User:Techoliver298/sandbox/Matt Ballinger

Matthew Samuel Ballinger is an American singer and actor best known for being a member of boy band Dream Street.

Early life
Ballinger was born Matthew Samuel Ballinger in Westchester, New York to independent occupational therapist Lynne (née Brotz) and national advertising sales manager for The Bond Buyer, Michael Ballinger. He has a younger brother named David. Ballinger played lacrosse for his school's varsity lacrosse team, The Panthers, since he was eight.

Career
In fifth grade, Ballinger became involved in the Broadway music world. He was in A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden for two years, and later had roles in Broadway plays such as The King and I, Inherit the Wind, and The Sound of Music. He also did commercials for Sudafed, Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues, AT&T, and Dannon Yogurt. He made TV appearances on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, NBC Today, and the 1998 Tony Awards.

Originally named 'Boy Wonder' (a name borrowed from the nickname of comic book character Robin from the Batman comics and films), Dream Street was put together by music producers Louis Baldonieri and Brian Lukow in 1999. Greg Raposo along with Chris Trousdale were already a shoo-ins for the Dream Street auditions since they were the original members of 'Boy Wonder'. After casting two-hundred boys, Ballinger along with Jesse McCartney and Frankie J. Galasso joined the group.

Their eponymous debut album was released on July 10, 2001. 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 including Maury and Ricki Lake.

While the rising success of Dream Street was growing, tensions between the music producers and the boys' parents also arise. This led to a lawsuit that would force the members to disband in 2002. The final Dream Street release was the soundtrack album to the 2002 film The Biggest Fan, which starred Trousdale. Ballinger has appeared as himself in the film as well.

In 2004, he started performing in a new band called "The Juice" consisting of Ballinger (vocals), Leon Mandler (vocals/harmonica), Mike Vitiello (guitar), Ken Kitchin (other guitar), Jim Govatsos (percussion), and Mikey Haendler (bass).

On November 8, 2008, Ballinger announced via the band's Myspace account that The Juice had indeed broken up, and that he had joined another band called "Open Till Midnight". This New York City based rock band consists of Ballinger (vocals), Ross Deutsch on (lead guitar), Mike Cook (rhythm guitar), Keith Gooberman (bass), and Jonathan Chamberlain (drums). Open Till Midnight announced their dissolution in 2013.

In 2015, Ballinger joined the band called "Storeys". As of 2019, Storeys has not released any new music or performed any live shows.

On June 2, 2020, Ballinger's former Dream Street bandmate Chris Trousdale died at a hospital in Burbank, California, at the age of 34 due to complications from an unknown illness during the COVID-19 pandemic in California. It was later revealed that COVID-19 was the main complication of Trousdale's death. On June 11, 2020, on what would be Trousdale's 35th birthday, Ballinger and his former Dream Street bandmates Greg Raposo, Jesse McCartney, and Frank Galasso reunited for a virtual performance of "It Happens Every Time" to pay tribute to Trousdale. This would be the first public appearance of Dream Street together as a group since the disbandment over the lawsuits prior.

In April 2023, Ballinger and members Frank Galasso & Greg Raposo were interviewed on the podcast, Frosted Tips with Lance Bass hosted by Lance Bass.

On May 12, 2023, Greg Raposo uploaded a short clip to Instagram of him, Frank Galasso & Ballinger working on what appears to be new Dream Street music and material.

On June 11, 2023, Ballinger and Dream Street members Greg Raposo & Frankie J. Galasso released the single entitled, "Smile" on what would have been former band member, Chris Trousdale's 38th birthday in honor of him following his death in 2020.

The official music video for "Smile" was uploaded to Greg Raposo's YouTube channel the following day.

In February 2024, It was announced that Matt Ballinger and Greg Raposo would be attending Pop2000 In Paradise at the Villa del Palmar Flamingos Beach Resort & Spa Riviera Nayarit in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico in the Fall of 2024.

Personal life
In the fall of 2003, Ballinger began attending Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated in 2007.

In December 2012, Ballinger began working in the Pharmaceutical Recruiting Division at Green Key Resources in New York.

On August 24, 2013, he married his wife, Danielle Manning at the Coveleigh Club in Rye, New York. They have two children, a daughter (b. 2018) and a son (b. 2021). They currently live in New York City.