The 2000s decade wasn't a good one for pop boy bands, and saw the hiatus of the Backstreet Boys, and the disbandment of NSYNC, 98 Degrees and 5ive. But it was also quite an experimental decade for singing groups in general on the small screen; especially within the genres of reality television and comedy. Before shows like 2GE+HER, Big Time Rush, and Making Menudo, there was Making the Band.
While most fans of the ABC/MTV reality series favor the later seasons that gave the world various acts such as Day 26 and Danity Kane, I only watched the original iteration of the series. Sometimes referred to as Making the Band 1 - to help distinguish it from the later versions that apparently happened - this three-season era didn't just give us the quintet O-Town. It also introduced us to three future members of a lesser-known boy band called LMNT, pronounced 'element'.
Earth
These future members were 25-year-old Bryan Chan, 21-year-old Ikaika Kahoano, and 19-year-old Mike Miller. In 1999, these three young men each auditioned to become members of O-Town, as documented on the very first season of Making the Band. Ikaika - whose name means 'strong as the sea' - grew up in a musical family. His father (Kimo Kahoano) was a fire knife dancer and went on to work as a singer, dancer, actor, emcee, and DJ. And his mother (Lynette Kahoano), and two brothers (Haku and Kamuela) can also sing.
Ikaika himself already had experience singing in a music group, having performed in an acappella group in high school, and recorded an album (1999's Fruit from the Tree) with his brothers under the band name ANO. He would join Bryan and Mike as three of the eight finalists on the show. And while Mike and Bryan did not make it into O-Town, Ikaika became an official member of the group, and was joined by Ashley Angel, Erik-Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick, and Jacob Underwood.
Eventually in 2000, Ikaika would leave O-Town and Making the Band during the show's first season. Realizing that music would be an afterthought in favor of reality TV drama, and feeling like some of the other members were vocally and physically weak were some of the many reasons why he left. During his short time on the show, Ikaika recorded two songs for the group: "All for Love" and "Baby I Would". And according to Ikaika himself, he would've left O-Town anyway, when he heard that the group's first single was to be "Liquid Dreams".
Ikaika was later replaced by Dan Miller (the best singer of O-Town), who at age 19 also auditioned to be in the group back in 1999. Whether people loved or hated Ikaika, the brightest side of him leaving was that he no longer had to worry about Lou Pearlman.
Fire
Ikaika returned to Hawaii, working a regular job and tutoring. Meanwhile, Bryan Chan and Mike Miller were starting a new vocal group, and Bryan wanted Ikaika to join. After his brief stint with O-Town, Ikaika was not exactly interested, but eventually had a change of heart and became the third member. Rounding out the group was 21-year-old Broadway star Matthew Morrison.
An unnamed band at the time, they were eventually signed to Atlantic Records, who would hold a contest in the pages of a Teen People magazine to select a name for the new band. The winning name ended up being LMNT, which was admittedly a strange name to pronounce.
Together, the quartet recorded and performed for about a good year. But by the late summer of 2001, Matthew was no longer in the group. For Matthew, being in the band (which he refers to as "Lament") was not a positive experience; calling it embarrassing, and one of the biggest mistakes that he had ever made in his life. Having to sing "stupid, ridiculous songs" was apparently not for him. Hmmm... So Matthew was gone, and in his place was 18-year-old Jonas Persch. With the addition of Jonas came a lineup of LMNT that would be the most recognizable - at least for those that remember LMNT at all.
The new and improved LMNT released their energetic debut single "Juliet" on November 13, 2001. The song peaked at #49 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales Chart, and amazingly received a lot of airplay on Radio Disney, where it reached #1 and stayed in that position for eight consecutive weeks. The single - which would become their signature song - was even given a very interesting yet iconic music video on March 29, 2002, taking place in a laundromat.
In the Spring of 2002, the guys got to tour with O-Town as the opening act in Palm Beach, Florida. Then on June 4, 2002, they finally released their debut album, entitled All Sides. The title was meant to represent the diverse musical tastes of each member, and imply that they were not like other boy bands. Unfortunately... All Sides received very poor reviews from music critics and only managed to hit #40 on Billboard's US Heatseekers Albums Chart. Still, I'm really not a hard person to please, and there were some decent highlights from All Sides, besides "Juliet": "Get it All", "The Best", "Forget to Forget" (co-written by Billy Crawford), and especially "It's Your Love" (originally performed by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill). An honorable (or maybe dishonorable) mention goes to the train wreck that is "Shangri La", easily one of the best worst songs they have ever done. That's right: BEST WORST.
Nonetheless, "Juliet" was a hit on Radio Disney, and that's all that mattered. In the summer of 2002, LMNT participated in the A*TEENS' Pop 'Til You Drop! Tour, alongside reggae band Baha Men, Christian co-ed pop group Jump5, and pop girl group Play. And they even got to tour with Britney Spears on her Dream Within a Dream Tour that same summer. In the Fall, "Juliet" reached #1 in Singapore and stayed in that position for four straight weeks. There were talks of possibly touring in Asia for early 2003, in response to the success. But on September 2002, LMNT became one of many music acts dropped by Atlantic Records, in order for the label to cut costs following the tragic 9/11 attacks the year prior.
In the meantime, Ikaika Kahoano had missed a handful of appearances, leaving the rest of LMNT to carry on as best as they possibly could. Their status as a trio was not official until Ikaika finally left the group by early December. The reason given was that he wanted to return to Hawaii to be with his family. Instead of finding another member to maintain their four-piece status, Bryan, Mike and Jonas agreed to soldier on as a trio, with their first public appearance as such being at the WBLI Winter Jam on December 2nd. Ikaika's departure was confirmed two days later, and it was reported that the trio would return to the studio shortly after to work on a second album, with hopes to get back on the road in early January 2003.
Water
On January 11, 2003, LMNT was back with a new song entitled "You're the One". It was recorded for an animated movie called 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure. I don't know what that movie is, to be honest. But from what I understand, the movie featured a nine-year-old Bobby Lockwood as the titular character, pre-House-of-Anubis and pre-Wolfblood. Back to the song, it was LMNT's first release under Walt Disney Records, after no longer being signed to Atlantic Records. Knowing Disney, "You're the One" can only technically be called a 'single', as it was only released exclusively on Radio Disney, and never officially released as a physical or digital record. It was not even included in the movie's soundtrack. The music video was basically just a montage of what I am guessing were the most memorable/iconic scenes from the movie, so LMNT was nowhere to be seen; just heard. The song itself was actually really good, but was not a success on Radio Disney, and was even rejected by listeners via Radio Disney's Music Mailbag. Does anyone remember Music Mailbag? I don't. Eventually, "You're the One" was included on the compilation album Radio Disney Jams 6 (released on September 9, 2003).
More than three months after the release of "You're the One", the guys attended the premiere of The Lizzie McGuire Movie at Los Angeles's El Capitan Theatre on April 26th (one day after my ninth birthday). They were there to promote not only the movie, but also their new song for the soundtrack: "Open Your Eyes (To Love)". This midtempo ballad is not only the shortest song they've ever recorded, but it's easily their best... song... EVER. And it sounds very appropriate for a second album, if that ever actually happened.
LMNT's next song would be made for the Disney Channel Original Series Kim Possible. The song was called "It's Just You", sung almost entirely by group member Jonas Persch. It was included on the Kim Possible soundtrack (released July 22, 2003), and it was a terrible song. And because the song was meant for children, LMNT would have the corniest music video of their careers known to man. At least "Juliet" had a more iconic (and dare I say, way less juvenile) conept.
And finally, their last song was a cover of "A Whole New World" from the Disney animated film Aladdin, originally sung by Brad Kane and Lea Salonga for the movie, and later Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle for the film's soundtrack. LMNT's version is a beautiful underrated rendition, and on par with "Open Your Eyes (To Love)" and "It's Your Love", if you ask me. It was recorded specifically for the DisneyMania 2 album. As I mentioned on my blog about the music supergroup Disney Channel Circle of Stars, DisneyMania was a compilation album franchise in which music artists would sing their own version of one of their favorite Disney songs.
But months before the DisneyMania 2 album was ever released, LMNT quietly called it quits around the late summer of 2003. There was no official announcement given to confirm the disbandment. But on August 25, 2003 - exactly 20 years before this blog entry was posted - LMNT's official website (lmntmusic.com) was shut down (although it can still be found within Internet Archive these days). And when that happens, that usually means the end. DisneyMania 2 would eventually be released on January 2004, with LMNT's version of "A Whole New World" included on the album, as planned.
Air
As of now, it is publicly unknown what Mike Miller has been up to since LMNT ended. However, last I heard, he has been living in the state of South Carolina.
Jonas Persch started a career in Furniture Sales and Design, and is now the president of OFS Interiors (based in Holladay, Utah), which he founded in June 17, 2008.
Bryan Chan became a member of a male dance troupe in Las Vegas, Nevada called the Chippendales. And these days, he works as an emcee, host, and real estate agent for Prominent Realty Group LLC. Besides that, and a past relationship with television personality and fellow Chippendales member Jaymes Vaughan, Bryan keeps a very low profile, much like Mike Miller.
Without a doubt the most notable and successful member of LMNT is Matthew Morrison, and not because of the group. After being the first member to jump ship, Matthew returned to Broadway, where he had already made a name for himself. He also released a few albums as a solo artist, and became best known for his role as William Schuester in one the most popular, yet polarizing TV shows of all time, Glee. What are the odds of that? So the man has been booked and busy, and continues to be the only LMNT member to still remain active in the entertainment industry. Just don't ask him about LMNT.
And then there was Ikaika Kahoano, who - after leaving the group - kept himself busy. In addition to family, education always came first, and I admire him for that. He would earn his BA in Biology, graduate with honors from the University of Hawaii in December 2003, and receive tuition waivers for tutoring Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry. He taught in both middle and high school for two years, and served five years as an Officer in the US Army (after spending the first two years as a military medical student at F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland). In 2009, Ikaika won the Army Physical Fitness Test Award during the 2009 OBLC (Officer Basic Leader Course) in Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
After being Honorably Discharged from the military, Ikaika (who has also been passionate about fitness his whole life) put his academic background in science and nutrition to use, and created Model-Fit Hawaii in 2011. And from that year until 2017, he was a radio cohost for the Aloha Friday Morning Show alongside his father Kimo Kahoano, stepmother Kumu Hula Leilani Kahoano, and DJ Minone. The radio show and podcast aired on KKNE AM 940 every Friday, and became the only Father/Son radio show on the air in Hawaii for six years. Ikaika was responsible for the Sportstime segment of the show with his tagline being “Go sports!”
He also managed to make time to star in three movies: Camp Slaughter (also known as Camp Daze) in 2005, Supergator in 2007, and El Chapo and the Curse of the Pirate Zombies which has yet to be released. And as a model, he signed with Premiere Models and Talent in Honolulu in 2004. With regards to music, he joined his younger brother Kamuela Kahoano in a duo called Green Light Go in 2005, and they released their self-titled album two years later. For the record, while many people have trashed LMNT's one and only album All Sides, Ikaika has openly stated that he is proud of the album and that it is still one of his favorites to this day.
LMNT was a very underrated group that only a handful of people, who do remember them, will only talk about them if they want something to mock. While LMNT certainly did not reach the same popularity, praise or success some of the other boy bands did in the 2000s - a decade that was not a great one for boy bands anyway - they will always have a special place in my heart. If Bryan Chan, Mike Miller and Ikaika Kahoano never met by way of Making the Band, there is no telling if "Juliet" would have existed at all. "Juliet" is still one of my favorite boy band songs of all time, and the first song I think of when the now-defunct Radio Disney comes to mind.
