Not winning a spot in “Making of the Band” might have been one of the best things to happen to Justin Roman.

Roman, the singer and songwriter from the group VI3, made it into the final 25 on the television series, but was not selected as one of the members of O-Town.

“I wouldn’t change it for the world,” he tells andPOP, on the line from his home in Chicago. “They’re doing their thing and we’re doing our thing. It just took us a little longer to get it going. I’m very proud of the fact that I was able to write most of the album and I think if I would have been in O-Town, that wouldn’t have been the case.”

VI3, which also includes Lucas Bowers and Jackie Salvucci, consider themselves a “hip pop” group, the sound that is heard on their debut album, “So Tight.”

“What we tried to do is take the hip hop music that we listened to growing up and also the pop music that has been relevant since music was created and combine the two just to find our little niche in music,” Roman says. “We have the singing in there, we have the rapping in there, and we tried to go where other male vocal groups have not gone before.”

Being labeled with the dreaded “boy band” tag comes with the territory, he says, but he does not consider that a fair classification of VI3.

“People are automatically going to see the cover and see three guys that look like they should be in a boy band and say, ‘you all are a boy band.’ We understand that. We’re not going to fight it. We think the music is way different, but if people are going to say that, they’re going to say that. You really can’t change people’s minds except try to give them really good songs.”

Even before joining VI3, Roman was planning for his future in the industry by studying Music Business in college. He also hopes to ensure the longevity of the group after he read Donald Passman’s “All You Need to Know About the Music Business.”

“People who think that the music business is all about singing and dancing are nuts. There’s such a business side to this thing,” he says. “You’ve got to be foolish not to read up and study this stuff. Majoring in Music Business, I was definitely one step ahead of a lot of people in this industry, just not being a dumb naive kid.”

When the group signed a major label deal with MCA, some of the responsibilities were taken away from Roman, and the fate of the album was put in someone else’s hands.

“There’s people that are promoting it to radio stations, there’s people that are promoting it to retail, and you’re depending on all these other people to control your career. And that’s probably the hardest thing about it. I definitely want to be hands on and be in control of everything, but when you get to a big label, that’s impossible. You have to trust other people and that they’re going to do their jobs correctly.”

Roman wrote the majority of the album, including the first single, “Eyes Closed So Tight.”

“That’s a song I wrote years ago about a real girl that actually broke my heart. I wrote it from a real place, a real sad place. It’s kind of cool now, years later, and the song is a single and doing phenomenal. It shows how a broken heart will never go out of style. People can relate to it even today.”

Roman was named “Songwriter of the Year” at the Chicago Music Awards this year, beating out R. Kelly and Donell Jones. VI3 also won for “Most Outstanding Band or Group” and “Pop Entertainer of the Year.” The group hooked up with another Chicago artist, rapper Da Brat, on “Turn It Up.”

“Our manager knew her manager and we all just made it happen,” Roman says. “Chicago’s got a great music scene but there hasn’t been a lot to come out of it besides R. Kelly and the Smashing Pumpkins. Da Brat is one of them. She’s probably the most talented female rapper out there. When we were looking for a guest spot on the song, it was just a perfect fit.”

VI3 recently toured across the U.S., opening for Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys. The trio played in markets that they had never been to before.

“The reception was amazing. It was almost like we were in Chicago every night, being in different cities; that’s how great the reaction was.”

They are currently on a 17 Magazine mall tour, and Roman says some big acts have asked VI3 to open for them this spring and summer. He remained tight lipped on who these acts were, but did provide some hints.

“One is one of biggest superstars out right now. The other is a group that is leading this whole teen craze right now.”

As for a second album, don’t expect a completely new sound to VI3 when they decide to begin recording.

“People who are into VI3 are into the ‘Eyes Closed So Tight’ [type songs] and into the hip pop songs. We’re not going to change it up and totally change our musical direction. You’re going to hear a more mature and developed VI3 but you’re going to know it’s the same group.”






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