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His influence over the music of the late 1990’s is undeniable, but so is his criminal activity, which is what makes Lou Pearlman an excellent documentary subject. That the new documentary, The Boy Band Con, available now on YouTube Premium, is also produced by Lance Bass, gives it all the insider info viewers need to understand exactly how this man created both some of the most memorable music groups of our time and one of the greatest fraud cases all within years.
The Boy Band Con begins in the mid-’90s, detailing how Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC started, and features interviews with not only Bass and his mom Diane, including the fact that she has 85 photo albums worth of memories and letters from fans which is just about as cute as it gets, but also Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, AJ McLean, Ashley Parker Angel of O-Town, manager Johnny Wright, and former MTV VJ (and Decider contributor!) Dave Holmes. The doc does a great job of explaining Pearlman’s massive wealth and the charm he used to convince them that they were all going to be super successful.
Because, unsurprisingly, our favorite boy band members were hardly the first or last people to be duped and schemed and lied to by this guy, who passed away in federal custody in 2016. The doc charts his early interest in businesses and lying and making up stories to impress people and quests to make a ton of money, as well as the ways he managed to slip past law enforcement until he could hide no more.
Boy band fans will enjoy learning more about what their favorite guys were going through while we were busy shelling out allowance money for CDs and t-shirts, including the fact that the *NSYNC vs. BSB rivalry was as real as it gets and why it was all this dude’s fault. In addition to insight from music and entertainment industry insiders, the guys detail their extreme hustle in the early days, the Disney performance that changed lives, and the check presentation that well, didn’t. The Boy Band Con also details the lawsuit that not only held up the release of the No Strings Attached album, but almost got in the way from it ever coming out at all.
Those interested in crime documentaries will also enjoy this one, not that there’s a mystery to solve though: this guy was shady as hell and there’s no denying that. But hearing from the people he swindled money from, and often their retirement savings, is beyond heartbreaking while painting a true picture of how desperate and delusional Pearlman came to be (or maybe always was?). Plus, the documentary doesn’t shy away from addressing rumors of any sexual misconduct in a way where you’re guaranteed to be creeped the hell out.
While it’s not so great that many of us are getting to revisit our nostalgic memories from two decades ago through horrific documentaries, this one in particular does give a new perspective to those years and to the naiveté and unawareness so many of us shared at that time. It’s as fascinating as it is gut wrenching, from a disgusting recollection former Innosense girl group member Nikki DeLoach reveals, to watching Aaron Carter brought to tears still defending this man. The Boy Band Con paints the picture of a greedy liar desperate for fame and money and truly, for people to like him, who changed a whole lot of lives, but certainly didn’t do it the right way.
