Melissa Schuman

American singer and actress

Singer
dancer
actress

Years active1998–presentLabels

Bad Boy

Children1 Formerly ofDream

Musical artist

Melissa Amber Schuman (born August 21, 1984) is an American singer and actress best known for being a member of the American girl group Dream and their platinum hit "He Loves U Not".

Schuman gained some success in acting with appearances in movies, including Love Don't Cost a Thing, The Hollow and Silent Scream. Schuman has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and hosted TRL.

Career

In 2002, after Schuman announced she was leaving Dream to focus on her acting career and a solo album, she appeared in Love Don't Cost a Thing and The Hollow, and starred in Silent Scream. She recorded a song with The Hollow costar Nick Carter called "There for Me" in 2004.

She had plans to release her first single "Don't" but the single and solo album were scrapped, however on November 16, 2010, the single was released to iTunes.

On November 15, 2010, Schuman's previously unreleased solo album Stereotyped was released to iTunes.

2008–2012: Lady Phoenix

On January 28, 2008, Schuman reported that she would be forming a new music group with former Dream bandmate Ashley Poole, and would be auditioning for girls and even starring in a reality show to detail the new group's formation.^[1]

In 2012, Schuman confirmed that Lady Phoenix had disbanded following Ashley Poole's departure from the group and the reality show was not picked up by any networks.^{[citation needed]}

2015–2016: Dream comeback

On May 11, 2015, the original members of Dream got together for a mini-reunion and posted a video online performing a cappella version of their 2000 single "He Loves U Not" and the video quickly went viral with over 23,000 views and gained online attention from MTV, Seventeen Magazine, and other media sites.^[2]^[3]

On May 29, 2015, the original members of Dream all announced they were making a comeback and launched Twitter and Facebook pages. The Twitter page gained over 21,000 followers since its launch.^[4]

On December 17, 2015, Dream recorded and released a studio recording of "O Holy Night" as a treat to fans for the holidays while they work on new music scheduled for 2016.^{[citation needed]}

On July 8, 2016, Dream joined other Y2K bands O-Town, Ryan Cabrera and 98 Degrees on the My2K Tour performing in 39 cities across the United States. Dream also performed at The MixTape Festival at Hershey Stadium alongside Paula Abdul, New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, 98 Degrees, O-Town and Ryan Cabrera.^{[citation needed]}

On August 2, 2016, Dream released their first single together in 15 years titled "I Believe" on iTunes and Spotify.^[5]

On October 5, 2016, Dream member Ashley Poole announced via Snapchat and Facebook that Dream has once again disbanded and a new album will not be released.^[6]

Sexual assault allegation against Nick Carter

On November 21, 2017, Schuman claimed that she was raped by singer and Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter in 2003,^[7] an accusation Carter has denied.^[8] The case filed by Schuman was dismissed by the Los Angeles District Attorney in September 2018 because the statute of limitations had passed.^[9] Schuman would later file a sexual assault lawsuit against Carter in April 2023.^[10] In August 2024, it was revealed that Carter was countersuing Schuman for $2.5 million, with the countersuit being filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 26, 2024.^[11] Court documents revealed that Schuman's lawsuit cost Carter and the Backstreet Boys endorsement and business deals, and also resulted in Carter himself losing "millions."^[12] In May 2024, Schuman was among three female accusers who detailed their sexual assault allegations against Carter in the documentary Fallen Idols.^[13]^[14]^[15] The two-part documentary aired simultaneously on ID and Max for two nights on 27 May and 28 May 2024.^[16]^[17]^[18]

Personal life

Schuman married dancer Brandon Henschel on June 7, 2006, in San Diego, California.^[19]

On February 19, 2010, Schuman announced on Twitter that she and her husband were expecting their first child, a boy.^[20] On July 18, 2010, the Henschels announced the boy's birth.

She is an advocate for victims of sexual abuse.

Schuman is a Christian.^[21]

Discography

Solo

Stereotyped (2002/2010)

Dream

It Was All a Dream (2001)

Filmography

1997	Tiger	Erica Baker
2002	Anna's Dream	Sheila
2003	Love Don't Cost a Thing	Zoe Parks
2003	Recipe for Disaster	Shannon Devries
2004	The Hollow	Amber
2004	Window Theory	Megan
2005	Silent Scream	Nicole
2015	Actress(es): A Web Series	Jennifer Stone
2024	Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter	Herself

References

^ Schuman, Melissa (January 28, 2008). "The Official Melissa Schuman Website". News. Retrieved March 5, 2008. After a failed attempt to get DREAM back together within the last few months, Ashley Poole and I are searching for new talent to start fresh with a new group, new sound, and new friendships. We are also looking forward to an upcoming reality show which will follow us on this new journey together. Since this will be a new group, we need a new name, so we would love to hear anybody's thoughts on what we should call our band.
^ Actress(es)- A Web Series (May 11, 2015). "Dream-He Loves U Not LIVE 2015 unfiltered". YouTube.
^ Actress(es)- A Web Series (May 11, 2015). "Dream-This is Me LIVE 2015". YouTube. Archived from the original on March 14, 2017.
^ DreamFans [@DreamFanGroup] (May 29, 2015). "We've heard our fans' cry out for a comeback! It's happening #dreamrevival #dream #helovesunot #dreamunplugged @mtvpop @VH1 @PerezHilton" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "Dream". www.facebook.com.
^ Ashley Poole – This is for all my beautiful & loyal fans. Facebook (October 5, 2016); retrieved December 9, 2016.
^ "Nick Carter Accused of Raping Dream Singer Melissa Schuman". tmz.com.
^ "Nick Carter Accused of Rape by Former Pop Singer Melissa Schuman; Backstreet Boy 'Shocked and Saddened' by Allegations". yahoo.com. November 22, 2017.
^ "Nick Carter Sexual Assault Charge Dismissed". BBC News. September 12, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
^ White, Abbey (April 12, 2023). "Nick Carter Accused of Sexual Assault by Former Member of Pop Group Dream in Lawsuit". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
^ Patterson, Charmaine (August 13, 2024). "Nick Carter Sues Rape Accuser Melissa Schuman for $2.5 Million, Alleges She Intentionally Defamed Him". People. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
^ Naumann, Ryan (August 13, 2024). "Nick Carter Sues Sexual Assault Accuser for $2.5 Million, Says She Cost Him 7-Figure Deal". In Touch Weekly. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). May 29, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
^ "Nick Carter Allegations, Aaron Carter Controversies to Be Addressed in 'Fallen Idols' Docuseries Coming to ID". Peoplemag. May 18, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
^ Vlessing, Etan (April 24, 2024). "Investigation Discovery to Probe Nick Carter Allegations, Rift With Late Aaron Carter in Docuseries 'Fallen Idols'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
^ Piña, Christy (May 29, 2024). "'Fallen Idols' Team on Aaron Carter's "Cautionary Tale" and Nick Carter Fan Loyalty". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
^ Richardson, Randi (May 27, 2024). "How to watch 'Fallen Idols,' the Nick and Aaron Carter documentary". Today. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
^ Morrow, Brendan (May 18, 2024). "Nick and Aaron Carter doc announced by 'Quiet on Set' network: See the trailer". USA Today. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
^ "The Official Melissa Schuman Website". News. June 8, 2006. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
^ MelissaSchuman [@MelissaSchuman] (February 20, 2010). "I would like announce that we will be adding a 4th member to @LPhoenixMusic and it's gonna be a boy because im 5 months pregnant! Surprise!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "The Case for Melissa Schuman Part 1: Assault". The Cassandra Complex. September 22, 2019.