# How Diddy Destroyed Donnie Klang’s Career: The Dark Truth Behind ‘Making the Band’
Donnie Klang, a promising R&B singer from Brooklyn, New York, emerged in the early 2000s with dreams of stardom. Born in 1985, his talent shone early through modeling and acting, but music became his passion in high school with the pop R&B group INT.
Despite initial buzz, INT fizzled out after seven years of empty promises, leaving Donnie disheartened. He pursued business at Hofstra University but dropped out to chase music, even auditioning for *American Idol* in 2006, only to be cut before airing.
His big break came in 2007 when he was selected from 10,000 singers for MTV’s *Making the Band 4*, a reality series where contestants vied for spots in music groups under moguls like Diddy of Bad Boy Records.
Enduring grueling challenges, Donnie expected to join the group Day26. Instead, Diddy dramatically named him a solo artist, signing him to Bad Boy. What seemed like a golden opportunity soon turned sour.
Red flags emerged quickly. Diddy forced Donnie to choose a manager from two of his picks, ensuring a cut of management fees and prioritizing Diddy’s interests over Donnie’s. Promotion efforts followed, with Donnie appearing on MTV and BET, and his debut single *Take You There* (featuring Diddy) going platinum.
Yet, behind the scenes, control issues loomed. His 2008 album *Just a Rolling Stone* peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200 but faced harsh criticism as a forgettable Justin Timberlake imitation, per *The New York Times*. Tours with Day26, Danity Kane, and Janet Jackson couldn’t salvage the momentum.
By 2009, tensions with Day26 surfaced, with accusations of jealousy. Opportunities dried up by 2010, and Donnie sought to exit his Bad Boy contract for a Def Jam deal.
However, Def Jam balked at his existing contract, and by 2013, when he was finally free, the Def Jam offer was gone, shelving his second album. Financial ruin compounded his woes; lacking a lawyer or manager when signing with Bad Boy, Donnie faced a tax bill on his $35,000 bonus, revealing Diddy’s lack of mentorship. As he told *Billboard*, competing with a label president who is also an artist was a losing battle.
Post-Bad Boy, Donnie struggled. Brief stints with independent labels like 872 Entertainment failed, leading him to found Donnie Klang Entertainment. Singles like *Falling for You* (2011) didn’t chart. Pivoting to production, he opened Loft Sound Studio, training artists like Madison Beer, and launched Pop Star Party for kids.
By 2019, he embraced roles as a vocal arranger and composer, releasing personal tracks like *Remember When* for his wife. Though his music career faded, his Instagram reflects a thriving personal life as a husband and father. Donnie’s story underscores the music industry’s brutality—ambition met with betrayal under Diddy’s reign, yet redeemed by resilience and entrepreneurial spirit away from the spotlight.