P.Y.T. (band)

P.Y.T.
Origin	Tampa, Florida
Genres	Pop, R&B
Years active	1998–2002
Labels	Epic Records
Past members
Lauren Mayhew Tracy Williams Ashley Niven Lydia Bell

PYT was a Florida-based girl group in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Formation

Unlike many pop groups, P.Y.T.'s formation was not the result of scouting by a talent agency or a series of auditions - instead, these Tampa teenagers - Lauren Mayhew , Ashley Niven, Lydia Bell, Tracy Williams - had all been childhood friends.^[1] They had previously performed together in the Tampa Bay's Entertainment Revue^[2] (through Busch Gardens). The band formed, as Glory,^[1] to enter a contest in Teen People magazine. They recorded a demo which instead of entering in the contest made its way to Dave McPherson of Epic Records who signed to a record contract in 1999.^[3] The band was renamed P.Y.T. derived from a Michael Jackson song entitled "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing),"^[1] though on some occasions the girls used the acronym "P.Y.T." to stand for the slogan "Prove Yourself True."^[4] Among the members of the group, Tracy Williams was the alto and sang lower harmonies, Lauren Mayhew and Ashley Niven were mezzo-sopranos and sang the melody line, and Lydia Bell was the soprano who sang higher harmonies. Ashley Niven was the lead vocalist on the tracks on the album PYT (Down With Me).

Career

PYT has toured with 'N Sync, Britney Spears and Destiny's Child and 98 Degrees^[5] and performed at a Super Bowl pre match show.^[6] They have had their music used in the films Center Stage^[7] and Miss Congeniality^[6] and on TV on the soap opera Guiding Light.^[8] They released their delayed^[9] debut album PYT (Down With Me) in the middle of 2001.^[10]

Disbanding

The band was released by their record company in late 2001. After considering finding a new label the band disbanded soon after.^[9]

Groupmates Lauren Mayhew and Lydia Bell formed a new group called Turning Point.^[9] Even after adding more members, the group fell apart. Mayhew decided to focus on acting^[9] and went on to host The N's teen version of Access Hollywood -- Real Access. She has since had guest roles on television programs such as Joan of Arcadia and American Dreams. In films, Mayhew portrayed the role of Robin in the film Raise Your Voice starring Hilary Duff, and Arianna in American Pie: Band Camp. She was the Ring Announcer from the World Wrestling Entertainment's ECW brand. Tracy Williams formed the all-girl trio UC3,^[11] which has played throughout the United States and performed for US troops overseas.

Discography

Singles

• Something More Beautiful (1999)
• PYT (Down With Me) (2000)
• Same Ol' Same Ol' (remix) feat. Sarai (2001)

Albums

• PYT (Down With Me) (June 19, 2001)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Scheiber, Dave (1 August 1999), "Like, WOW", St. Petersburg Times 
2. ^ Martinez, Gerald (10 September 2001), "Easy on the ear", Sunday Mail 
3. ^ Traurig, Jill (11 October 1999), "Secret of their success", The Tampa Tribune 
4. ^ Blankenship, Bill (30 March 2001), "PYT: from watching MTV to being on it", Topeka Capital-Journal 
5. ^ Helfand, Lorri (10 September 2001), "The two lives of Tracy", St. Petersburg Times 
6. ^ ^{a b} Scheiber, Dave (19 January 2001), "Want to be a pop star? Start at Super Bowl Series", St. Petersburg Times 
7. ^ Drake, Cynthia J. (13 May 2001), "Girls in the group, PYT, grew up together in music", The Grand Rapids Press 
8. ^ Belcher, Walt (26 October 1999), "Teens' tune gets a spin on soap opera", The Tampa Tribune 
9. ^ ^{a b c d} Scheiber, Dave (20 May 2002), "PYT: Pack your things", St. Petersburg Times 
10. ^ Gerlach, Clarisa (10 August 2001), "Local Girl Group PYT Picks Up Early Following With 1st CD", The Tampa Tribune 
11. ^ Petrick, John (23 November 2003), "It's a real hoot between the buffet and the beer ; Restaurant chain promotes its girl group", The Record 

External links

• PYT profile at HipOnLine.com
• Living the teen dream (July 4, 1999) - Article in St. Petersburg Times on band when girls were about 13 years old.