MTV hopefuls flock to Chelsea for a shot at fame

Anthony Aiken (left) and Jared Peppy (right), both from Harlem, rehearse as they wait for auditions to start inside Chelsea’s Rebel nightclub for MTV’s reality show “Making the Band 4” on Saturday morning.

By Alyssa Galella

On a chilly Saturday morning at 8 a.m., about 100 young men waited in line outside Rebel, a Chelsea nightclub on 30th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues. Some practiced their harmonies, while others shifted nervously from foot to foot. But all of them were hoping to become the next hip-hop stars on MTV’s reality show “Making the Band 4.”

One hopeful, Toyin Koyego, 22, missed his train from Sewell, N.J., early in the morning and had to take a Greyhound bus instead. Koyego, a Howard University student who is taking time off to focus on breaking into the music business, had been waiting outside Rebel since 5 a.m.

“I didn’t go to sleep last night because I had too much to do – I had to get here!” said Koyego, who sometimes performs at open-mic shows and admitted he doesn’t usually watch “Making the Band.”

“I’m not really a fan of the show. I just want exposure,” he said.

Several of the men in line brought along friends or family members for moral support. Joseph Capizzi, 20, traveled from Hamilton, N.J., with both of his parents. He also auditioned for the show in February in New York, but got sick before callbacks and couldn’t perform. Capizzi, a Rider University student with blond, spiky hair, had been standing in line since 7 a.m. and said he wasn’t nervous at all.

“I’ve been singing since I was 2,” he said.

Steven Rascoe, 25, from Brentwood, N.Y., also said he has been “pursuing music for a long time.” Although he wants to be a singer, he said he had no reservations about being on a reality show.

“I’m comfortable with others, because I have a big family,” Rascoe said.

One of his six siblings, his 22-year-old sister Crystal, accompanied him to the tryouts.

“Anything for my brother,” she said. “I’m his biggest fan.”

But not everyone at the audition came from the Tri-State Area, even though MTV held auditions in several other cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Houston, Atlanta and Detroit.

Brandon James, 24, came all the way from Tampa, Fla., where he currently performs in an African-inspired show called KaTonga at Busch Gardens. James, who sports a mohawk, was visiting Manhattan with his girlfriend and decided to try out while he was here.

“We’re here for a week, but we knew this was happening,” he said.

Although James loves performing, he was a little concerned about appearing on a reality show.

“They can edit it any way they want, and they ask you to sign away your life,” he said.

“Making the Band,” now in its fourth season, is a vehicle for rapper and hip-hop mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs to find new acts to sign to his label, Bad Boy Records. Potential group members live in an apartment in New York City together as they train to become singing, dancing superstars. Last season spawned the girl group Danity Kane, which is now touring with Christina Aguilera.

“We want to replicate Danity Kane’s success with a male group,” said Jack Knight, one of the judges at the audition. Knight is a songwriter at The Writing Factory, a division of Bad Boy Entertainment, and will work with the group in the recording studio on the show.

Shannon “Slam” Lawrence, director of A&R for Bad Boy Records, also judged the New York auditions. Although A&R stands for “artist and repertoire” and mostly involves finding new talent, Lawrence also writes songs and works in the recording studio.

“We’re looking for the complete package,” Lawrence said. “The guys need to have great voices, and a personality – the ‘it’ factor,” he said.

Contestants were required to choose a song from a list of six, including selections by Boyz II Men and ’N Sync, and perform it a cappella in front of the three judges – Knight, Lawrence and record producer Brian Cox.

The judges were hoping for a larger New York City turnout than the last time, because the contestants have not been meeting Combs’s standards.

“He wasn’t satisfied with the talent, so he added some more cities,” Lawrence said.

Sixteen men have already been selected and moved into the apartment, although many will be eliminated as Combs narrows the group down to a handful. “Making the Band 4” premieres on June 18 on MTV.

Lawrence tried to hype the reality format as best as he could.

“There’s a lot of drama,” he promised. “A lot of drama.”