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Matt Ballinger
Birth nameMatthew Samuel Ballinger
Born (1985-04-22) April 22, 1985 (age 39)[1][2]
Westchester, New York, United States
Occupation(s)Actor, Singer
Years active1999—present
Spouse
Danielle Manning
​
(m. 2013)​
Musical career
GenresPop, teen pop
InstrumentVocals
Member ofDream Street

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

Early life

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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.[3][4] He has a younger brother named David.[5][6] Ballinger played lacrosse for his school's varsity lacrosse team, The Panthers, since he was eight.[citation needed]

Career

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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).[7]

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".[8] 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).[9] Open Till Midnight announced their dissolution in 2013.

In 2015, Ballinger joined the band called "Storeys".[10][11][12] As of 2019, Storeys has not released any new music or performed any live shows.[13]

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.[14][15] It was later revealed that COVID-19 was the main complication of Trousdale's death.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18][19][20][21]

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.[22]

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.[a][23][24]

The official music video for "Smile" was uploaded to Greg Raposo's YouTube channel the following day.[25]

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.[26][27]

Filmography

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Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Dream Street: It Happens Every Time Matt Ballinger
2005 The Biggest Fan[b] Matt Ballinger
2008 Fallen Lucifer Short
2009 Law & Order Kent Episode: "Exchange"
30 Rock White Kid Episode: "Kidney Now!"
Buried Future Bryan Short
Elah and the Moon Elah Short
2010 Bored to Death Punkish Friend Episode: "The Case of the Grievous Clerical Error!"
2010 Brilliant Mistakes Waiter [28]

Personal life

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In the fall of 2003, Ballinger began attending Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated in 2007.[29]

In December 2012, Ballinger began working in the Pharmaceutical Recruiting Division at Green Key Resources in New York.[30][31][32]

On August 24, 2013, he married his wife, Danielle Manning at the Coveleigh Club in Rye, New York.[33][34][35] They have two children, a daughter (b. 2018) and a son (b. 2021).[36][37] They currently live in New York City.[citation needed]

Notes

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  1. ^ Jesse McCartney left the group prior to the lawsuits in 2002 meaning he is no longer an official member and did not perform in "Smile"
  2. ^ The film was completed in 2002 and released in 2005

References

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  1. ^ "Birthday boy with his 🍔 @mballinger #bucketlist ✔️".
  2. ^ "Happy Earth Day @mballinger !! 🌎😘 ...Oh and birthday too 😉 #31 #flashbackfriday". instagram.com.
  3. ^ "Obituary for Charlotte Hardy Brotz". www.beecherflooksfh.com.
  4. ^ "Danielle Manning, Matthew Ballinger". nytimes.com.
  5. ^ "Big brother broing #bbs @dballinger23 @alexandranhagens". instagram.com.
  6. ^ "#mayanlife #belize". instagram.com.
  7. ^ "Dream Street may have hit a dead end, but freshman Matt Ballinger's dream lives on". tuftsdaily.com.
  8. ^ "Open Till Midnight Official Facebook Page". facebook.com.
  9. ^ "Open Till Midnight Official Twitter Page". twitter.com.
  10. ^ "Storeys Band". youtube.com.
  11. ^ "Storeys @Storeysband". twitter.com.
  12. ^ "Storeys". soundcloud.com.
  13. ^ "Check us out at Captain Lawrence- Westchester: On Saturday March 30th from 2:30 to 4:30". facebook.com.
  14. ^ Gonzalez, Sandra (June 3, 2020). "Chris Trousdale, former member of Dream Street, dead at 42". CNN. United States: WarnerMedia. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  15. ^ Murphy, Chris (June 4, 2020). "Dream Street Band Member Chris Trousdale Dead at 34". Vulture. United States: Vox Media. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  16. ^ Carmel, Julia (2020-06-25). "Chris Trousdale, Boy Band Idol With a Broadway Past, Dies at 34". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  17. ^ Pasquini, Maria (June 12, 2020). "Dream Street Reunites to Perform Song in Memory of Late Bandmate Chris Trousdale's Birthday". People. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  18. ^ "Matt Ballinger, Greg Raposo, Frankie Galasso (Dream Street)". omny.fm.
  19. ^ "On second thought, do NOT check out the movie Longshot 😳 …you can't win em all @frostedtipswithlance @frankiejgalasso @gregraposomusic @michaelturchinart @mballinger #ftwl #dreamstreet #frostedtips #lancebass #podcast". instagram.com.
  20. ^ "♥️♥️". instagram.com.
  21. ^ "Thanks so much @lancebass for having us! 😎 Good times hanging with my boys to chat about our boyband days! *Listen Now @frostedtipswithlance 🎤 @frankiejgalasso @gregraposomusic #dreamstreet". instagram.com.
  22. ^ "Lil something in the works 😉 #Dreamstreet #smile". instagram.com.
  23. ^ "Smile - Single". music.apple.com.
  24. ^ "Dream Street Reunites for Powerful New Song "Smile" - A Poignant Tribute to Chris". www.pr.com.
  25. ^ "SMILE - Dream Street". youtube.com.
  26. ^ "It was just a matter of time.. we're playing a show! Link in bio. #iykyk #dreamstreet @pop2000tour #pop2000inparadise #mexico". instagram.com.
  27. ^ "Pop2000 In Paradise". www.vacationjams.com.
  28. ^ "Former Dream Street Members: Where Are They Now?". www.usmagazine.com.
  29. ^ "Matt Ballinger Official Facebook Page - About". facebook.com.
  30. ^ "Matthew Ballinger Principal, Pharmaceutical Recruiting Division at Green Key Resources". www.linkedin.com.
  31. ^ "What Happened To The Members Of Dream Street?". www.thethings.com.
  32. ^ "Green Key Announces New Partners and Principals". www.greenkeyllc.com.
  33. ^ "Happy 1 year anniversary to my beautiful wife! Couldn't be happier @dmanning821 #rivercafe". instagram.com.
  34. ^ "Danielle Manning and Matthew Ballinger Wedding Announcement". New York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  35. ^ "8 years! ❤️ Happy Anniversary @danielleballi". instagram.com.
  36. ^ "Last week I got the best birthday gift ever. Brielle Madison 4-23-18 ❤️ my girls!". instagram.com.
  37. ^ "A week ago tonight we welcomed our little guy into the world - Brayden Chace 💙 @danielleballi you're a rock star!". instagram.com.
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