Chris Trousdale, Dream Street Member, Dead at 34 From Coronavirus

Former Dream Street member Chris Trousdale has died from COVID-19, TMZ reports. He was 34 years old. Trousdale died on Tuesday night at a hospital in Burbank, California due to complications from the disease, according to a family member. As of Wednesday afternoon, there have been over 106,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States, the highest of any country in the world by a significant margin.

Trousdale began his entertainment career at 8 years old when he earned a role in the touring company of Les Miserables. He later joined the Broadway company with Ricky Martin and Lea Michele. He also appeared in The Sound of Music, Beauty and the Beast and The Wizard of Oz, performed in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and was part of the children’s group The Broadway Kids. In 1999, when he was around 14, Trousdale joined the boy band Dream Street alongside members Jesse McCartney, Greg Raposo, Matt Ballinger and Frankie Galasso, several of whom were also scouted from the New York City theater scene.

The band released its self-titled debut album in 2001 and a second album, The Biggest Fan, in 2002. The group broke up after three years together due to legal issues between management and the members’ parents. Trousdale went on to pursue a career as a solo artist and was known for collaborations with the girl group Play (“I’m Gonna Make You Love Me”) and Nikki Cleary (a cover of Grease‘s “You’re the One That I Want”). He also recorded “Kissless Christmas” and “Wild Christmas” for the School’s Out! Christmas album. In 2006, he put his career on hold to return home to Michigan to take care of his mother.

Trousdale returned to entertainment with appearances on a number of shows including Days of Our Lives, Lucifer, Shake It Up and Austin & Ally. The 34-year-old was still working as a singer before his death and released his single “Summer” in 2019. His last Instagram post was a black square on Tuesday to participate in Blackout Tuesday. Prior to that, his most recent post appeared in February.