Travis Garland, the former boy-band singer whose first solo single will receive an unprecedented national debut on "American Idol" next week, can thank gossip-maven-turned-music-business-power-player Perez Hilton for his good fortune. That's because Hilton, who has brokered his online success into a bevy of business opportunities, used his pull with the mastermind behind "Idol" to help his young protege score the coveted slot.

"I have a great relationship - and partnership - with Simon Fuller," Hilton told Billboard in an exclusive interview today (May 12). "He said to me, 'you know Perez, I'd really like to help you break one of your artists on Idol' and I was like 'yeah, that's amazing!'"

Garland with premiere his single, the Danja-produced "Believe," on "Idol" next Wednesday night. The single will premiere his single, the Danja-produced "Believe," on "Idol" next Wednesday night. The single will be released on iTunes the day before. His debut album will be released on Interscope later this year.

Perez picked Garland, a 20-year-old singer from Lubbock, Texas that Hilton had first run across on MySpace. "I think what's really exciting about Travis is that he'll appeal to the young girls that love Justin Timberlake and Justin Bieber, but he's older and more mature so he'll appeal to a broader audience."

Hilton claims to have more than 10 acts in various stages of development, including some with Warner Bothers, two with Interscope, and others that he plans to release himself. "I've got my hands all over the place, and I love it," Hilton told Billboard in an exclusive interview today (May 12). "I'm getting dirty, in the trenches, and doing it and making it happen. I feel like I've been pregnant for a while and I'm giving birth to my first real child."

Garland is no stranger to the fame game: by the age of 17, he'd already joined the boy band Not Like Them (NLT), singed a major label deal with Geffen Records Chairman Ron Fair, toured with the Pussycat Dolls, and recorded a single with Timbaland. But the band was dropped before ever releasing an album, and Garland languished in Interscope's "artist purgatory."

Hilton discovered Garland on line and was eager to help revive the singer's career. "I think he's a great singer and a great dancer," Hilton says, "and hot and young. But he's a gifted songwriter too. "I am involved on the management side and I'm involved on the label side. So I'm fully involved in him and fully believe in him."

"Perez is like a mentor who uses his power and his influence where it can help me," says Garland. "Perez is extremely hands on. He's a creative type and likes to be involved. I see him once or twice a week, and we're constantly talking on the phone."

Garland believes that the experiences he had in the boy band NLT will be invaluable to his shot at solo stardom. "I've always said that you have to taste failure to swallow success," he says.

(via Billboard)

JJ posted up a Myspace bulletin, read below:

Hey Yo!!!

Hey everyone! So I'm sure most of you have heard all the news in the last few weeks, so I wanted to talk to you myself. I know you might have been saddened about NLT not being together anymore, as was I. But I am much more excited for the chapter ahead. If you haven't heard yet I am apart of Johnny Wrights new group called One Call! I'm very excited for you to hear our stuff and see our show! I know you're going to love it. I also want you to know I still remain best friends with V, Kevin, and Travis. I hope you will support them in everything they do. I look forward to you staying on this journey with me, and I thank you for all your support you have given over the last few years. You guys make everything I do worth it! Send me a message or a comment and Ill hit you back! TTYL!

LoVe and Peace
-JJ

P.S. Help root my Lakers on to another NBA Championship!!!!!!

GLEE cast performs "Somebody To Love" at the Fox Upfronts, New York City Center, NYC

Be sure to WATCH THE PREVIEW OF GLEE TONIGHT ON FOX 9/8 C after the American Idols finale!! Also, the cast of Glee is in the audience of tonight's Idol, so keep a look out for Kevin there! :]

FINALLY! Johnny Wright's new supergroup is revealed, with their name as One Call. With one of it's members being JJ Thorne, formerly from NLT, along with Chris and Jose Bordonada (from Menudo), and a new member with the name AG Gamlieli. Watc Moyh the video below to hear clips of the songs they are recording. Comment on what you guys think of the new group! Also, find their Myspace by clicking HERE!

Go to THIS LINK for a short video of the Glee screening in Santa Monica High School. Or watch below:

It has been exactly a year since the Bandemonium Tour had its stop in San Diego, California. In my mind I knew there would be great things coming for NLT. Little did I know that a year later they would no longer be together.

Similar to all of you, it is unfortunate to have heard the news about NLT being done. We may be mad, we may cry, we may be relieved (to finally know what is going on), or in my case, feel as if NLT personally broke up with you (haha). Still, they move on, we move on.

Although NLT is over, the lovely individuals we have grown to love: Kevin McHale, Travis Garland, V Sevani, and JJ Thorne are still working hard to make their dreams come true even if it is through different means not involving NLT. To recap: Travis is working on a solo project, Kevin is shooting a new FOX show "Glee", and JJ & V have not yet revealed what their current projects are.

The Livejournal community, NLTtug@LJ, will continue to support their endeavors in what ever they choose to do individually and will recognize them through continuing posts so that you all may continue to follow them as they follow their different paths. This Livejournal community will stay available for its fans/members/public. Old posts will not be deleted. New posts can still be posted if desired. If there are any other concerns, questions, or rantings to be done, feel free to comment or send me a message.

THANK YOU NLTtug@LJ community members/readers for the support you have given NLT. I love all of you for it! I believe AMAZING things will be in store for all four of them in the future. I hope you continue to send them your love and support them along the way.

NLTtug@LJ Moderator
<3 Raichel

Hello everyone, read below for a Myspace blog from Travis and find out what really is going on with NLT. Some of your questions may be answered. Keep reading below or find it by clicking HERE. Feel free to leave your comments

"the end of NLT.

There's been a lot of rumors going around about "the end of NLT". I've been really wanting to clear things up, but that wasn't up to me. There was a lot of things going on that had to be cleared up before this statement could be written. Thank you all for your patience & for your understanding.

What has NLT been up to?

As individuals, a lot. I've been working on my solo project. Kevin is shooting a new show on Fox called "Glee". And I'm sure JJ & V will fill you in when they're ready on what they've been up to.

Is NLT done?

There's no easy way to say it.. but yes. Unfortunately, the group is done. We aren't together anymore.

Being in NLT has been a dream come true for me & I know it was for the other boys too. Thank you, all of you, for helping us to make that dream a reality.

As much as a few people might think the blame lies with one person, it doesn't. It doesn't rest on my shoulders. Just like it doesn't rest on kevin's. Just like it doesn't rest on jj's, or on v's. There's no sense in pointing the finger at anyone, because you have to understand that everyone involved wanted this to work & put their heart and soul into their efforts to make it work. Blaming someone may make you feel better about it.. but the simple fact is.. one singular person didn't cause this. It took a complicated mess of things to break up NLT. The label wasn't prepared to spend more money on the group. There was a legal situation holding us back. Kevin got a great opportunity that would require a lot of his time. At some point you have to sit back & evaluate the big picture. Where do we go from here? Given the situation.. we didn't have many options. Sometimes it's just not meant to be.

Maybe we surrounded ourselves with some people that didn't have our best interests. Maybe it wasn't the right time for a boyband to break. Really though, it was a number of things combined, on the business side, that made it impossible for things to continue the way they were. If there's one thing I want to get across it's that. This breakup wasn't a "fight between the boys" thing. I want everyone to know that it was NOTHING between us boys that caused this. I love those boys to this day & I support them and wish them nothing but success in whatever they do. If you are a true fan of NLT, then i really feel like you would feel the same way, towards all of us.

So there's your explanation. It's been really rough to deal with on a personal level and if you think i'm blowing this whole thing off easy, you couldn't be more wrong. None of this has been easy, it was a hard ending. I wish you guys could've been here, on our side of the telescope to see everything more clearly. But it is what it is.

I know this blog was a trip. To date, it's the most personal blog I've written. As it should be. It took me a lot of revisions trying to say everything i wanted to say, but i leave you with this. There's a reason for everything. Even if sometimes things don't work out the way we'd like. Ultimately I can only ask for your understanding & ask that you guys show all of us the same love & support as individuals that you've shown us as a group over the last few years. I can't do what I do without all of you behind me & wouldn't want to.

As always, I love you all.
peace.

TG.