July 11, 2025, 6:23 am | Read time: 6 minutes
“Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-Maria” rings in your ears if you are familiar with the band US5. A boy band from the 2000s made up of international members. STYLEBOOK reveals what the five are up to today.
The recipe worked: US5, consisting of Englishman Jay Khan, Germans Christopher Watrin and Mikel Johnson, and Americans Izzy Gallegos and Christopher Richard Stringini, scored chart successes, a dozen million records sold, and various awards. Was this success also sustainable for the then-young men?
Overview
The Best Tricks to Keep Your Summer Tan Longer
3 Things You Should Avoid on Flights for the Sake of Your Skin
In the Test: How Good Is a Period Bikini Really?
US5 – Great Success in a Turbulent 4 Years
US5 always consisted of five members. However, some of the founding members left before the band broke up in 2009, as they preferred to pursue a career as solo singers. Cayce Clayton, Jayson Pena, and Vincent Thomas later joined the boy band. Despite the personnel changes, the band achieved great success in its four-year history. And even today, some of the band members still draw on their US5 fame.
Tariq Jay Khan
Probably the best-known face of the boy band is still holding on to his past. US5 is a recurring topic on the singer’s social media account. Growing up between Berlin and London, Jay Khan met Lou Pearlman, the band’s founder, as a songwriter. Before that, Jay had graduated from a French high school in Berlin and studied journalism in England for a few semesters.
Khan continues to pursue his passion for singing, though he has switched genres, focusing on Schlager music for over a decade. His singles include “Dein Bodyguard”, “Sie steht auf Dirty Dancing,” and “Mein Stern”. However, Khan doesn’t want to lose the boy band feeling completely. Therefore, he co-founded the group “Team 5ünf” with Marc Terenzi in 2021, aiming to translate famous boyband songs into German. Terenzi is no longer part of the group. Today, “Team 5ünf” consists of Joel de Tombe, Daniel Johnson, Dennis Somuah, Prince Damien, and Jay Khan.
In his private life, the 42-year-old has found happiness with Jessie Noe Scheuermann, who is fifteen years his junior. The couple has been together for over six years. On his 40th birthday, Khan confided to RTL his desire for children, stating, “If I don’t bring children into this world, I will have failed completely.” He expressed that he could “never, ever imagine a life without his partner Jessie.” Things looked very different in 2011. He was flirting with ex-Bro’Sis singer Indira Weis in the jungle camp—even if the scenes of them making out in the pool were ultimately interpreted as a purely staged love affair. The relationship with her lasted a few months.
Tariq Jay Khan is currently working on an autobiography. It is due to be published next year, just in time for the 20th anniversary of the band that made him famous. In it, he would like to comment on show business and the former manager of US5, Lou Perlman. The latter is said to have renamed the British-Pakistani Khan to cover up his Muslim background.
Christopher Watrin
Music continues to dominate Christopher Watrin’s life. The blond, curly-haired Watrin departed from US5 in 2008, one year before the band’s dissolution. From then on, he tried his hand as a street musician under the pseudonym “StadtkinT”, graduated from high school, and completed a degree at the Berlin University of the Arts.
The 36-year-old has been leading a choir for people with intellectual disabilities at Diakonie Michaelshoven in Cologne since 2014. Watrin also began studying elementary music education at the University of Music and Dance in the city on the Rhine in 2016. Adding to the excitement, he formed the duo Izzy & Chris with former US5 member Izzy Gallegos in 2018. They recently released their debut EP “Starving Artist Thing.”
Little is known about Christopher Watrin’s private life. However, he has repeatedly spoken in the media about his relationship with Christianity. His faith is also said to have helped him out of an emotional low. According to “TV Today,” he suffered from depression, anxiety, and panic disorders after the failed solo project.
Izzy Gallegos
Izzy Gallegos, whose full name is actually Christopher Carl Helsby Gallegos, was born in Northern California. The singer toured the world for US5 and left to pursue a solo career. Like Christopher Watrin, his solo career did not take off as hoped, prompting him to switch to the wrestling profession. He worked as a professional wrestler for several years.
Now he has found his way back to music and to Germany with the duo Izzy & Chris. However, his return to Germany was not solely motivated by his musical pursuits. Gallegos met his current girlfriend, Natalie, in Cologne, as “Express” reports. He thinks: “Cologne is the best city in Germany.”
Christopher Stringini
Richie Stringini—the third Christopher in the band—keeps his fans up to date on his Instagram account. There, he reveals that he works as a nurse. His account bio reads: “First, I was a child model, then I joined the boy band US5 and toured the world for seven years, and then I became a nurse! What’s next?”
US5’s handsome Blondie was also the victim of a major intrusion into his private life during his career as a musician. A photographer attempted to blackmail the band with a photo of Christopher Stringini in a Berlin club restroom, allegedly showing him with another man. This triggered a discussion about the sexual orientation of the then 17-year-old. A short time later, Richie, who was dubbed a “heartthrob” by the media, said that he was not gay.
Mikel Johnson
After just two years, Michael Johnson, also known as Mikel, turned his back on US5. The experienced backing dancer now provides his proud following of over 270,000 subscribers on Instagram with plenty of gentle song covers.
The 37-year-old also occasionally posts memories of his time in US5. These include old videos of live performances and pictures. The caption reads: “US5, incredible memories—time to make new ones.” One wonders if the German-American might consider reuniting with his former bandmates, Izzy & Chris. The intrigue remains!
The German original of this article was published in October 2024.