Calgary's new instant pop star already sounds like a cagey industry veteran.
Asked if there are romantic sparks flying between members of the pre-fab, co-ed pop group Velvet Empire, Ryan Hamilton insists, "We're all like brothers and sisters. I've got a girlfriend outside of the group and Alex has got a boyfriend, but otherwise we're all single.
"But the group's all brothers and sisters. That would be good though -- wouldn't that be wonderful for media? People would eat that up."
Hamilton, 19, joins Lacey Block, 18, from Lethbridge as the Albertans in Velvet Empire.
The group's lineup was unveiled on Tuesday's episode of the Survivor-meets-the-Monkees series Popstars: Boy Meets Girl, Global TV's hit reality show.
The show follows aspiring pop stars from an initial cross-Canada cattle call to a pop music boot camp in which dozens of hopefuls are whittled down to the last five standing.
"This has definitely been a whirlwind," Hamilton says. "What's been weird has been living in secret for six months or so. But after (Tuesday) everything is out in the open. It's still kind of weird, but it's pretty exciting."
Originally from Edmonton, Hamilton moved to Calgary to attend Bible school for a year when he decided to audition for Popstars last summer.
"It was a change of pace, but I knew it was exactly where I was supposed to be."
For the past six months, Hamilton has been living in Toronto with his popmates -- Block; Janelle Belgrave, 18, from Toronto; Alex Price, 22, from Vancouver; and Justin Humes, 22, from Montreal -- working on their music, the results of which will be heard when their first single debuts on radio next week. Their album and music video premiere April 30, followed by a cross-country promotional tour that will see Velvet Empire swing through Calgary in early May.
("I haven't been in Calgary since New Year's," says Hamilton, who worked as a part-time sales clerk at Banana Republic.)
"Our album is a little bit more edgy-pop, R and B pop, so hopefully it's something that people haven't heard yet," says Block.
For his part, Hamilton compares the single to Pop by *NSYNC.
Savvy as he may be, Hamilton says he's not worried that he's jumping on the pop bandwagon just as the musical bubble that gave us Britney and Justin goes burst.
"I didn't think of it like that. I love to sing. I think a lot of people who get lost in the hype, have to check for why they're in there."
His family lives in Washington state.
"I talk to them every single day ... The show doesn't air there, so they get the tape a few days later. But they're super-excited. I couldn't have gone through it without them."
On the show, Hamilton has been portrayed as the group's shy, but talented introvert. "I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm introverted. But in boot camp I was extremely focused. But a quiet guy -- I am that."
Plans are already underway for a third Popstars, this one seeking a solo artist.
Unlike the last Popstars-born act, girl-group Sugar Jones, whose members complained the show's producers abandoned them after it ended, Hamilton says Velvet Empire is prepared to leave the nest.
"They've forewarned us that we need to prepare and get our own place and get our stuff together. But that's not about abandonment. We're ready."
