Alerick Cooper

biography

Before Alerick Cooper was viewed worldwide as a douchebag he was a normal, yet talented kid living in Dayton, Ohio. He didn't get exceptional grades, he wasn't super popular, but he was well liked. Born in 1978 Alerick was devastated when his parents divorced in 1984, but he joined the New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993 when he was 15. He joined a large group of cast mates whom he quickly became close friends with. Being far away from home wasn't an issue since he was used to not seeing both his parents. His mother moved them to Orlando, Florida and rented a small apartment in order to get them by. When the show was canceled the next year it crushed Alerick, not because he knew he'd have to go back to school, move back to Ohio or not be able to perform anymore, but because he'd made so many friends and he was having to say goodbye to all of them.

The kids at his school didn't get him. He sang, he danced, he performed and he was good at it, but they didn't appreciate or care for his talents. He kept to himself and a few friends before he realized that he wanted to continue to perform. He went behind his mother's back in order to start arranging things. He called up another former Mickey Mouse Cluber and they decided to put their heads together to get what they wanted. It wasn't long before they had three more members and were meeting with an older man for an audition that would quickly change his life.

Mickey, Alerick's current best friend, was the first official member of B4L (Boyz 4 Life), working with the man who would essentially own these boys by financing their career until or if they were able to pay him back. Mickey quickly called a friend and the information trickled down from there until it reached Alerick, who in turned called a friend of his, Antonio to help the group out. Once they'd found their five members they began rehearsing which lead to performing, obtaining a manager and then shopping their demo. It wasn't America that they first broke into but Europe. Being away from home the two youngest members, Alerick and INSERT NAME HERE, were being tutored while their mothers took turns traveling with the group. The boys weren't able to break into America until 1998, but they were nearly an instant success.

It was during this time that he met Stacey Holiday at a taping of the Rosie O'Donnell Show. It was his first time on a talk show and he was nervous, but she talked him through the process in the green room. Phone numbers were exchanged and large cell phone bills were paid while they spent time getting to know one another while apart.

Two years later the group released their second album which set records as the best-selling album of the decade and the top-selling album of 2000. Needless to say these boys were grabbing awards and making money. Alerick was on top of the world. He was enjoying the traveling, and while he was tired and wanted more vacation time from a young man's position he knew that he was making money that he'd be able to live off of for the rest of his life. Monetary value wasn't the only thing that kept him going, but also the love of his fans. He appreciated their love and devotion to him and wanted to give them the best.

In 2001 they released the album Celebrity which held a more hip hop feel to it. It didn't do as well as the previous two albums, but the boys still had hope. They toured and put their personal lives on hold, but Alerick refused to let things go with Stacey. The pair had become closer and pledged their love for each other. It wasn't a secret that they had both been virgins going into the relationship, but at first they refused to speak about what they were coming out of it. They ended the relationship because of their schedules, Stacey's college schedule in New York and Alerick's recording in LA followed by a tour that prevented them from being together. It was better for them to remain friends, however, it wasn't long until they were back on again. They've gone back and forth since then. It's just too hard for Alerick to say goodbye to Stacey in that aspect for too long before he feels like he needs her again.

He was back in the studio quickly and recorded his first solo album. The press had a field day, calling B4L over while the boys claimed they wanted a temporary hiatus so they could focus on family and their personal relationships, but Alerick wanted to keep going. Never Again was released on November 1st, 2002 to great reviews, but it was his creative decision to being a small show called Punk'd with former group mate Mickey that thrust him even further into the spotlight. As executive producer he also stared in the show by revealing to the celebrities that they were in fact being Punk'd! His second solo cd, Future Sex, Love Sounds was released in 2006 and even though it was super successful Alerick found himself not enjoying the music anymore. He didn't like being pushed into recording music he wasn't enjoying so instead of recording another album he poured himself into Punk'd which ended in 2007. While acting was something that Alerick participated in as an escape from his actual life he didn't find much joy in it either.

Putting everything else on hold he has no plans to continue acting at this time, however, he's been dabbling with the idea of recording another solo album, but knows he doesn't want to go back into the genre he's previously recorded.