In the glittering heyday of ’90s pop, when frosted tips and synchronised dance moves ruled supreme, one man stood at the epicentre of a cultural phenomenon — talent manager Lou Pearlman.
But beneath the bubblegum beats and screaming fans lurked a darker rhythm — one of greed, exploitation, and staggering fraud.
On July 24, Netflix will pull back the curtain on this sordid saga with its bombshell docuseries, Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam.
"Lou Pearlman changed music culture forever," reads a description on Netflix’s publication, Tudum.
"The architect of an extraordinary era of pop, he launched the careers of The Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, O-Town and so many more. But he also carried a dark secret.
"With never-before-seen archive and unique access highlighting the artists’ epic rise to global stardom, this series uncovers Pearlman’s web of lies, revealing the harsh realities of fame, power, exploitation and greed."
Watch: Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam trailer. Article continues after video.
What happened in the Lou Pearlman boy band scam?
Lou Pearlman, the impresario behind ’90s megastars like the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, seemed to possess an alchemist’s touch, turning fresh-faced teens into global sensations.
But his pop empire was built on quicksand — a massive Ponzi scheme that would eventually swallow everything.
From the mid-1980s until 2007, Pearlman defrauded investors of over $300 million through his sham company, Trans Continental Airlines.
The facade began crumbling in the early 2000s, when band members began questioning their meagre earnings. By 2006, the FBI was investigating. Pearlman fled the United States in January 2007, was captured in Indonesia that June, and in 2008 was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
He died behind bars on August 19, 2016.
How were *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, O-Town and Aaron Carter involved?
Both *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys eventually sued Pearlman to break free from his iron grip.
The Backstreet Boys sued in 1998, followed by *NSYNC in 1999. Lance Bass later revealed they'd received only $10,000 each for years of work, while living on $35 daily allowances.
"I was in the biggest band in the world and selling millions of records…but I can't even afford my apartment in Orlando. I couldn't even get a car," Bass told 20/20 in 2019.
"I knew he was a scamster," Bass said. "It was one of the many jaw-dropping things that I discovered in producing The Boy Band Con."
*NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick also spoke out about Pearlman's behaviour around himself and his bandmates, claiming it was "awkward and uncomfortable."
"He was 'Papa Lou' to Backstreet and he was 'Papa Lou' to us [*NSYNC], but we couldn't tell anybody he was 'Papa Lou,'" Kirkpatrick said. "He just was this fatherly figure that we never had any worries around him because … he was the money guy."
"Some of it was really weird and awkward and uncomfortable. But, you know, for the most part, you know, it was just Lou," he added.
O-Town member Jacob Underwood added, "[Pearlman] could get anything he wanted. I feel like [he was] just a miserable person who wanted all these things, and then got them, and [was] still miserable. … That's a very sick, sad man to be around."
Lou Pearlman and O-Town. Image: Getty.
Pearlman's relationship with the late Aaron Carter, however, was more complex.
Signed at just 13 in 1997, Carter defended Pearlman even as allegations of financial and sexual misconduct swirled. The late star's hesitancy to condemn Pearlman was evident in the 2019 documentary The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story, where Carter notably didn't criticise Pearlman harshly, despite the mogul's conviction.
Lance Bass, who produced the 2019 film, said of Carter's inclusion, "When he was going to do the interview, we had to fight for him to be in the film because he wasn’t part of a boy band, but we knew he had great stories because if anyone, he was the closest to Lou at such a young age.
"We thought that him deciding to do this, he was going to really tell insane stories that we always heard rumours about, so we were trying to get some confirmation finally. But it didn’t happen that way."
Bass added, "He defended him with every breath, you could see the torment still in him and you have to believe him."
Lou Pearlman and Aaron Carter. Credit: Getty
Where to watch Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam in Australia?
Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam will be streaming exclusively on Netflix on Wednesday, July 24, 2024.
It's not just another nostalgic '90s throwback—it's a wake-up call.
It forces us to view our teen idols through a cracked mirror, their catchy tunes now carrying the sombre undertones of manipulation and deceit.
While it treads similar ground to Lance Bass's 2019 documentary The Boy Band Con, Netflix's series promises fresh insights and never-before-seen footage from the scandal. It's a chance to understand the full scope of Pearlman's deception and its lasting impact on the pop music world.
Feature image: Getty
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