The MTV reality series Making the Band is currently wrapping up the third season of Making the Band 3. What many people do not know is that Making the Band actually originated on the ABC network in 1999. The original series was the brainchild of Lou Pearlman, the multimillionaire responsible for forming The Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. Pearlman held auditions for young male performers in eight cities across the United States and in the end held over 1,800 auditions in order to find a semifinalist group of 25. The final eight were to compete on the ABC show for the five places open in Pearlman's newest boy band act, and ultimately sign to the record label Transcontinental Records. The first season on ABC carried on in a typical reality show format, filming the competition as well as the process through which the young males would train for the competition in dance and singing. Midway through the first season, three of the eight men were eliminated, leaving Ashley Angel, Jacob Underwood, Erik Estrada, Trevor Penick, and Ikaika Kahoano. These five were set to become O-Town and the series would contain further episodes that would show the process of becoming the band, including training and creating their first CD.



Making the Band 1 derived its primary viewing audience from teenage females; thus, the decision was made to leave ABC and run the series at its new home at MTV. This started MTV's version of Making the Band 1, which enjoyed two more seasons on the cable network. Both seasons followed the five-member boy band as they cut their second CD, went on tour, signed to Clive Davis' record label, and went through the struggle to remain viable in a market that was tiring of the boy band formula.

The series was reinvigorated by former rap artist and current entrepreneur Sean “P Diddy” Combs, who transitioned the show into a search for a rap group. The show followed the same formula of auditions, eliminations and selections until the final five remained, calling themselves Da Band. However the road was not to be smooth for Da Band, even as they entered their second season of filming on MTV. Group tensions and lack of responsibility amongst the members threatened to derail the success of the group, even though the show enjoyed a steady viewing audience. In the end, P. Diddy disbanded the group on television, letting several of the members go and choosing to keep three artists (Babs, Ness and Chopper) for further negotiations at Bad Boy. However, none of these artists have released any material since the end of the season.

The third installation of the series has been, by far, the most successful. In Making the Band 3, P Diddy opted to create a girl band, modeling them after superstar all-female groups such as Destiny's Child and The Spice Girls. Making the Band 3 Season 1 began with auditions and selections, but Season 2 and Season 3 have focused on the 5 selected members (Aubrey O'Day, Aundrea Fimbres, Shannon Bex, Dawn Richards and D. Woods). This group released their first video, “Showstopper,” in July of 2006 and is poised for a first record release on August 22, 2006.