Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam (2024) s01e01 Episode Script

1
[Backstreet Boys] Baby, I'm yours
Baby, baby, I'm yours ♪
If you want me ♪
- Baby, I ♪
- And if you want me ♪
- Baby, I'm yours ♪
- Baby, I'm, baby, baby I'm ♪
If you need me ♪
[vocalizing]
- Loving you forever ♪
- Baby, I'm, baby, baby I'm ♪
If you want me
You gotta give me your love ♪
Baby I'm yours if you need me ♪
[Brian vocalizing]
What you looking at? What you looking at?
[chanting] Backstreet Boys!
Backstreet Boys! Backstreet Boys!
["I Want It That Way" playing]
[Brian] The one desire ♪
Believe when I say ♪
I want it that way ♪
[Nick] Tell me why ♪
Ain't nothin' but a heartache ♪
[reporter 1] These five guys
have set the music world on its ear.
Hi, we're the Backstreet Boys.
Nobody has a better talent
for finding and developing teen pop
in the music world than Lou Pearlman.
[reporter 2] He finds
good-looking kids who can sing
and turns them into pop superstars.
[reporter 3] An impresario
who is in sync with the times
and who has a new band
ready to head up the charts.
["It's Gonna Be Me" by NSYNC playing]
It's gonna be me ♪
[uptempo music playing]
I remember the days
when we had small crowds.
But now they're getting bigger and bigger.
I guess that means we did something right.
[AJ] There would be no NSYNC,
there would be no Backstreet Boys
without Lou, period.
But some of us still have wounds
that have never healed,
that may never heal.
A lot of people don't wanna talk
'cause we were all betrayed.
All of this started from blood money.
People's lives that were ruined.
[man] There were people
that got hurt really, really bad.
People have died over this situation.
People have asked me,
"When is this boy band thing over?"
He thought he could do this forever.
And my answer is,
"I know exactly when it's over."
You can't.
"When God stops making little girls."
And until then, it's never over.
[foreboding music playing]
[static humming]
[foreboding music ends]
Hi, I'm Lou Pearlman,
chairman of Trans Continental.
I'm here to help you
[continues indistinctly]
[pensive music playing]
[Lou] I'm having an incredible life
as an entrepreneur in the aviation
and entertainment industries.
And I've made a little money too.
One day, in late 1989,
I came across a name that I didn't know.
I thought it was a joke.
New Kids on the Block?
Who is this?
[reporter] How much
do you guys love New Kids?
- 100%.
- A lot.
[New Kids] Step by step ♪
Ooh, baby ♪
Gonna get to you, girl ♪
[intriguing music playing]
[Lou] I started leasing airplanes.
And we started leasing them
to not only airlines,
but also to people
in the rock and roll industry.
Paul McCartney and Wings,
Madonna, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson,
and New Kids on the Block.
And with New Kids on the Block,
I was wondering
how they could afford one of our planes.
I learned that they sold
200 million dollars in record sales
and 800 million dollars
in touring and merchandising.
I said, "I'm in the wrong business."
So I ended up, uh, trying to put together
a group in the states, in Orlando.
[host] We have five
very popular new guys here.
- And what's the name of the song?
- [all] "Loverboy."
[host] "Loverboy."
Let's go. Backstreet Boys.
["Loverboy" playing]
Walk, walk up to me ♪
Look in my eyes, I'll make you see ♪
Oh God. "Loverboy."
[groans]
Hey, man, you got to
start somewhere, right?
Hey, what's up, guys?
Hey! Come here, come here.
All of us after
our very first real public exposure.
- Yeah!
- Thank you!
Hey, wait. Wait, wait, wait.
We feel good.
We got a good response. We're happy.
We're never gonna forget
where we came from.
Awesome, man.
- Thanks!
- Stay the same.
And that was our
our first taste of having fans.
That was 30 years ago.
A much younger Howie than now.
[laughs]
- Well [laughs]
- [woman laughs]
[AJ] Lou had big pockets,
and he had a dream.
And we were the guinea pig for that dream.
[Howie] When I was really seriously
getting into auditioning for the studios,
I was in Puerto Rico with my mom
on vacation. My dad called me and said,
"Hey, there's this audition
for this group."
[AJ] There was this thing that'd go around
to people that were in the industry
which was basically a classified
for the entertainment world.
And that's how I found out
about the ad that Lou put out.
It said, "Come with a song prepared."
So I did
"Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time?"
and was signed pretty much on the spot.
It was at his house.
Massive, massive mansion.
[Howie] I'll never forget.
I pulled up to his pearly gates,
saw his Rolls-Royce,
and I was like, "Oh my God."
I'm like, "I died and gone to heaven!"
But I didn't think Lou was the guy
who was putting the group together.
I thought he was the casting director.
Behind the camera. Kind of a heavyset guy.
He really liked me and was like,
"We're still looking for people.
We'd love to have you."
[AJ] So Howie was next and then Nick.
Nick auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club.
He got an offer, cash offer,
right after he auditioned for Lou.
And his mother, basically telling
a twelve-year-old, "Okay."
"What do you wanna do?"
At the time, I had been working
with Howie and AJ, you know,
and manager Lou Pearlman,
in getting the group together.
And I decided that I'd actually go
pursue this group, and it's been amazing.
Lou's limo driver was friends
with friends of Kevin's,
and Kev was working at Walt Disney World
at the time.
Our first photo opportunity is coming up,
high in the sky to the right.
It's the symbol
A friend of mine told me about
a group in Orlando
that was looking for some more singers.
Mr. Pearlman gave me a call,
and we had a meeting.
I sang with the fellas,
and the blend was there,
everything was there, and, uh, I
We needed another singer,
and I called my cousin.
Kevin kept saying, "I've got this cousin."
He could sing his ass off.
And they needed one more member, you know,
to kind of fit the icing on the cake,
you know.
So he called me, and the rest is history.
That was April 20th of, uh, '93.
[Lou] All right, let's hear
some a cappella, fellas.
We knew it the day we met Brian.
It just clicked.
Dreaming ♪
Shooby-do-do-do-doo-doo ♪
[Kevin] This is live.
- Dreaming ♪
- Hey, hey ♪
- Dreaming ♪
- Hey, hey ♪
Shooby-do-do-do-doo-doo ♪
I'm dreaming ♪
Shooby-do-do-do-doo-doo ♪
I'm dreaming ♪
[Howie] Lou was definitely
a good salesman.
He was a mastermind
in showing the world
how he can take almost anybody
and turn them into successful groups.
[Lou] What I do is
I basically spot the talent,
and we help cultivate it.
We help teach them.
And we get the best vocal coaches,
the best choreographers.
I mean, we really looked up to Lou.
We all called him Big Poppa.
This was this man that,
like, took us under his wing.
There was years of learning one another
and experiencing things together.
Some of the guys really had
a deeper connection with him.
You know, Lou was like
a second father to Kevin.
Kevin lost his father to cancer.
[Howie] There were some
great bonding moments with Lou,
and there's a part of me, for sure,
that'll always hold a place in my heart
of a gratefulness to him.
[helium voice] We're going to sing a song
right now that's very important to us.
- We'd better hurry. [laughs]
- What's the name of the song?
Christmas, Christmas time is here ♪
Time for joy ♪
[AJ] On the management side,
Lou brought in
Johnny Wright and Donna Wright.
Johnny Wright had worked with New Kids.
- Do we have any publicity pictures?
- [Donna] Yeah.
[Johnny] Go get some.
[AJ] They were already
experienced in this world.
So they know how the machine works.
We're singing for a bus right now.
[indistinct chatter]
We knew we were getting in
the right hands with the right people,
and they started putting us out there.
We went on a school tour
to high schools and middle schools.
First show. We're nervous.
We don't know
if we're going to be accepted,
but we're going to go out there
and give it our best shot.
Let's go. Come on. Here we go.
[man] Go!
[upbeat music playing]
[AJ] We toured the entire US.
No one knew who the hell we were.
We're young. We're naive. We're excited.
[singing]
- [mouth pops]
- [kids laugh]
So wherever Lou said go, we just went.
- Baby I'm yours ♪
- Baby I'm, baby, baby I'm ♪
- If you want me ♪
- Baby I'm ♪
[screams]
Ooh-la-la ♪
[audience cheering]
[students screaming]
Girl, you gotta work that body ♪
Girl, I must be dreaming ♪
[singing indistinctly]
Oh ♪
[gentle music playing]
[students screaming]
[woman] When I watch videos like that,
it takes me back to that time,
and, um, it's an amazing feeling
to be associated with that.
I met Lou when I was working
for one of his TCBY franchise locations.
- What's up? Good morning.
- Hi.
[Melissa] He brought
a million-dollar tour bus
with Backstreet Boys
into this little tiny town,
and that's when I met him
and the Backstreet Boys at the same time.
He asked if I had liked any boy bands.
I told him I was a New Kids fan.
And from that point on,
we had a little connection.
He was good to me
in the sense of being kind
and, like, looking out for me
and giving me opportunities.
I didn't have, like, financial means
to go to school or anything, so
[exhales]
I didn't know
what the possibilities were for me.
I didn't know that I was going to
embark on a 14-year journey
with Lou Pearlman and all of
his Trans Continental companies.
[Kevin] Come on.
["I Want You Back" playing]
[vocalizing]
You know, when we first tried to launch,
you had Dre and Snoop
Bow wow wow ♪
[AJ] Nirvana.
That's that's what was on radio,
and there was no real placement for us.
[Howie] There was no scene for us at all.
But, I mean
We were putting in some hours.
I mean, I don't even know
if the word "child labor law"
was brought into the picture.
[laughs] We weren't getting paid.
That's for sure.
Ho, ho-ho, ho ♪
Ho, ho ♪
- You're on a different note.
- I'm Now I'm on the right note.
Ho, ho-ho, ho ♪
Ho ♪
Ho ♪
- You're on the other note.
- See, it don't
Ho-ho ♪
- Nick.
- [Nick] I'm just helping.
Don't. Don't. You're not helping.
You're making it worse.
You confuse the piss out of everybody
when you do that.
When you're ready, let's go.
Ho, ho-ho, ho ♪
Ho ♪
Ho ♪
- [Howie] What take was that? I don't know.
- Hey!
- Could be a winner.
- [Nick] We got it, boy.
[all laughing]
- [Howie] We videotaped it.
- [AJ] It wasn't me. It was
Nick farted, ladies and gentlemen.
[Nick] It was him! It was him!
[AJ] They call a garage band
a garage band for a reason.
They started it in their garage.
For us, it was
Lou's gondola hangar for blimps.
[singing indistinctly]
[AJ] Looking back on it, it was god-awful.
There was about
a two-foot rise wooden stage,
barely sanded, so you're getting
splinters and shit all the time.
And there was no AC.
Hot as balls.
And they would have,
like, big huge gondola parts in there.
And for anybody at home
that doesn't know what a gondola is,
it's that little piece
in the bottom of a blimp
where a, you have the pilot,
and that's where people sit.
[tense music playing]
In 1992, I began building
a record company at Trans Continental.
To do that, I brought in
longtime friends, former limo drivers,
and a few of the guys
who worked for my blimp company too.
Afternoon. I'm here at Lakehurst,
where the Goodyear blimp
[laughing]
Goodyear Cut it.
I'm Reenie Pearlman,
Lou Pearlman's mother,
and I cannot express
my feelings towards my son.
I am so proud of him.
I'm here at the Lakehurst hangar,
and look what's behind me
[man] I loved her to death. Actually
She was everybody's mom at one point.
[whimsical music playing]
So, a long time ago
in a galaxy far, far away,
Lou was just a human being, right?
I met Lou at 14. He was more like
an older brother that I never had.
His parents lived in
a one-bedroom apartment.
They slept on a pull-out couch
in the living room,
and he slept in the bedroom.
And this is a true story
because he was an amazing artist.
Lou forged my driver's permit.
Back in the day, it was a paper permit.
So he sat there and painstakingly drew
all the stamps freehand.
I watched him. [chuckles]
And it worked.
His family was very musical.
Art Garfunkel, right? They were cousins.
You could tell right away
that they were related.
And he was always a dreamer.
He would point to
the Goodyear blimp and say,
"I'm gonna fly one of those one day!"
I'm like, "Yeah, okay."
[TV show music playing]
My guest is Louis Pearlman,
president of Airship International.
- Louis, nice to have you.
- [Lou] Thank you, Rob.
Okay, Airship International.
If, uh, there's anyone
who doesn't know who you are, tell us.
Airship International is
a New York-based corporation.
Uh, we've, uh, gotten some clients,
such as several Fortune 500 companies,
that are interested in
aerial advertising and promotion.
[announcer] It's McBlimp. McBlimp.
The latest and most impressive
addition to the skies.
The largest airship in the world.
- One, two, three. Congratulations.
- [crowd cheering, applauding]
[Lou] At this time, the weather will be
hopefully acceptable
for us to show a little demonstration
of what the airship can do.
Looking at the airship, you'll notice
the name painted on the side.
The airship was manufactured
by WDL Corporation in West Germany.
[Marc] Theodore Wullenkemper
was the money man,
right, when Airship first started.
He was a World War II flying ace
for the Luftwaffe,
and then he turned that into
a profitable business in airships.
It's a crazy story.
You have a card-carrying Jew, yarmulke,
all the holidays, right,
sitting down with a Nazi.
Long before there was
ever talk of a boy band,
Lou is going to Germany
and meeting with Theo for blimps.
[announcer] As an advertising medium,
the best word to describe
its effectiveness is simply intrusive.
Airship International
offers air supremacy.
[majestic music playing]
Are you getting all of this?
Because he's moving with me.
[whimsical music playing]
That was Lou's Always what he was
going after first. The McDonald's blimp.
I remember Lou had so much hair. [laughs]
I met Lou in 1983.
I just happened to meet him in a hallway
of the building
that we lived in New York City.
I had a couple of little ferrets,
and I used let them run in the hallway.
I didn't know Lou before that.
We immediately became friends.
Back in the '80s, I was trading stocks.
I knew a lot of people in Wall Street.
I had a lot of connections.
[interviewer] Was the world anything like
The Wolf of Wall Street?
Well, the quaalude scene was kind of real.
Yeah, I did my quaaludes.
I did my fair share.
Cracked my cars up, just like you've seen
in The Wolf of Wall Street.
And Lou was there.
Lou never drank. Never smoked.
He just ate. [chuckles]
I made the decision
to help him with his dream,
and it all started
from Airship International.
I used my connections in Wall Street.
Introduced him to
a couple of companies I dealt with,
and they wanted to bring him public.
Unbeknownst to me,
all these, uh, firms were
The mob was behind them.
The mafia, they're all connected somehow.
Nevertheless, they all loved Lou.
They loved the idea,
and he raised two million dollars.
It was all about getting
the money to get the dream going.
My mother was a big shareholder.
This was probably worth, like,
a quarter of a million at one time.
Now it, uh, could be on a nice wall.
[laughing]
[whimsical music ends]
[Marc] With the blimps,
there was always an investor.
Always an investor
being paraded through someplace.
Then, later on down the line,
the investors were extremely impressed
by the boy bands.
Easy ♪
Easy like Sunday morning ♪
[Melissa] Lou wanted to make sure
everybody was ready to put on a show
and sing at any given time.
On an airplane, in a restaurant,
in a bathroom, it did not matter.
You had to be ready and on call.
That's why I'm easy ♪
Go ahead, Lou.
[harmonizing]
I'm easy like Sunday morning ♪
[Melissa] Lou definitely used his bands
to catapult investment
in all of his Trans Continental companies.
[announcer] One company has
the total package of development,
management,
production, promotion,
and a core group of experienced
executives who know the business.
Trans Continental.
I don't know
if anybody who started
with Trans Con with Lou
had any
music business experience. [laughs]
[Marc] I was
a New York City police officer.
So I gave up a whole pension package.
But who needs a pension when you're
getting on the ground floor of a winner?
Lou took a bunch of us
from Queens, New York,
moved us to Florida,
and then got more people involved,
but always kept that family vibe.
[woman] Frankie went to
Aviation High School.
He liked airplanes. He liked flying.
My husband found
an opening in Mitchell Gardens,
in the building,
and there, in that building,
Lou Pearlman lived with his family.
Lou Pearlman liked blimps,
and Frankie knew everything about blimps.
You know, it was me,
Frankie, and Lou, and we were a family.
Later on, Lou lived in Florida,
and he took my son
right after he graduated
Aviation High School.
He brought him down to Orlando, Florida.
At that time,
I was a teacher in New York City.
I was in my forties,
and I didn't have a lot.
My son used to say,
"You have to learn how to save money."
And he goes, "You know,
Lou Pearlman has this investment thing
where you earn big dividends."
And so every time that I had extra money,
my son used to invest for me.
We had our own families investing.
That's how much we believed
in everything he was doing.
[host] The Backstreet Boys,
I'd have thought you could sign 'em
like that to a record deal
or got a deal for them, but you didn't.
- It wasn't so easy.
- It took us a long time.
We traveled all around the United States
and tried to get 'em a deal,
and finally we did,
and we entered at number 69
on the charts and dropped off.
Ah ♪
Jam on 'cause Backstreet's got it ♪
Come on now everybody ♪
We've got it goin' on for years ♪
Jam on 'cause Backstreet's got it ♪
[AJ] The first song we cut was
a song called "We've Got It Goin' On."
It peaked here in the States at,
like, 68 on the dance charts,
but went straight to
number one in Germany.
And it was just surreal.
In Germany, pop music was huge.
[speaking German]
[audience cheers, applauds]
[Marc] Lou's recipe was,
throw them in Germany.
Let them develop.
It was a great science experiment
for building pop groups.
Out there.
Some girls out there.
[Howie] Lou made sure,
even amongst all the other
German artists, that we stood out.
[girl screaming indistinctly]
You know, we'd have our own
tour buses and everything.
We each had security guards
of our own before we were even successful.
He was making us feel like
we were going somewhere.
It was all eye candy
until we got signed to a major label.
That's when everything changed.
Please put your hands together
for five guys from Orlando,
the Backstreet Boys.
[audience cheers, applauds]
[AJ] The deal we got with BMG,
that was a turning point
because now it's like,
shit's getting real.
["We've Got It Goin' On" playing]
[audience cheering]
We got a record deal,
and they're spending money on us,
besides Lou Pearlman's money.
Now it's really serious.
In my heart, I see ♪
You're not being true to me ♪
Deep within my soul ♪
[Howie] In Germany, they embraced us
and put us on all the big TV shows.
- Hello.
- [host] Thanks for coming to the studio.
Germany is truly where it started for us,
to a point that, you know,
we were hardly ever back home.
Hi, we're the Backstreet Boys.
[Howie] We'd call home no-fan land
because we'd have a ton of fans
where we were over in Europe,
to coming back here
and being like, "Chirp, chirp."
"Nobody knows who I am here."
[uptempo music playing]
Couldn't get arrested in America,
but over there, we were the shiz.
- What's his name?
- Noah.
- Noah?
- Yeah.
- [AJ] Hi, Noah!
- [woman] Oh my God!
[interviewer] Are you surprised by
the enormous success you have in Germany?
[Brian] It's a little overwhelming.
Each time we come,
it gets bigger and bigger.
It's exciting. It's really exciting.
[Howie] Thank you very much!
[in German] Thank you so much, Germany.
[in English] They were truly creating
a family between Lou
and the Trans Con family
and the BMG family.
It's where it all started for us.
[woman speaking German]
Um, hello, Germany.
[speaking German]
This is what we call Mr. Big Poppa.
- Big Poppa Lou.
- Big Poppa.
[photographer] Great.
First of all, the songs of
the Backstreet Boys are strong, emotional,
and touch the feelings of the audience.
But it's not only the music.
The main fact are your brilliant voices.
So thank you very much.
And Lou and Lou Pearlman.
Cannot forget Lou Pearlman.
[all cheering]
- [Jan] Congratulations.
- Thank you. Thank you.
[Jan] You're really welcome.
You know, first off, I'd like to thank Lou
for all the help and all the support.
This is a dream come true.
[emotionally] I never thought
I'd be holding one of these in my hands.
I'm sorry, you guys.
Um, BMG, thank you so much.
You make our dreams come true.
Thank you so much.
And we'll be around much longer.
Hopefully, this is just the first of many.
Thank you,
and I'm sorry I bawled like a baby.
[crowd cheers, applauds]
[dramatic music playing]
[Lou] Success breeds competition.
I remember joking with
one of my employees back then.
If Backstreet turns out to be
a dominant brand like Coke,
someone is going to come along
and create a Pepsi.
We might as well beat them to it.
[Justin] Okay. Ready?
[Marc] Yeah.
What's up? This is Justin,
youngest member of NSYNC.
And if you haven't heard about us yet,
we're a new vocal group, uh, coming out.
Our first single is going to be
released October 7th.
Uh, it's called "I Want You Back."
Uh, that's my Janet Jackson poster
because I love that woman.
[guitar tuning]
- This string's going to pop on me.
- It's been in an airport.
All loosened and rusty.
That was our house that Lou had rented,
so I was living off per diem
and whatever groceries
we had in the house.
But I was skinny. I didn't eat much.
Now I got money.
[chuckles]
[pensive music playing]
I went to high school in this little,
little, tiny farm town in Ohio,
and I just had to get out.
And so I put everything I had
into two duffel bags
and hopped on a Greyhound bus to Orlando.
Moved in with my dad.
Lived in his dining room.
I joined a choir,
and that's when it felt like
the world went from
this crazy place to kind of like,
"Wait a second.
This is the part that I love."
I put NSYNC together.
I was working as a waiter
at the Outback Steakhouse,
and I got this phone call saying,
"Hey, um"
"This guy Lou Pearlman
wants to put together another band."
And suddenly,
every hair on my body just stood up, like,
"This is the opportunity
I'm not going to miss."
[Justin] Chris gives me a call,
and he's like, "I have an idea."
"I want to put a
put a vocal group together."
And I'm like, "That's a great idea.
You know, I'm interested in that."
So, we got together,
and, uh, I knew JC
Hey, guys!
from, uh, working
on The Mickey Mouse Club with him.
I was on there for four four seasons,
and Justin was on there for about two,
and that's how I met Joey,
and so on and so forth.
And also I knew Chris from Universal
because I worked at Universal.
We were kind of in the same place,
so we saw each other. So that clicked in.
[Chris] We ended up signing
a record deal with Lou.
It was me, Joey, JC, and Justin.
It doesn't matter if
the contract's written in raccoon blood.
You're signing it
because it's your deal. It's your shot.
And so we also
finally had to find a fifth member.
We needed that
that warm sound, that bass.
We were kind of looking around,
and actually,
we found Lance through Justin.
He gave me a call in Mississippi,
and so I flew down, and I loved it.
- And now we are together.
- NSYNC!
- NSYNC!
- NSYNC.
[JC] Fight!
[grunting]
Yeah!
[cheering]
[Chris grunting]
- Ready?
- Ready. Let's go, buddy.
[Chris] When I was younger, I mean,
there wasn't any time
for me to get to really be a kid.
It was, like, I had to be an adult
without the fun stuff.
[Lance] Fight!
I started working when I was,
like, 13 years old at a friend's farm.
My mom was a single mother of five kids
struggling to pay rent
and keep the electric on.
[Justin] Louie, Louie ♪
[Chris] When I met Lou, was the first time
that I felt some security of, you know,
I feel like now, if my car breaks down,
Lou could help out.
I came from a trailer,
and he's living in this mansion
with all of this stuff.
And he's got all these accolades.
He must be somebody.
Very excited, looking forward
to getting on a plane again.
- [man] What are you doing there, huh?
- I'm doing a daily sheet.
♪NSYNC was
a very hush-hush project. [chuckles]
Nobody was supposed to talk about
this band that was being put together
while Backstreet Boys was in Germany.
I kept my mouth shut.
I was very loyal. [chuckles]
[spurting]
- We're getting attacked.
- This is cute.
[Chris] In the beginning,
Lou would always ask me
to keep it on the down-low.
It was always, you know,
"Don't forget. I don't want you telling,
you know, people about this."
- Whoo!
- He's like butter, baby.
[man] NSYNC was kind of
brought on the scene under the table.
The Backstreet Boys were in Europe,
and, uh, we were introduced to NSYNC.
They walked in
and sang at his birthday party,
and everyone just went, "What?"
[tense music playing]
I don't know of any other record labels
in Orlando at that time.
I think it was
"It's a Small World After All."
I think that's the music
that Orlando's known for.
People in the music business
didn't take him seriously.
What everyone was telling him was
NSYNC wasn't going to work.
They didn't think he could do it one time,
and then when that was successful,
he realized that he needs to do this again
because, like he said, you know,
"Procter & Gamble doesn't have one soap."
[boat engine revving]
So this was Lou Pearlman's house
and, at the time, loaded with boats,
jet skis, a bunch of toys,
and every one of these bands
were out on the lake.
Spent hours out here, and he loved it.
Most people said, "I think you're
spoiling these kids. It's crazy."
The normal musician doesn't go through
hopping on a jet to go from city to city,
traveling in a limousine to the airport,
flying first class.
I mean, it's unheard of.
But he wanted to show them
if you do the right thing,
this is the life you're gonna have.
You know, the smell of success
was right there,
and everybody had that taste.
[slurping]
Christmas time
The best time of the year ♪
Yes, it's Christmas time ♪
- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas!
This time last year,
we were on tour as well.
This year, we get to go home
and see our families for Christmas.
[interviewer] You haven't been home
since Christmas of last year?
- [interviewer] What? How come?
- Uh, we were just working.
We had a lot, you know,
a lot to do, and it's paid off
because it was
a very good year for us, so.
[AJ] We spent almost two years
over in Europe,
and we come back,
and now the door is open.
We were able to walk through it
and not just get a foot in.
We actually walked through the damn door.
Backstreet's back, all right ♪
Please welcome the Backstreet Boys.
[audience screaming]
Hey, yeah ♪
Oh ♪
Oh my God, we're back again ♪
This song has been rocking
the airwaves across the universe.
I bet your kid has this CD.
[AJ] It was important for us
to have relevance on our home turf.
We wanted that same feeling
as it was everywhere else.
[screaming]
Am I original? ♪
[Howie] We'd like to thank
our record company,
our management, Lou Pearlman,
and also all the Trans Con family
out there back in O-Town.
Am I everything you need? ♪
You better rock your body now ♪
[man] He went there. He went there.
Rock your body right ♪
Oh my God.
Oh my God.
[Melissa] Okay.
[song ends]
[indistinct chatter]
We're going to the school.
[harmonizing]
I thought we'd get ♪
To see tomorrow ♪
That's when the Backstreet part
really started to hurt
because we were busting our ass,
and every fan
that would come out would tell us,
"We're here to see you guys
because the Backstreet Boys aren't here."
But that also sparked something
in us too, where it was like,
"We have to work harder."
Nobody's going to want to
see Backstreet Boys Part 2.
We're going to make them want to see us.
[tense music playing]
At that time, Disney decided that
they were going to start doing specials,
and they asked Backstreet
to do the Disney special.
[Howie] A couple of the guys were like,
"Absolutely not. We need time off."
"We're gonna blow up internally
if we don't get some rest."
[Chris] They turn down the show,
and they said,
"Well, where is that little stepchild
that's running around here?"
"NSYNC. Let's get them to do it."
[whooshing]
[all] Hi, we're NSYNC.
[whooshing]
[Chris] Now, at this point,
we'd done a lot of shows in Europe,
but this was the show
that suddenly turned on the boosters.
It's tearin' up my heart
When I'm with you ♪
But when we are apart, I feel it too ♪
And no ♪
[Chris] Not saying we were out of
Backstreet's shadow,
but if there was a time
where we're in the race,
and we're sitting right next to them
going, you know, "What's up?"
it was the Disney special.
And no matter what I do
I feel the pain ♪
With or without you ♪
[audience cheering]
[crowd screaming]
[Chris] BMG was like, "We love these guys
and want to sign them."
And we're like,
"We'll sign. We don't care."
"That's a record label. We're in."
[crowd cheering, applauding]
[Howie] A record label who,
at the time, were just like,
"We can't believe
Lou would do this to you guys
and create your own competition
and everything."
Well, lo and behold,
the record label signs them.
We were definitely, like, the first child
to a family you thought
you were gonna be the only child.
We thought Lou Pearlman was
our "Big Poppa," as we called him,
and now he's "Poppa Many Kids."
[harmonizing]
[audience applauding]
- I say goodbye ♪
- [vocalizing]
[Chris] Lou would always
have people watch us perform.
It was, "Oh, these are Lou's friends
Got to schmooze them up."
I didn't realize
that they were all these investors.
I remember ♪
[Andy] Everybody in the inner circle knew
that he had an investment type of program
that people could go into.
Some people were in big.
Some people were in bigger.
You know, he didn't ask for it.
People would ask him,
"Hey, how can I get in on this?"
You know, everybody was in.
[tense music playing]
[Lou] Many experts will tell you
that your family and friends
should be the last people
you go to for start-up money
or business loans.
Still, I have to tell you
that having friends and family
as investors in my businesses
has been one of
the most rewarding parts of my life.
[woman] Lou!
[man] Lou, you got that fan club now.
[reporter]
Pearlman often refers to himself
as the sixth Backstreet Boy,
and in some circles,
he is almost as famous as his young stars.
My fan club. [laughs]
We all really admired Lou
and looked up to Lou.
- Can I get a picture?
- [Lou] Sure.
Thank you so much.
Keep doing what you're doing.
All right. Thanks.
Until everything started to come out.
[tense music ends]
Nobody gets too much love anymore ♪
It's as high as a mountain
And harder to climb ♪
Lou called us into a room,
and he said, "Listen."
"You've sold all these records,
and now we're going to present
you guys with your first check
in a gold record ceremony."
We were like, "This is great."
And I look down,
I'm like, "Ten thousand dollars."
I have never seen that much money
in my entire life.
And the smart one named JC said,
"How much do you make
in a year at Outback?"
And I was like, "Oh"
"Shit."
[AJ] It took my bandmate Brian saying,
"Enough is enough,"
for us to all truly open our eyes
to what's really being done
behind our backs.
[tense music playing]
I literally begged him physically
in his office to make it right,
and he didn't do it.
You know, I gave him every opportunity.
[Chris] JC went and got the lawyer,
and we're just, like,
you know, standing there thinking,
"Oh, there's an answer to this."
And instead of answering,
it's like taking the glasses off
and rubbing the eyes for a minute,
and you're like,
"There's something incredibly wrong."
"Why are we still working our butts off
for nickels and dimes,
and Lou's making millions?"
That was when we realized, "All right.
We have to do something drastic."
[Andy] Any way you look,
Backstreet Boys wouldn't be here,
♪NSYNC wouldn't be here, if it wasn't
for his vision and his effort.
If I put you up in a house
and pay for your car and your gas,
pay for your food, and teach you
how to dance and sing,
and hone your skills
to the point where you are gonna be
a major sensation
for the rest of your life.
You know, how much do you pay for that?
[AJ] He had a lot of people fooled.
A lot of people fooled.
Outside of us, even his own staff.
He messed with a lot of people's lives.
[Chris] If I would have known
at any moment what was really happening,
Lord knows, the band knows,
everybody that knows me knows,
I would be the first person
to say something.
With Lou, it always seemed genuine.
But at the same time,
if you make a deal with the devil,
he's not going to show up as the devil
because you wouldn't make a deal.
[tense music ends]
[morose music playing]
[music ends]