PopSmart

(Photo courtesy Peachtree TV)

They are given just about everything a music act needs to succeed in the business. They’re given a development consultant, a choreographer, a vocal coach, a fashion stylist, even a nice hair trim. All they have to do is convince people that they can deliver the goods, on stage at an Atlanta nightclub, in front of Jermaine Dupri, Shakir Stewart and a few of their close industry friends.

Welcome to “Jermaine Dupri Presents: BRUTHA,” a one-hour reality special directed by James DuBose that airs tonight at 8 p.m. on Turner’s Peachtree TV in an ongoing effort by the re-christened station (formerly WTBS) to tap into Atlanta’s vast entertainment market for local programming with a national feel. The program follows five Los Angeles brothers — Grady, Cheyenne, Jacob, Jared and Anthony — through a week in December as they go through a grueling week of training to prepare for a performance at the local nightclub Opera. There is just enough sweat, and just enough tension, to make the show worthwhile as it at least appears to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the development of a music act.

Whether BRUTHA becomes a success remains a million-dollar question, but one thing is certain based on this show: It ain’t easy, even when you’re given all the tools necessary to make it. Cameras follow the young men, aged 19 to 24, as they arrive in Atlanta with their uncle and manager, Donny “Drano” Harrell, who has convinced his old friend Stewart to give them a look.

Stewart serves as senior vice-president of A&R for Island Def Jam; Dupri is the label’s president while also running So So Def. Constantly Harrell and Stewart pepper the brothers with the key question, “Are you ready,” and at first glance it seems they are. They’re mannered, handsome and almost perfectly in tune; their five-part harmony conjures recent memories.

“Their individual tone as well as their five-part harmony is something I haven’t heard in a long time, almost dating back to the days of Boyz II Men or 112,” Stewart later tells me by phone from his office. “The fact that they were brothers, the fact they had five-part harmony, and the fact that they were organized internally, meaning they knew the strengths and the weaknesses within the group, was a big plus. One guy didn’t try to sing out of his range or out of pocket. Any time you deal with a group, I have to make sure there’s some type of internal organization.”

That’s left up to Harrell, or “Drano,” who seems just intent on grilling the singers as much as everyone else as they get put through the paces over the course of week in preparation for the gig. In fact, the most compelling moments of “BRUTHA” come when the young men challenge their taskmaster manager/uncle during a meeting called by Stewart to iron out their differences. The irony of the meeting comes when one of the brothers complains that their uncle is such an overwhelming personality that they are afraid to speak up, which is exactly what Drano and Stewart say they need to do a better job of.

The same conflict arises at the studios of consultant Marvin McIntyre’s Marvelous Enterprises. As they enter the office, the eldest, Grady, smiles and offers, “We’ve heard a lot about you!” McIntyre barks back, “Take off hat off!” Soon afterward, one of the brothers is ordered to “drop and give me 40,” as in push-ups.

During rehearsals, when another brother is ordered to do push-ups, he hesitates, leading another brother to stop complaining and do the push-ups. Next thing you know, four of them are on the floor, legs interconnecting over each other, trying to do push-ups together as a show of unity. Is this all for TV?

“If you went right now to one of their rehearsals without the camera, it would be just like that,” Stewart says. “The process we’re putting them through is to make them great artists. If I told them right now to drop and give me push-ups connected together, they’d do it. It’s to stress unity. If two guys are off it looks like they’re all off.”

In fact, I did go over to Marvelous Enterprises to check out a rehearsal, and while no one was getting yelled at, BRUTHA was still in rehearsals — sorry to spoil the surprise — and busting their asses on a variety of songs with a new choreographer who puts them through the paces with their steps. Within a matter of minutes, they’re all sweating, all working hard. “Just like on TV,” Jared says with a smile. It should come as no surprise the kids deliver on stage at their performance — Stewart concedes there was no doubt they have what it takes, and they plan to roll out a sing by next month — but “BRUTHA” nevertheless has some interesting moments. Aside from the early tension, there is a revealing look at just how hard musicians work to make it.

There’s also a hilarious revelation at a dinner held at the restaurant Uptown in which the guys discuss where they were before the music called, but I won’t spoil that surprise. What’s also interesting is the way Peachtree TV is trying tap into the local entertainment, particularly the urban entertainment, to underscore its Atlanta connection. Last fall’s “Dallas Austin’s Drumroll: SWD” served as a kind of reality-TV sequel to his 2002 film Drumline as it followed the efforts of the Southwest DeKalb High School marching band, which also appears in the movie. Peachtree TV plans more collaborations with local entertainment figures, and hopes to provide information for the next project soon.

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