Aubrey O'Day

Aubrey Morgan O'Day (born February 11, 1984) is an American singer and reality television personality, best known for being a member of the girl group Danity Kane.

O'Day was discovered in 2004 on the MTV reality show Making the Band 3, founded by Sean "Diddy" Combs, and emerged as the show's breakout star.

During Season 2 of Making the Band 3 while the competition was still ongoing, Blender magazine contacted O'Day to pose for their September 2005 issue.

The magazine described her as the contestant "who bared calm resolve and tanned hip bones in beating out almost 10,000 girls for the chance at singing and strutting in a P. Diddy–steered girl group".

O'Day expressed anxiety about competing to be in the group.

"I've been in the 'cut' situation several times," she stated.

"It's hard to stand in a room and know that the dream I want is all in [Combs's] hands."

After seeing her dance, Combs was convinced that O'Day had "Black in her family" and further expressed this sentiment after watching her sing a version of "At Last" at a club during Season 1 of the show.

This, along with what viewers saw as natural charisma, helped endear her to become a consistent favorite among judges and fans.

Former Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync manager Johnny Wright, who served as one of the judges on the show, stated from her first audition in Los Angeles they knew that she was "a star".

O'Day was eventually chosen to be in the group, and was the first member included.

The band became known as Danity Kane, and their first album debuted on August 22, 2006, at #1 on the Billboard 200 charts.

The group was the opening act for Christina Aguilera on the U.S. leg of her Back to Basics Tour with the Pussycat Dolls.

O'Day's fame and physical features found appealing by magazines helped her broaden her career beyond the group.

In addition to other musical projects, she posed for several "sexy" magazine spreads.

Following discord among Danity Kane and with her mentor at the time, P. Diddy, O'Day was fired from the group in 2008, but reunited with them in 2013 before a second disbandment.

On the August 28, 2008, episode of Making the Band, due to being consistently frustrated with O'Day's "oversexed" new image, Combs called O'Day "one of the worst dancers" in Danity Kane.

He told O'Day that she no longer looked like the girl he signed and that she used to be one of the best.

Combs bluntly accused O'Day of trying to expand her fame at the expense of the entire group, and that she liked flaunting her breasts and wearing big hair, referring to an incident where she had rubbed her cleavage on the arm of a television host.

He asked himself why he was keeping O'Day in the group.

On the October 7, 2008, episode of Making the Band, after continued debate with O'Day about the well-being of the group, Combs declared O'Day no longer a member of Danity Kane.

An official announcement, however, had not been made from Bad Boy Records.

When asked by Boston Herald whether she was still in the group, O'Day was reluctant to answer and stated, "I can't comment on anything, I'm sorry."

Speculation arose that Combs firing O'Day was a ratings ploy and that he had no intention of truly dismissing her.

In 2011, she signed a solo record deal with SRC/Universal Motown Records, and released her debut EP Between Two Evils in 2013.

Additionally, O'Day has made appearances on reality television shows, including the fifth season of Celebrity Apprentice, Famously Single, Ex on the Beach, and the British Celebrity Big Brother 18.

O'Day began performing at age five.

"I lived on the stage, and even at six, slept behind the seats of the theatre," she stated in an interview.

According to her mother, when O'Day was four, she was at a performance of The Nutcracker and started to cry.

Her mother asked her what was wrong and O'Day replied, "I'm sad that I'm sitting here and not up on stage."

O'Day recalls that moment as the one in which she "officially" realized her love for entertainment.

O'Day played lead characters in various musical productions, including Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Carmen in Fame, Sandy in Grease, Liesl in The Sound of Music, Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof, and Mimi in Rent.

She also appeared in Annie.

O'Day's childhood leaned heavily toward auditions and acting gigs more than school.

The Notorious B.I.G., Sean "Puffy" Combs, Lauryn Hill, Janet Jackson and Christina Aguilera were her primary influences growing up.

O'Day attended La Quinta High School.

She later majored in political science and drama and graduated with a degree in political science from University of California, Irvine, and is a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.

She has also performed in the duo Dumblonde with former Danity Kane bandmate Shannon Bex since 2015.

O'Day has modeled for magazines such as Blender and Playboy, and performed on Broadway in Hairspray.

Danity Kane reunited in 2018 as a trio.