A history lesson on pop’s biggest boy bands wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Lou Pearlman. In the 90s, he helped launch arguably the two most popular groups of the time, the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. Inspired by the success of New Kids On The Block in the previous decade, he then paved the way for the boy band boom of the 2000s.
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It was obvious that the boy band formula worked. But what wasn’t as obvious at the time was that Pearlman was running one of the biggest Ponzi schemes of the decade. A scam that lasted 20 years and sent him to prison for just as long in 2008, a sentence he served for eight years until he died in custody in 2016.
Pearlman’s scheme began with a failed blimp business, which he abandoned after learning how much revenue New Kids On The Block generated. His first group was the Backstreet Boys, who all knew each other before Pearlman’s auditions. Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell formed up around 1992. But they didn’t officially become the Backstreet Boys until April 20, 1993, following auditions with Pearlman.
Lou Pearlman Went From Father Figure to Scam Artist For Many Young Stars Blinded By Success
From there, the Backstreet Boys took off, finding almost immediate success. This was the 90s, after all, and boy bands were a hot commodity. Lou Pearlman felt that someone would soon form another group to rival the Backstreet Boys’ success. Why not do it himself?
Lou Pearlman created NSYNC in 1995, recruiting JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, and Lance Bass from their various side gigs and amateur singing groups. NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys went on to find overwhelming success through the 90s and early 2000s. But Pearlman didn’t stop there.
He also managed pop and hip-hop acts O-Town, LFO, Take 5, Natural, and US5, along with country boy band Marshall Dyllon. There were also two girl groups, Solid Harmonie and Innosense. Pearlman started the label Trans Continental Records in 1992, which included Aaron Carter, Jordan Knight of New Kids On The Block, Smilez & Southstar, and C-Note on its roster.
Things started going downhill for Pearlman in the 2000s, when the Backstreet Boys became the first of his groups to sue him in federal court. They filed a lawsuit for misrepresentation and fraud after determining that they only received $300,000 for all of their work while Pearlman raked in millions. NSYNC sued next for similar issues, and in 2002, 14-year-old Aaron Carter accused Pearlman of racketeering. This case was settled out of court, but all of Pearlman’s boy bands—except US5 and Marshall Dyllon—sued him and won.
In 2007, Pearlman was investigated and found to be running a massive 20-year Ponzi scheme, often considered the longest in U.S. history. In May 2008, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiracy, money laundering, and filing for false bankruptcy.
Documentary Exposed Dark Underbelly of 90s Boy Bands
The 2024 Netflix documentary Dirty Pop explored Lou Pearlman’s long scam, including the effect it had on the boy bands he managed. While there have been several exposés about Pearlman, this one was considered unique for its extensive use of archival footage. This put Lou Pearlman, the scammer, at odds with Lou Pearlman, the father figure.
“There’s this moment when Lou and the Backstreet Boys are singing the Commodores’ ‘Easy’ at the piano,” said executive producer Lance Nichols. “It’s like this guy is running a Ponzi scheme and somehow he’s easy like Sunday morning at the piano with these kids. It’s just surreal to me.”
Michael Johnson, former drummer of Pearlman-formed band Natural, also served as executive producer on Dirty Pop. He became Pearlman’s close confidant until the cracks started showing. Johnson’s recollection of Pearlman served as an interesting emotional core to the documentary. Mostly because he saw the man’s contradictions first-hand.
“He’s one of the most complex characters that I’ve ever heard of,” said Johnson, per The Guardian. “Everything about him was genius, but he applied it in really different ways.”
However, Lou Pearlman used that complex genius to manipulate and use the people around him. “I had a front row seat to that weaponization of that greed, power, and fame,” said Johnson. “Lou was able to exploit everyone’s dreams. The people I started meeting and caring about in 1998, who never recovered from Lou’s crimes. That effect still really weighs on me.”
The post 18 Years Ago, One of Pop’s Most Notorious Moguls Was Sentenced to Over Two Decades in Prison for Scamming Pretty Much Everyone appeared first on VICE.