"We really believed he would make it big," said Alex Murillo, Jared's father. "We saw early on in his life that he was an entertainer. He is focused and very ambitious. When Jared wants something, he gets it done."

As far as V Factory's manager Bill Perlman can tell, the group's path to stardom is looking pretty rock solid.

"Their music is strong," Perlman said. They are all talented, and they're all great-looking, personable young men — which never hurts."

The boy band's edgy pop sound has already attracted quite a following on the Internet.

"I want to see you guys SOOOO BAD ... I might start crying if I can't ... ," one adoring fan posted on the boy band's page on Myspace.com.

"Album? Album?" wrote another. "I can't wait to blast you unabashedly in my car. xoxo!"

V Factory will release the group's first single for radio play soon, Perlman said.

Thursday, they kicked off their first nationwide tour with a performance at House of Blues in Las Vegas. The group is scheduled to make stops in a number of the country's major music hubs, including San Francisco, New York and Chicago.

Jared Murillo feels pretty confident about the tour — he is, after all, a seasoned performer. There's only one gig that has him a little tied in knots, he said. They're only expecting a crowd of about 500 people for the show Wednesday and it's in the most obscure city of the tour — Provo.

"It makes me a little nervous going back to my hometown," he said. "It's nerve-racking to perform in a place where people know you personally."

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E-mail: estuart@desnews.com

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If you go. . .

What: Bandemonium Tour, featuring V Factory, Menudo, NLT and GLOWB

When: 9 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Southworth Event Center, 116 W. Center, Provo

Cost: $15 per person; For tickets, call 224-9012