Overview
Dream Street are an American pop boy band that was formed in 1999 by Louis Baldonieri and Brian Lukow. The band disbanded in 2002 following a legal dispute between parents of the band members and the band's managers. In 2023, the band was revived with members, Greg Raposo, Frankie J. Galasso, and Matt Ballinger returning.
History
The group was initially put together by music producers Louis Baldonieri and Brian Lukow. Originally named 'Boy Wonder' (a name borrowed from the nickname of comic book character Robin from the Batman comics and films), the band featured several boys aged 11–14 from the New York Broadway/Acting scene. Baldonieri and Lukow hoped to make an impact on the pop music industry by introducing a group of teenagers to the scene, all of whom had prior stage-singing experience. Among these original members were former The Broadway Kids members Greg Raposo and Chris Trousdale, who would continue on into the remade group from 1999 until 2002. The lineup was changed not long after they debuted the show in front of several talent agents and record label reps. Their debut included a tap dance number and a jazzy theme song, both of which were sacked quickly after. It also included a cover of the popular song from the musical Rent "Seasons of Love".
Matt Ballinger, Frankie J. Galasso, and Jesse McCartney soon join the band with Raposo and Trousdale as they would become the new faces of the group and were given the name "Dream Street", which was the name of Lukow and Baldonieri's recording studio in New York City. With the new group members added, and with most of the jazzy Broadway songs scrapped, the only original song Lukow and Baldonieri kept for the band was titled "Jennifer Goodbye", which was initially written for Lukow's fiance, then was changed into its teen-pop incarnation months later. On July 18, 2000 the soundtrack for Pokémon the Movie 2000 was released featuring their song "They Don't Understand (Pokemon Version)".
Their eponymous debut album was released in October 2000. It was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA peaking No. 1 on Billboard'''s Independent Albums chart and at No. 37 on the Billboard 200. The songs, "It Happens Every Time" and "I Say Yeah" were frequently played on Radio Disney. The boys soon made appearances to perform on various talk shows and television events. In late 2000, Dream Street made an appearance on a show that fellow member McCartney had a recurring role on, ABC's All My Children.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).