ explaining the whole idea behind it. Because Oscar trusted them and already looked up to them as his biggest inspirations personally, professionally, and artistically, it was easy for him to immediately say, “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!” And just like with Wally, Oscar didn’t even have to audition. The boys heard him sing plenty of times and love the way he dances, and saw him as an equal in their dynamic, which made it that much easier to approach Oscar about it. And his foster parents were especially happy that his two best friends from school were giving him an opportunity to express himself in a way that perhaps certain managements wouldn’t have allowed him to do.
And during their summer vacation, Cyrus would see the other three again during their new student orientation for incoming 6th graders at William Mulholland Middle School, and after the orientation was over, the three friends approached Cyrus about maybe joining S.O.5. Cyrus found the concept very interesting and unique. He immediately said yes, ultimately shifting his focus away from basketball, which he was thankful for, and his parents were very upset about. More importantly, Cyrus didn’t know it yet, but S.O.5 would save his life, not once but plenty of times, later in life.
Fast forward to the sixth grade in Fall 2015. Oscar met his Math classmate Marcel Ortiz on the second day of school. And Oscar seemed like a really sweet and down-to-earth person, which was very refreshing for Marcel, who - because of his history of being bullied - was hesitant to be close with anyone. So, naturally, he did not mention to Oscar that he can sing. Marcel had seen Oscar hang out with Wally, Cyrus, and TJ a few times, and was actually starstruck when he saw Wally at the 6th grade new student orientation during the summer.
A couple of weeks later, after school, Marcel was in the school’s empty basketball gym singing to himself to avoid any unwanted attention or judgment. He was absent-mindedly singing Whitney Houston’s "You'll Never Stand Alone" (a song that meant so much to him). He thought he was alone because it had been over an hour since anyone was inside the gym, until he noticed Oscar walking in. He felt so embarrassed that he was about to leave the gym, but Oscar pleaded with him to stay, saying that he had a really lovely voice.
Now let’s go back to Marcel’s history to understand why it seems like Marcel has been keeping his singing abilities a secret. Known to use his head voice quite often towards the end of a bridge before ad-libbing with both his head and chest voice, our classically trained singer Marcel Ortiz was born and raised in Lake Balboa to Mexican-American parents Jesuso Ortiz and Emmy Serratos-Ortiz on August 26, 2004. And while most babies and toddlers get very fussy and throw tantrums when they don’t get their way, Marcel was the total opposite. He was very quiet, reserved, and shy, and if he didn’t get his way, he didn’t argue or ask why; he just simply said, “Okay,” and moved on.
But one way that he was able to express himself was through his growing appreciation of classical music, musical theatre, pop/R&B/rock balladry, Gospel, and even soap operas/telenovelas.
He found his voice through vocal powerhouses like Kina Cosper, Luther Vandross, Celine Dion, Cristian Castro, Jade Ewen, Audra McDonald, Adele, Whitney Houston, Il Volo, Yolanda Adams, Mariah Carey, Josh Groban, and David Archuleta. And with enough vocal training, his voice became one of the strongest and most powerful, by the time he was six years old.
SIX. YEARS. OLD!
It’s actually amazing to know how far he’s come since he started singing. There’s a video footage from his parents of him singing Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” when he was only three years old. Marcel doesn’t like watching that because he was very off-key and pitchy. But his parents think it’s the most adorable thing ever. Besides, even the best singers in the world start off shaky.
His introduction into musical theatre was Audra McDonald, not via a theatre production, but through a film adaptation of the stage play “A Raisin in the Sun” in 2008. Her performance as an actress stood out to him the most, and online research led to Marcel realizing that Audra not only used to also be in the theatre version of “A Raisin in the Sun,” but is also a singer herself. And to this day, Marcel credits Audra for introducing him to Broadway.
During Marcel’s third grade year, his very first performance happened in a school talent show held in his elementary school Anatola Elementary School, where he got to sing “You’ll Never Stand Alone” by Whitney Houston, which received a standing ovation from adults (remember this) and earned him a first-place trophy, to his shock. He almost didn’t show up on-stage because he was deathly afraid to perform. Marcel needed the push from Jesuso, literally, as he was backstage with him, while Emmy was in the back audience taping his performance up-close (Marcel is prouder to watch that footage). He chose the song because it wasn’t a single, nor was it a well-known song, and he didn’t want to sing the same pop ballads that most would expect contestants to sing. So, no "Greatest Love of All" or "I Will Always Love You." And honestly? He made the right call. That song would end up being the soundtrack to his life and the lives of his four future best friends.
Unfortunately, because of his shyness and refusal to argue, he gained a reputation of being a pushover, which made him an easy target for bullying and seemingly incapable of standing up for himself. Marcel would constantly get mocked for being “too sensitive” or "too soft" with many blaming it on him being Mexican. He would even have relatives (around his parents’ age or much older) who are also Mexican complain about him looking ugly, unattractive, annoying, girly, curly-haired, and nerdy, and always tucking in his shirt even on very hot days.
He didn’t talk to his parents about anything negative going on in his life, because he was starting to believe that he was indeed annoying, and always felt like he was complaining too much or that he should just ignore it and move on, like he normally would. But make no mistake, by the end of his elementary school days, there were times when he would come home from school and walk to his bedroom, crying himself to sleep. He’d tell his parents that everything was fine, but they always felt like something was wrong.
One of those things was the backlash he received from schoolmates after his talent show performance. Although parents and staff members were blown away by Marcel’s singing voice, his manners and his youthful maturity (all of which earned him the “old soul” compliment), Marcel would often hear from classmates about how loud, irritating and “gay” his singing voice was. One female classmate (who would pass away in 2017 at age 13, may she rest in Hell) even said to him, "I liked you better when you were quiet." This really broke him as he loved to sing. And even his parents noticed that he had stopped singing by the fourth grade. He never told them what students thought of him, out of the fear that they would accuse him of being gay. They never said anything that implied that they may be homophobic, but Marcel was not taking that chance. So, he kept quiet, as always. And then came the news about Wally’s exit from G-Heartbreak.
Which takes us back to the basketball gym in the Fall of 2015. By this time, Marcel had started singing again, but only to himself whenever he was alone, to avoid any unwanted attention or judgment. So, for Oscar to praise Marcel's singing voice, it was shocking for Marcel because no kid before Oscar had anything nice to say about his voice. At this point, Marcel decided to tell Oscar about his journey as a singer, and his influences, as well as why he hadn't been singing for a couple of years. And Oscar tells him about a group that he's a part of called S.O.5 with Wally, Cyrus, and TJ, thinking that Marcel would be a good fit after meeting them.
He decided to give it a shot, but secretly hated the idea of being the new guy. He wondered, "Are they going to like me? What if I'm not the right singer for their group? What if I'm too boring?"
And when he finally met them at lunch, he told them about his background as a singer, and why he hadn't been singing consistently. They could tell from his tone that he was really nervous to speak to them, and a little shy, but knew that there was something special about him. And one Friday afternoon after school in the Lake Balboa park, when he sang "You'll Never Stand Alone" to them, they were all blown away, with Wally saying that he had chills and was almost in tears.
The timid Marcel asked, "Really? Does that mean you liked it?" And Wally said, "I love it!" Luckily for Wally, Marcel's powerful theatricality is one of the best and most controlled he's ever heard.
The rest of the friend group agreed, and Marcel was emotional and happy. Of course, since he was now stepping into not just a singing group, an established friend group, he knew that he would need some time to get to know everyone together and individually, which he did.
They understood that he had no experience as a dancer but is a fast learner. And Marcel was just happy that these 4 guys actually liked him, and were welcoming him into their world. And today, the others agree that he's the special gift that was missing in S.O.5.
