Backstreet Boys Discuss Former CEO Lou Pearlman | Backstreet Boys Interview

Three members of the Backstreet Boys talk about their lawsuit against former record executive Lou Pearlman -- now in prison related to a Ponzi scheme -- in this excerpt from an interview about the band's comeback with WSJ's Lee Hawkins.
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[@Me-mb1ex]

Brian has always seemed like such a genuine sweetheart.

[@yazmorales9015]

Sanbika and lovely voice even talking 🤗

[@char_bsb]

He strikes me as very smart and genuine....somebody you could really trust and rely on.

[@KittySnicker]

Everyone should watch the “Boy Band Con” documentary!

[@Grrl447]

KittySnicker Lance Bass Productions did a great job on that film! I was enthralled and I’d never known how much was really going on with everything back then.

[@Big_Stink]

@@dhavalpatel6155 much respect 🙏

[@RunningwaterPDP]

Im waiting for someone to upload it on youtube for free

[@kimmoore0427]

Where can I watch it for free damit!

[@s.scarlett7835]

@@RunningwaterPDP EXACTLY

[@rebeccahoffman2493]

I'm so glad these guys stuck together and realized the truth and pursued action.

[@PRCutie101]

I had no idea this happened to them 😢 I truly have been a fan since the beginning and my admiration and respect truly goes out to them. They never made this a big deal and kept their careers moving. Love my guys!! BSB4Life😘❤️

[@addisperez8205]

He did this to NSYNC & other groups as well.. Nick's brother Aaron also claimed that Lou Pearlman S.A. him.

[@calisongbird]

@@addisperez8205 you can say “sexually abused.” You won’t get censored.

[@marianthemartian5691]

The two should have spoke in the boy band con documentary and have their piece, cause they almost speak all at the same time at the end of the interiview and wanted to say more. Love you backstreet boys.

[@hlf3769]

You can just tell that these are good guys ya know

[@char_bsb]

Personally, I had AJ totally wrong for years and years. I always thought that he was like this arrogant rough rock-star. But slowly I learned how good-hearted and sweet he really is. He's miles and miles from being arrogant and full of himself. He inspires me so much.

[@collygodbod7012]

​@@char_bsbThat was just for show and image for the band and their fans at the time. Their personalities were probably way different even then. The record company loved to create images and reputation that young fans could fall in love with and they - record company - could make money off. The Backstreet Boys are good people, but were probably nothing like they were portrayed as when they were young. I think Brian always had a sense of humor, but may have played it up more for the cameras. A.J. and Nick started off as childhood performers so they knew how to be entertaining showmen probably from the beginning. Howie was supposed to play the sexy Latino type, but he is shy and religious. Kevin always tried to stay cool, collected and keep a head on his shoulders and eyes in the back of his head. He definitely wasn't just a very handsome model type like they wanted us all to believe. Definitely not unimportant or dumb. He was not just the leader because he was the oldest. He was the leader of the group because he wanted to put in extra work and he did watching the management and looking out for the well fare of the group

[@lemid.1762]

They must have a lot of guts to go against the man that create them while they were in the top of the world!!!! That's why I admire BSB💗 so much💝💗🇬🇷!!!!

[@hwago123]

Alright!

[@reneesotelo7664]

Lou ripped off his boy bands. $10,000 a piece for over 10 million records sold for one of the bands when they were younger too. He went to prison too

[@leonanderson2197]

Renee is there any need to be so rude? Just show some class, integrity, dignity, honour an respect please. It’s about time you grew up

[@leonanderson2197]

thatgirllNancyy how disrespectful

[@babykevinxoxo]

Agent is only supposed to charge 10 percent no more.

[@uncleleo1873]

@@leonanderson2197 there is something wrong with you

[@user-ir8mf7km6w]

Yes BUT THEY HAD NOTHING AND WERE UNKNOWNS. HE GAVE THEM FAME.

[@sardaewilson]

Look at my baby Kevin Richardson

[@wallykays5631]

Lou Pearlman the Jerry Heller of Boy band music

[@spacekadetentertainment]

Nailed it!!!!!

[@tami8458]

Jerry Heller robbed his artists?

[@DimWeasel]

Lou Pearlman did nothing wrong Quit hatin'

[@GateKeeper36]

Why they always fat with double chin?

[@goteam1222]

Listen to the late Rich Cronin's interview with Stern. All you need to know about Pearlman.

[@fozziebumble8361]

Brian is adorable he's so lovely

[@CorporateStaffing]

They've done well for themselves, these boys!

[@aniles1989]

Lou gets nothing because the boys were smart enough to write their own music

[@Igetsitin89]

catfish

[@vegeta1885]

Well they werent the song winters either, third persons

[@tereasdownes9793]

1:11 brian tearing up a little Blame lou pearlman for that lou lied to those boys

[@petrimurto8571]

Are you serious? Max Martin has written all of their biggest hits ever!. And he's from Sweden. American pop from since 90's has been all the way Max Martin related. Actually we need to go back to 1993-1994 when ACE OF BASE dominated America. Without their amazing breakthrough in the states Pearlman would have never asked Max Martin and Denniz Pop to write or produce acts like BSB and Nsync. Max Martin is also resposible for Britney's breakthrough, Pink's hits and Katy Perry etc... American Pop is actually Swedish :D

[@tami8458]

@@petrimurto8571 Yes, but they wrote some songs, too.

[@amandabuller9286]

Aj has never changed i love him. I even named my first son after him lol. ..

[@bUrRiEdaLiVe6]

hahahahahahaha my sister did the same! We have loved BSB since we were teenagers, and she always said AJ was her crush, and how if she had a son she would name him Alejandro because of him. She did name my eldest nephew Alejandro

[@amandabuller9286]

@@bUrRiEdaLiVe6 There's just something about AJ McClain he is so talented handsome sweet and an amazing father. I named my first son Alexander James lol

[@coolegiel120]

Poor kid got probably bullied hard in school, because his mom named him after a backstreet boy... thats like calling your kid justin bieber.

[@bUrRiEdaLiVe6]

@@coolegiel120 They just have the names, (obviously) not the last name... so, pretty common names

[@amandabuller9286]

@@coolegiel120 nope nothing wrong has happened my son is very proud of his name and he is not ashamed of his name nor been bullied. People name their children after lots of people famous or family members.

[@heyitsari8498]

Loving Brian's pink shoes!! BSB is the best!!!

[@mjmj8837]

2018! new album and worldtour! AMAZING!!!

[@shayb8203]

I still LOVE Brian 💞💞

[@heenim]

ok but that pink shoes looks cute on brian

[@davidbrunson8887]

Makes him look like a fruit! I thought he was married?

[@crochetingcanuck]

@@davidbrunson8887 He is. They all are now.

[@mickeyrat3369]

That KZbin doc Lance Bass made is very good.

[@nixonka13]

BSB best boy band forever*-*

[@ericparra9264]

The guy from LFO has a story of Pearlman crossing the line. He said it on Howard stern radio show... and then "mysteriously" died of "leukemia" .

[@noemistephanie93]

where are nick and howie? and wow thats terrible that that happened to them, they didnt deserve it :(

[@tashW7092]

It's makes me feel so sad and disgusted just hearing that.

[@Moviefan2k4]

Lou Pearlman deserves to stay in jail for a very, very long time.

[@bremenfan29]

Moviefan2k4 He’s dead. He died of stroke three years ago

[@EATeezey]

Wait... Their deal with Jive was for 7 albums? That explains a lot because they should've left Jive at least after Never Gone. Jive was terrible with their promo and what they picked for albums and singles.

[@onlyone23km]

Chris Brown made Jive relevant again during his run.

[@davidbrunson8887]

Never Gone was only their 4th album.

[@davidbrunson8887]

Well CB is a piece of trash and a has been. His career is dead!

[@healthyking9999]

David Brunson He’s still trash for an incident that happened over 10 years ago now? And I’m not the biggest Chris Brown fan, but he is far from a has been. I bet NONE of your favorite artist/actors/athletes/entertainers have a squeaky clean past either.

[@crochetingcanuck]

@@davidbrunson8887 Never Gone was their 5th. Backstreet Boys, Backstreet's Back, Millennium, and Black & Blue came before it.

[@ericduffy2270]

Same thing happened to the Beatles and they're still fighting their ex-management to this day.

[@muhammadfarhan581]

To this day??

[@imthebrother]

interesting interview

[@shravdoesstuff]

was gonna say that

[@packersinhd]

well said!

[@msmarks1130]

That reporter has really beautiful eyes.

[@maiseelauj]

Kudos to the BB.

[@ladyinred6088]

Brian so fine

[@moriel01]

*_They're talking over each other._*

[@marthastewart2848]

I'm glad Nsync went to court when they did.

[@madonnatortalinni6273]

I feel for this guys,because remember backthen they were so very young and just a regular teenagers and Lou was a millionaire so he can destroys this young boys career and life just like that,so I applaude BSB for fighting.

[@baron7755]

the one guy is cool, because he wears sunglasses inside

[@amarie1001]

my mans brian still lookin fine af 😌

[@jamesdusek6954]

pearlman is dead now

[@night_owl_sadness]

Good

[@calandrawoodman9396]

And thank God he is

[@abelesser69]

I miss lou

[@gabriellefagan1014]

Luvin' A.J's Cardi(gan)

[@pasqualinamichelaconsiglio9391]

Me too!

[@ynoter]

is he trying to let the ppl know something? LOL

[@jaelynhaarlammert794]

Idek where Nick was during all of this

[@nwo2cool]

Well this is what happens when you don't read the contracts before signing. This happened to Nsync as well. You gotta read the contracts first because you know never know what kind of scam he put on the contracts such as Lou Pearlman gets to half of the money being the 6th member of the group, and whatever Lou gave them, which you thought it was for free is out of their paychecks. BSB and Nsync screwed themselves.

[@cherie0882]

Nah BSB bounced back. Paid him off and got free.

[@jamilgotcher5456]

Did anyone catch what AJ said 2:51 "It's a lot of extra work" which means Lou was doing work of which he wanted to be compensated for. Not only was he doing work but he is the inventor and producer of The Backstreet Boys. No one ever seams to want to acknowledge the creative director of projects, they always give all credit to the front people. Behind every successful talent there are a whole team of people that made that success happen and there's also the mastermind that put it together. It's like trying to take credit for people's ideas and it wasn't just an idea Lou implemented that idea.

[@u0201874]

No one's denying he should have gotten paid. The problem was how disproportionately he paid them. 🤷

[@breakaway2x]

Money doesn't corrupt. It magnifies what was already there. I know a lot of ppl like sitting behind their computers as armchair social justice keyboard warriors, and say all the nasties about him, but the reality and truth is that he is you and he is me, he is in all of humanity. People deny their own human depravity thinking, "I could never do that!" or "I'm an angel, he is the devil" mentality. I'm sorry, but please spare us all the sanctimonious platitudes and use of all kinds of negative epithets..... the problem is much bigger and greater than just Lou Pearlman. It's everyone. We are all guilty of the bad things that happening in this world. What exactly do you think is going on right now in the entertainment world? The business world? Do you naively believe that people today aren't getting rich, powerful, successful, by the same or similar tactics that Pearlman used? Do you not realize that you are being bombarded by thousands of ads every 2 minutes against your will they just pop up and force you to watch it for a few seconds etc. The entire world is based on control, power and manipulation. My friends, the problem is much bigger than you think. Nobody is innocent.

[@KNakanishi]

Being an artist and being an entrepreneur is the only way you can make money as an artist in this country. If you're too big a money cow because of your creativity, guess what? If you aren't bottling your milk and selling it someone else will and they will never leave you alone and you will never be free again. If you're an artist, take business classes AND art classes or you will be exploited. In fact, you'll pry be exploited regardless, but at least you will be more empowered to walk away.

[@bigrich9863]

You know I'm not trying to say nothing bad or anything but always remember this without him you guys want to have been together so always remember that.

[@ohmarkayam]

Where can I get those Brian’s shoes? Sorry

[@elsalvador8083]

go go go BSB fans are on your back!

[@nadinewiezi]

Glad the detective who investigated lou money laundry coincidentally found the hidden contract document that the label record of backstreet boys actually is from europe bc in their agreement conctract lou would find usa label record for bsb but hes not . The boys fight back and they won so lou must to pay for but he just can pay half of money and another he pay with a lot of rolayalties,obligation, songs demo,cd, etc. and the important thing is backstreet boys name patent is their own, glad! Because many of group disband because the name of group is management own so when they walkin out from management they cannot use that name(group/solo) anymore

[@jackbauer555]

2:58 and onward is cringe how brian and kevin keep trying to talk over one another

[@tashW7092]

I don't like when people talking over each other.

[@ba09942]

AJ whats up with that cardigan

[@megang2634]

ba09942 I like it😁

[@davidbrunson8887]

I don't. Its geeky!

[@tami8458]

I once dreamed he gave me that cardigan as a gift.

[@tami8458]

@@davidbrunson8887 What's wrong with geeky?

[@davidbrunson8887]

@@tami8458 what's right with it?

[@chelshann9951]

I want Brian's shoes lol

[@Who-I-be40]

I guess Master P was right. Run your own lable

[@carpediem4887]

Yep...the. After you start you label....make em say uhhhhhhhh

[@goodfellabeats]

I'm sure their contracts were just like all other record contracts.

[@char_bsb]

Doesn't mean it's right or fair.

[@packersinhd]

I dont doubt you. but can you explain that a little bit more? What do you mean "blocked" and what do you mean" big 3"

[@mellowyellow403]

The interviewer seemed nervous....1st day on the job?

[@caljones]

I think it’s more the subject matter, than anything

[@ritarabaa8338]

❤️

[@alexk1682]

I bet they act of them was shorted about 5 million.

[@relighg]

This is also what happened to TLC.

[@nwo2cool]

It happened to a lot of musicians such as Elvis Presley, Aerosmith, David Bowie, and The Jackson 5.

[@marshallstudiosforever498]

1998

[@christinababyC3]

Lou wasn't only Bsb manager he was of N'sync Britney en Christina 2

[@musiclover_kb4913]

Christina Albertus Lou did not manage Britney OR Christina. However he did co-manage Innosense, which was a short-lived girl group that Britney ALMOST joined

[@sheluvssmokedupeyes1]

Christina Albertus He wasn’t Britney Spears manager nor was he Christina’s manager he managed OTOWN Boyzone LFO *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys Even though they were all around at the same time Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake and JC just say from *NSYNC we’re all on the Mickey Mouse club and Nick Carter audition for the Mickey Mouse club and he didn’t get it

[@ksactress]

They look pretty much the same from years ago, havent aged much

[@le_th_]

Every aspiring artistst in the entertainment industry needs to listen *closely* to Pink Floyd's lyrics for Have A Cigar.....Lou Pearlman was the fat cat in that song they sang about: a ruthless, greedy, entitled and conscienceless psychopath laughing all the way to the bank on the gravy train of the talents' hard work. ...and yeah, he did front the money, but ONLY to ensure it paid handsome dividends. Have A Cigar (lyrics) Come in here dear boy, have a cigar, you're gonna go far You're gonna fly high You're never gonna die You're gonna make it if you try They're gonna love you I've always had a deep respect I mean that most sincerely The band is just fantastic That is really what I think Oh, by the way, which one's Pink? (NOTE: no one in this band is named "Pink") And did they tell you the name of the game, boy? They call it riding the gravy train. Those are the words a ruthless, shallow, manipulative, puppet-master of a psychopath will tell you: flattery, flattery, flattery....and you will believe it because you will be so disarmed by their charm.

[@pantherblazer2037]

I hate when interviewers ask stupid questions

[@rennyzero9853]

He looks like Chris Cornell

[@MrChemStuff]

interviewer: "so are you guys making more money now than you did back then?" bs boy: "thats not what it's about" (no)

[@cherie0882]

Well they aren’t at the height of their fame now.

[@bridgetbruso5924]

I feel horrible for them

[@rachaelramos]

I'd work for them for free. they worked hard for their money and I would never dream of taking a dime

[@tereasdownes9793]

so lou was getting money backstreet boys were doing work That i feel sick to my stomach hearing that How can lou do that to those boys I feel like throwing up Most disgusting thing he can do to those boys

[@bryanfrombuffalo7685]

Id work u

[@peterfernandez9670]

Howie D and Nick declined to participate in this interview

[@christinap3783]

IS THIS DUDE DON LEMON'S BROTHER? HE SOUNDS AND LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM!

[@adriangoodwin7032]

Its the wiggle

[@Awillii]

After watching the documentary who knows oof Lou is even dead. He had so many international connections. I wouldn’t be surprised. If he tried to repay all those investors at his expense.

[@ichbleibt7663]

He make Comeback with 2pac shakur 🙂

[@char_bsb]

Didn't he died while in jail?

[@bryanfrombuffalo7685]

Max martin writes alot of their stuff

[@epakerd]

Combat-conspiracies-cats-kratom- brian frumps he writes the hits. Backstreetboys can’t write hit music lets be honest

[@warmlantern0000]

Charlie Brown grew up paid everyone back. Wow

[@sallyoneill8147]

Kevin was one of Lou's boys, I'm sure he did a jig when he heard Lou died.

[@korylooper3170]

Sally O'Neill How do you know that?

[@nme.00104]

@@korylooper3170 rich cronin from lfo was on howard stern's show, he talked about it.

[@GateKeeper36]

Takes a real MAN to wear pink shoe's.

[@woabeatz9717]

What the music maker got.....?

[@excalibur1812]

Well there's 3 minutes of my life I'll never get back

[@m7madnabhan]

then why the fuck u opened the video !

[@excalibur1812]

+m7madnabhan moron.

[@docb4304]

As if the rest of your life was a shakespearian adventure .... probably watching this video is the most constructive thing you have done in the past 8 years

[@mclohan]

I’ve seen a ton of ppl complaining about how rappers and the black community is always being taken advantage of by labels and I’ve tried to explain to them these people don’t care about your color. The only color they see is green! This has been going on since record labels and managers were a thing. There always someone willing to take advantage of your success if you let them..

[@heatherhopfinger5770]

Seems like he was trying to gain guardianship too of the guys involved that is what it seems guys it seems like something else was going on too something bigger he was planning after that for you guys

[@ekkamailax]

As cruel as Lou was, without his greedy scams, they would have never gotten famous in the first place. How ironic

[@DimWeasel]

Lou Pearlman did nothing wrong Quit hatin'

[@sindimatrix]

the white Don king

[@serbonkers4130]

Bet this is the same with kpop huh?

[@nickolazcarters]

Yup... And more likely worse ..

[@michaelnewton1332]

The moral of the story is: When you sell your soul to the devil, you can’t ask for it back.

[@twowitnesses7]

You can't legally sell what isn't yours...

[@lliamjurdom9505]

It seems they all fondled with Lou Pearlman .... as part of their unwritten deal ... they dont like talkin about that ... just quoting Vanity Fair reports

[@jcorbase1562]

Who the heck is lou pearlman!!!!!!

[@jasminecooper2851]

The man behind and who created Backstreet Boys and NSYNC watch the boy band con

[@allen6924]

You already got taken. No need to dwell on the past. But whatever you make now is all going to be accounted for. The music business is about pimps and hoes. But you have to be a businessman and understand ownership and accounting. If you just want to perform then you'll be taken advantage of by your management.

[@vincentbyrd7127]

money launderer

[@dionnedunsmore9996]

They didnt answer this hosts 1st question tho...he asked why didnt they have lawyers with them during every quarter, to cut up the pie evenly * i mean, hats off to em for becoming millionaires (id love to be one myself) but they seem like substantially unintelligent guys😖smh I could be wrong but😳

[@stephfahey1101]

they were young and naive... Nick and A.J were basically children. Its easy for a predator to whisper nice things into a young person's ears who has stars in their eyes. Also even from the start these 5 guys were really close so they felt it was better to take on Pearlman as one rather than five. Lou Pearlman was a classic manipulator who also tried to turn the guys against each other and make them compete with one another especially Brian and Nick. Go watch their documentary from five years ago and they explain this better than I can :)

[@natalieybarra5207]

because at the time they couldn't afford it plane and simple. not for each and everyone of them to have their own lawyer. and as Brian was saying that when he initially started the suit against him there were differences of opinion within the group. some group members were weary, but in the end they all came together to get him out of their lives

[@saiyongdawn7756]

That crook screwed over a lot of groups.

[@rubym357]

Boy bands of the 90s pretty much done, and what they lost to the con and litigation can’t be recouped. But they can songwrite, produce, and and license out their songs and still do well.

[@jmjfanss]

And nu metal of the 90's and early 2000's are pretty much done now too.

[@ramylyncelestial4151]

Kaya pala nawala sa eri ang otwn.

[@lostinthecloud_]

Unfortunately, they didn't make it to the top.

[@abelesser69]

I miss Lou..R.I.P ..Mr Misunderstood

[@billmoore7305]

This is all the WSJ is good for.............Inside Edition type "human interest" stories. Wall Street Journal is nothing but fish wrap!

[@InvestBetter.]

They got Lou Perlmaned

[@ThisAgressionwWontStandMan]

tribe member

[@acebodyetc.942]

part of me feels a certain way because without lou pearlman we would have never met the bsb... so they should be some what thankful

[@sheluvssmokedupeyes1]

ACDZ Lopez Besides the fact that he molested one boy out of each group that he managed come on they should be thankful to him

[@taliaperry5701]

No one ever said they weren’t thankful (including the boys)

[@basquat76]

@utubegirl No they wouldn't. There's plenty of talented people in the world who's never made it big. Timing is everything and they would have never even met each other without him, and on their own they've all failed after bsb.

[@Smallfrye95]

If someone you cared about stabbed you in the back would you be grateful? The boys are grateful for their start but they aren’t gonna sing his praises. Why should they?

[@LouisianaCityboi]

They were being abused, working pretty much slave labor, but they should be thankful. Girl, bye.

[@donmonteiro6830]

glad that devil is gone

[@bklynsummer]

I like the Backstreet Boys very talented young men. I just wish not only here but entertainers would STOP WEARING SHADES DURING INTERVIEW OR SHOW PERFORMANCES!!! Doesn't anyone tell them... Ugh, take off your shades you look ridiculous, your fans want to see your face which includes your eyes!

[@u0201874]

If you're an AJ fan, you WANT to see him in shades! 🤣🤣 Love him, love his dress sense, love his accessorising... plus the guy might have slept late the night before and wants to hide his puffy eyebags. Let him be, ma'am.

[@GayProphetMuhammad]

That's AJ. He always wears shades. 💙

[@matthewmayson5234]

Annoying hearing more than one person speak at once

[@u0201874]

You never had siblings?

[@2013venjix]

Despite he was a crook, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, O-Town, & LFO would never exist if it wasn't for him. Godspeed #LouPearlman

[@LouisianaCityboi]

A person's abuse doesn't get excused because he made some boy bands. That's ridiculous.

[@nwo2cool]

Well you gotta give credit where credit it's due. Yes, these bands wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Lou Pearlman.