Ashley Parker Angel of O-Town was afraid of passing away too soon and becoming one of the many well-known musicians who don't live to be 28 years old.
He even said he almost did - given the crowd and environment he was in after rising into fame "too early" or too young.
Angel, 41, was "just turning 18" when he became a household name along with his fellow bandmembers.
This is such a tender age to become a worldwide phenomenon, it seems.
Some young people can handle their fame but others can literally have their lives ruined because of it. Angel reflects back and said he almost fell into the second category.
The popular pop group that was formed on the blockbuster reality show "Making the Band" was later handled by disgraced boy band founder Lou Pearlman, who also discovered Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC.
He shared why so many young people cannot handle fame well. Even though so many ordinary folks think they have it easy and that they are so lucky, the truth is that sometimes fame can be perilious to young people's esteem and behavior.
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He added that what people do not know about fame among the young is that they can become so insecure really fast, because they would keep comparing themselves to others. It does not stop and can be so pressuring, Angel explained on Tuesday's episode of the "Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef" podcast.
Because there is a darker side to dealing with popularity, he continued, that fame can bring a lot of sadness and anxiety, as well as a lot of substance misuse difficulties and all kinds of psychiatric disorders that individuals have to work through.
O-Town split up in 2003 after three years of working together, and Angel then relentlessly pursued a solo career, which was chronicled in another reality series, "There and Back."
Angel admitted to Yontef that, at the time, he was experiencing despair as part of the "rock star lifestyle" it entailed. People around his age were actually dying left and right, mainly because of suicide.
"I started turning to drugs and alcohol," he shared. Among the many of his friends who committed suicide included Disney Channel star Lee Thompson Young.
"You see, sometimes this fame happens at a young age, and you're getting this validation from the world. And then all of a sudden, the plug gets pulled on that, and it makes people go crazy," Angel said.
Fortunately for him, he had an epiphany that if he does not change, he'll die. He said this made him change his perspective on pursuing music. This is the reason why he shifted into having a Broadway career.
His first Broadway project was playing the lead role's love interest in "Hairspray" in 2007. And the rest is history.
Remember some of the greatest hits of O-Town:
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