Aubrey O'Day facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aubrey O'Day
O'Day in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Aubrey Morgan O'Day
Born	(1984-02-11) February 11, 1984 (age 40) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Genres	Pop, R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer television personality actress model
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Universal Republic Bad Boy SRC-Epic Records
Associated acts	Danity Kane, Dumblonde

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. 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. Danity Kane reunited in 2018 as a trio. She has also performed in the duo Dumblonde with former Danity Kane bandmate Shannon Bex since 2015.

O'Day has modeled for many magazines and performed on Broadway in Hairspray. 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.

Early life

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.

Career

2004–08: Making the Band 3 and Danity Kane

O'Day in 2006

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.

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. On the October 14, 2008, episode of Making the Band, however, O'Day's departure from the group was confirmed, as well as bandmate and then-best friend D. Woods.

MTV News gauged fan reactions to the dismissals of O'Day and Woods. Fans left impassioned, long and detailed comments on the MTV News site about their discontent regarding the group's breakup. O'Day was officially released from her Bad Boy Records contract by Combs in the April 16, 2009, episode of Making the Band.

On the April 23, 2009, finale of the show, O'Day returned with three former members of the group to clear up any misconceptions about the group's breakup. She said that she has forgiven being released from the group, and people who blamed her for the group's demise. Combs said that if he ever puts the group back together, O'Day and the group's other four members would be returning as Danity Kane.

2008–12: Solo career and return to reality television

O'Day began the role of Amber Von Tussle in the Broadway musical Hairspray on July 18, 2008. She appeared in the 2009 comedy American High School costarring Nikki Ziering. Additionally, O'Day was featured on the Donnie Wahlberg single "I Got It". She recorded a remastered version of Sharam's remix hit "Party All the Time" and released a track titled "Never Fallin".

On the April 23, 2009, finale of Making the Band, O'Day revealed that she would have her own reality television show for which she would be filming in the spring of 2010. The show entitled All About Aubrey premiered on March 7, 2011, on the Oxygen Network. O'Day's debut single, the Adonis-produced "Automatic" was released on April 12, 2011 & has sold 50,000 copies to date hitting the top 20 on iTunes pop charts in less than 2 hours. O'Day recorded over 50 songs for her debut album on SRC/Universal Motown, which was supposed to come out in late 2012.

O'Day was also fired from NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice 5, which premiered on February 19, 2012. Before being fired, O'Day received a significant amount of criticism for her conduct while competing on the show, being described as "narcissistic, self-centered, evil, and vicious" by the media and viewers of the show, and as "transparent" by Trump's judges. It eventually caused Arsenio Hall to lash out on her in the show's boardroom segment, berating her with the unanimous support of his team, particularly Clay Aiken. This left O'Day in tears and contemplating quitting the show before eventually being fired by Trump. O'Day ultimately decided not to quit, but was fired shortly thereafter. Although she accepted an apology from Hall, she has expressed her dislike of him in multiple confessionals, labeling him and Aiken as "bullies". However, the contestants praised her creativity and business skills, and she ended up finishing in 3rd place, being the last female contestant standing. The reason for her firing was that she was too young and inexperienced, and also was seen as transparent by John Rich and Marlee Matlin, who served as Trump's viceroys.

On April 23, 2012, a new self-released single "Wrecking Ball", co-written and co-produced by American Idol alumni Pia Toscano was released on iTunes and sold 3,000 downloads in the first week. She shot a video for the track with music director Rage in June 2012 and was released on September 26, 2012, on Vevo.

2012–present: Between Two Evils, Danity Kane reunion, and Dumblonde

In 2012, O'Day announced she would be recording her debut solo EP. On December 31, 2012, she performed previously released material, as well as three new songs from her EP Between Two Evils, "Love Me When You Leave", "Let Me Lay" and "Before I Drown" in Las Vegas. In June 2013, O'Day performed her singles "Automatic" and "Before I Drown" on The CW's Oh Sit! and also performed at Chicago's Pride Fest. "Between Two Evils" was released on iTunes on August 13, 2013, after topping the iTunes US Dance Chart on pre-order sales alone, and reaching #5 on the iTunes US Pop Chart.

In mid-2013, there were rumors that Danity Kane would be reuniting. On August 25, 2013, Danity Kane appeared at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards (without D. Woods, who did not return to the group), announcing they were back together. They soon split again, and O'Day and Shannon Bex announced the release of the band's third and final album, "DK3".

In early 2015, choosing to continue making music together, O'Day and Bex announced their duo music project, Dumblonde with the same manager as the Danity Kane band, Johnny Wright. In August 2016, she returned to reality television by taking part in the eighteenth series of the British show Celebrity Big Brother, where she sailed straight through to the finals, after never facing the public vote and finished in fifth place.

On July 7, 2021, O'Day released a single, "Body Love High".

Personal life and activism

While attending University of California Irvine, O'Day spent a semester at sea. She worked with service organizations while touring in different countries, as well as refugee centers, orphanages, and mostly with children with AIDS. She volunteered for The Pink Project (a charity photobook supporting RAINN and the Los Angeles Breast Cancer Alliance), and helped victims of the Hurricane Katrina devastation. O'Day soon created her own organization, called F*A*N (Fighting Aids Now). The charity's goal is to give therapy and art to children in hospitals. During the 2008 presidential election campaign in the United States, O'Day supported Barack Obama for President. She is also a supporter of LGBT rights and chose GLSEN as her charity for Celebrity Apprentice.

On The Wendy Williams Show on August 12, 2008, O'Day stated that she previously dated DJ Cassidy.

In 2019, O'Day discussed her 2011–2012 relationship with the then-married Donald Trump Jr., saying that they thought of themselves as soulmates at the time.

Filmography and theatre

Television

Theatre

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Music videos

See also

In Spanish: Aubrey O'Day para niños