O-Town, the US five piece and stars of the Channel 4 series Making The Band, have criticised the star making process behind artists like Britney Spears. In an exclusive interview with worldpop, the band defended talent shows like Popstars, Pop Idol and their own Making The Band series.

O-Town's Jacob Underwood told us that TV Talent shows help kids define what is real and what is false. He said, 'False hope is when you put up a picture of Britney Spears and tell kids she looks like that naturally. That's the false hope.'

He added: 'I think everything that's on television gives kids false hope. If anything our show does the opposite and shows them that anybody can make it... Kids can watch us and see that we're normal people with big dreams whose talent and drive have got them somewhere.

In other O-Town news, the band has finally clarified the status of their relationship with impresario Lou Pearlman as ' non-existent.' Ashley Angel explained: 'I think people were confused about our relationship with Lou was. He never was our manager. He was very involved with Making The Band, but that was pretty much it.'

The band plan to release a new album in the Summer. They are also set to release a DVD of a recent New York live show on 18 February.