O2
O-Town, short for Orlando, Florida, the cradle of teen-pop civilization, was created for the ABC reality showMaking the Band. The group'sdebutwas a frothy confection of slick dance-pop hits that sold 2 million copies. With two hard years of touring under their belts, group members have stayed together and moved into a house in Santa Monica, California, where they cowrote six of the songs on their second offering and enlisted one of rap's royalty to work with them.Nellycowrote and produced  "Favorite Girl" and adds his trademark vocals to "Make Her Say." Since leaving the world of TV, O-Town has moved away from their boy-band beginnings. Switching from hip-hop to dance to pop, they sometimes come across as a band in search of a sound. But O-Town's collective heart really seems to be in guitar-driven rock. They giveBon Jovia run for their money on the rather overwrought "These Days," while "From the Damage" could have been lifted off aGoo Goo Dollsdisc. O-Town is a band in transition, but give them credit for taking over the reins of their career. Maybe by the next album, they'll figure out what they want to be now that they've grown up.--Jaan Uhelszki