Search icon

Movies & TV

08th Apr 2019

WATCH: New documentary presents the dark side of being in a famous boy band

Dave Hanratty

Boy Band Con movie

Members of Backstreet Boys and NSYNC attempt to reckon with the man who defrauded them.

As if it needs repeating, the music industry is a demanding and difficult beast.

Musicians and artists have to work very hard to get anywhere and often wind up barely making a living, even when their careers sky-rocket to the heavens.

Stories of musician treatment are legion, and navigating such difficult waters can prove extremely debilitating on a person’s mental health.

And then there’s the important matter of knowing who to trust, something that a brand new YouTube documentary shines an intriguing light on.

Available now, The Boy Band Con tells the story of Lou Pearlman, a powerful music industry player who would go on to perpetrate one of the largest fraudulent investment scams in American history.

Before that, Pearlman – who died in 2016 – served as manager for two of the biggest boy bands of the ’90s in the form of Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, whom he allegedly screwed over.

They weren’t the only parties affected, as an FBI investigation discovers a deep web of criminal activity and calculated manipulation.

The film tells Pearlman’s story from the perspective of those affected, with those from the pop world featuring in the documentary including members of Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and O-Town.

Also interviewed are people who invested in Pearlman’s Ponzi scheme and his childhood friends.

You can check out the documentary by signing up for a one-month free trial to the YouTube Premium service.

Watch the official trailer below.

Clip via YouTube Originals

LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Conor Sketches | Tiger Woods loves Ger Loughnane and cosplaying as Charles LeClerc