News The man behind the Boys
(3/28) from Toronto Sun: Lou Pearlman is a classic U.S. success story, the simple son of a rich aviation family, who saw an opportunity and exploited it.
He is, in short, the guy who created The Backstreet Boys and *NSync in a blimp hanger in Orlando, Fla., and watched his bright ideas generate more than $2 billion in sales.
Pearlman is a keynote speaker Friday at Canadian Music Week at the Harbour Castle.
"I just always wanted to be in the music business and the aviation business too," says Pearlman on the phone from Orlando. "When I was in a band in the late '70s, we called it Flyer."
It was a fateful booking in 1991 when a band called New Kids On The Block chartered a jet from his family's Queens, N.Y.-based firm. Curious how kids could afford a plane, he was told NKOTB grossed a billion dollars in records and merchandise.
Inspired, he set about becoming the man-who-created-boybands. He canvassed Smokey Robinson for tips about how the old Motown grooming system worked. He learned about harmony from his cousin Art Garfunkel.
The result was a production company, Transcontinental Records. "The idea was to create our own bootcamp, a finishing school with PR training, choreography, vocal lessons."
Sadly, the one blemish in this little Damon Runyon story is that when his boys hit platinum, lawyers got into the act. The Backstreet Boys sued over their contract, which saw him collecting as both producer and manager. And *NSync sued for the right to switch record labels over Pearlman's objections.
"I was the only one believing in the project, so I stepped up to the plate and put my money where my mouth is," Pearlman says of his multi-million dollar investment. "Next thing you know problems happen. Why? 'Cause there's always that relative that's an attorney who takes a look at this thing and says 'Hey, he's getting paid from both ends! That's double dipping!' And I said, 'Why didn't you say that when I put up the money?'"
As he tells it, early on, he hired Johnny Wright (who's still *NSync's manager) to handle both bands and avoid a conflict of interest. Wright, however, couldn't get financing to cover his end. "The banks laughed at him, so he came to me and asked if I'd mind funding the management too."
It's all water under the bridge, in any case. Both suits have been settled, and Pearlman continues to get a cut of all Backstreet and *NSync records. "And that will be forever," he says.
In the meantime, Pearlman's boyband factory is pumping like the heart of a 14-year-old girl who's been kissed by *NSync's Justin. What began in a hangar now happens in a new recording/producing facility on the outskirts of Orlando.
And wherever fashion and trends take the music business, he's got acts ready to go there (He predicts the death of R&B-based dance-boybands in favour of pop-rock, if not harder stuff. Another big trend? Bands playing their own instruments).
There's Marshall Dyllon, the country boyband he co-produces with Kenny Rogers. There's O-Town, the band that came from his hit TV series Making The Band, and LFO (who had the hit Summer Girls). "We have C-Note, a Latino group, and Lugo, a solo Latino artist who's 15. We have Phoenix Stone, who used to be a Backstreet Boy. We've got a hard rock guy named Brizz. We also have Innosense, our girls group. Originally, the youngest member of Innosense was Britney Spears."
He's also handling the careers of some old guys, including Rogers, The Monkees and KC & The Sunshine Band.
And this year, Pearlman's Transcontinental empire expands into the movies with Long Shot, a teen comedy with cameos from Britney Spears, Lance from *NSync, KC and Kenny Rogers.
"I always go with the flow. I study the market, I'm out there, I meet with the fans. And based upon what I hear and see, I formulate around that."
Taken from nsyncstudio.com Fatone is having a baby but keeping it simple
(3/28) from orlandosentinel.com: "The success of N Sync has made Orlandos Joey Fatone one of the wealthiest young entertainers in the world. So you might think his daughter would also be raised with hand-woven silk wet-wipes and platinum Pampers.
That notion disappears faster than most daddies at diaper-changing time when you see where expectant girlfriend Kelly Baldwin set up baby-gift registries: Babies R Us and JCPenney.
Thats why Fatone and his family are so popular in Central Florida. Theyre the kind of down-to-earth folks who wouldnt stick old pals from high school with a wish list from Nouveau Riche Rugrats of Snobberly Hills.
Baldwin, according to her drivers license, is a 5-foot-1, 23-year-old who wears corrective lenses, but has no other restrictions -- good to know when Baldwin starts steering the baby stroller around Fatones four-bedroom, four-bath $402,400 pool home in south Orlando.
Little Briannas nursery and crib will feature a "sun, moon and stars" motif, according to Baldwins online gift registries, which are blank where the fathers name goes.
Most items requested are pretty basic. So the next time you swab down your sink splashers, you can tell them youre using the "pop-star preferred" $10 per three-pack Carters washcloths.
Amid the list of scented drawer liners, spill-proof cups and baby-food organizers is one sure sign of the Fatone DNA -- a deluxe eight-piece grooming set. But doubt that comes with daddys favorite flaming-red highlights.
One of the few luxury items requested was a $199.99 handheld TV monitor, but it was out of stock, as was the $3.99 Comfy Bear Bath Cushion.
The couple also requested -- and received -- a $64.99 Comfortemp Underarm Thermometer. But as any baby or new parent would tell you, considering the alternative, that little gadget is worth its weight in gold . . . records.
Taken from nsyncstudio.com 'N Sync's Joey Fatone is going to be a papa
(2/23) from Philadelphia Daily News : 'N Sync's Joey Fatone (one of the four who's not Justin Timberlake), may soon be mixing pop's most successful formula with baby formula. Sources told Us Weekly that Fatone's slightly older girlfriend (he's 24), whom he's been dating on and off for a number of years, is due to give birth to a baby in the early summer and Joey's the proud papa. A rep for the singer declined to comment, but sources said Fatone is thrilled about becoming a parent. "They're not talking marriage," a source said, "but this is serious for Joey. He isn't going to be walking away from this in any way." Not walk away? Whoa. That's the type of commitment any woman could get behind. Three cheers for Joey.
Taken from *NSync Studio.com *N Sync has announced their tourdates!!! Click on the link below to see what they are! Tour Dates Justin Timberlake is accused by Danielle McGuire age 15 of false imprisonment of a minor and intentional infliction of emotional distress. For more info, click on the link below. Story *N Sync- Bigger Than Life IMAX made a concert film about the guys and their 2000 "No Strings Attached" Tour. Click on the link below to see some previews. *N Sync- Bigger Than Life Danielle and Chris broke up. Click on the link below to find out more. More on the break up |
