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It Wasn't Just BSB and *NSYNC That Lou Pearlman Managed — Here's the Complete List

Apr 2 2019 - 2:37pm

If you grew up in the '90s, then — whether you liked it or not — you were probably caught up in the boy band craze. However, most people's knowledge of the scene at that time only extended to what could be found in the pages of TigerBeat and YM, and few knew of the man who was orchestrating it all: notorious record producer and fraudster Lou Pearlman. Best known for managing '90s hit machines the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC [1], Pearlman was later revealed to be running one of the most epic and long-running Ponzi schemes in history [2], and in 2008, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy, money laundering, and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding.

Pearlman died from cardiac arrest [3] while he was still serving out his 25-year sentence in 2016, but thanks to the forthcoming YouTube Originals documentary [4] The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story [5], the extent of his deceptions will finally come to light. The documentary, which debuts on April 3, will feature interviews from *NSYNC members Lance Bass, JC Chasez, and Chris Kirkpatrick; Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean; solo artist Aaron Carter; and O-Town member Ashley Parker Angel. However, even more '90s and new millennium artists were managed by Pearlman than you probably realize. Read on to see all of the bands that the music mogul and his production company, Trans Continental Records, managed over the years.

Backstreet Boys

The Backstreet Boys — made up of AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell — were Trans Continental Records' first band, which Lou Pearlman created to mimic the wildly successful boy band business model of New Kids on the Block. "Never in a million years thought a person I entrusted my life with could do something like this," McLean says of Pearlman in the trailer.

*NSYNC

Pearlman and former New Kids on the Block manager Johnny Wright repeated the same formula for his next boy band, *NSYNC, which included Justin Timberlake [6], JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, and Lance Bass. "Lou was this person that I had all this complete trust in," Kirkpatrick explains. "Suddenly, the carpet just got ripped out from underneath us."


O-Town

O-Town was created through the MTV reality TV series Making the Band and consisted of Ashley Parker Angel, Erik-Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick, Jacob Underwood, and Dan Miller. "You sell almost 10 million albums," Angel says to convey his dismay upon receiving his first payment. "I could've made this much working full-time at Starbucks."

Innosense

Girl group Innosense (which briefly included Britney Spears [7]) included of Danay Ferrer, Mandy Ashford, Nikki DeLoach, Amanda Latona, and Veronica Finn, though Jenny Morris later replaced Latona when she left the group to go solo. "He terrorized me," DeLoach says of Pearlman.

LFO

Best known for "Summer Girls" and "Girl on TV," this boy band trio consisted of Devin Lima, Brad Fischetti, and Rich Cronin.

US5

Multinational pop boy band US5 originated from the German reality show Big in America and became successful throughout central Europe. The group originally included members Chris Watrin, Richie Stringini, Tariq Jay Khan, Izzy Gallegos, and Michael Johnson.

Aaron Carter

Backstreet Boy member Nick Carter's younger brother, Aaron Carter, was also represented by Pearlman. Carter gets incredibly emotional in the trailer, just thinking about what Pearlman had done to his family.

Jordan Knight

Lead singer of New Kids on the Block Jordan Knight was represented by Pearlman after NKOTB split in 1994 and he began his solo career.

Smilez & Southstar

Hip-hop duo Smilez & Southstar consisted of Rodney "Smilez" Bailey and Rob "Southstar" Campman.

C-Note

Short-lived boy band C-Note first gained attention after their performance in a talent show and were best known for their single "Wait Til I Get Home."


Source URL
https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Which-Bands-Did-Lou-Perlman-Manage-45927444