Biography
Lou Pearlman ranked among the dominant architects of turn-of-the-millennium pop, yet his life concluded inside a federal facility following convictions for fraud and money laundering. An adept promoter who built an empire around male vocal groups, he propelled both *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys to stardom while converting Orlando, Florida, into the central hub of adolescent pop. Although numerous acts under his guidance amassed fortunes, his record of skirting regulations invited litigation; most of the ensembles he assembled eventually filed suits alleging deceit and misrepresentation, effectively terminating his influence by the time authorities detained him in 2007 for an extended pattern of bogus investment schemes.
A cousin of Art Garfunkel, Pearlman grew up in Queens, New York, where an early interest in both melody and flight took hold. After an unsuccessful attempt at artist management, he redirected his energies toward aviation during adolescence, frequenting the Flushing airport and forming a connection with German airship entrepreneur Theodor Wüllenkemper. Throughout the 1980s he operated several ventures, among them a helicopter commuter line and a blimp-based advertising firm, and he also financed the Chippendale dancers. A late-decade charter flight arranged by New Kids on the Block for one of his aircraft prompted him to recognize the commercial potential of the music industry and commit to it fully.
Pearlman recruited the Backstreet Boys after running a notice in The Orlando Sentinel; an open audition in the first months of 1993 supplied the necessary members, whom he refined alongside Johnny Wright, the former New Kids on the Block manager. As he concentrated exclusively on recordings, his aviation holdings collapsed, several blimps destroyed in accidents. Backed by apparently unlimited capital, the Backstreet Boys achieved global saturation, moving in excess of 100 million records and saturating radio in 45 nations. He duplicated the achievement with *NSYNC, though O-Town, Take 5, Aaron Carter, and LFO registered only short-lived visibility.
His own prominence proved equally fleeting once the boy-band wave subsided in the early 2000s. Legal actions arrived from Aaron Carter, the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and assorted former associates. Pearlman attempted a European pivot by overseeing the German ensemble US5, yet judicial matters compelled his return to the United States in 2007. The following year he received a 25-year sentence after admitting guilt to conspiracy, money laundering, and submitting false statements in a bankruptcy case. A stroke struck in 2010; in August 2016 cardiac arrest ended his life at the Federal Correctional Institution, Miami, when he was 62.
A cousin of Art Garfunkel, Pearlman grew up in Queens, New York, where an early interest in both melody and flight took hold. After an unsuccessful attempt at artist management, he redirected his energies toward aviation during adolescence, frequenting the Flushing airport and forming a connection with German airship entrepreneur Theodor Wüllenkemper. Throughout the 1980s he operated several ventures, among them a helicopter commuter line and a blimp-based advertising firm, and he also financed the Chippendale dancers. A late-decade charter flight arranged by New Kids on the Block for one of his aircraft prompted him to recognize the commercial potential of the music industry and commit to it fully.
Pearlman recruited the Backstreet Boys after running a notice in The Orlando Sentinel; an open audition in the first months of 1993 supplied the necessary members, whom he refined alongside Johnny Wright, the former New Kids on the Block manager. As he concentrated exclusively on recordings, his aviation holdings collapsed, several blimps destroyed in accidents. Backed by apparently unlimited capital, the Backstreet Boys achieved global saturation, moving in excess of 100 million records and saturating radio in 45 nations. He duplicated the achievement with *NSYNC, though O-Town, Take 5, Aaron Carter, and LFO registered only short-lived visibility.
His own prominence proved equally fleeting once the boy-band wave subsided in the early 2000s. Legal actions arrived from Aaron Carter, the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and assorted former associates. Pearlman attempted a European pivot by overseeing the German ensemble US5, yet judicial matters compelled his return to the United States in 2007. The following year he received a 25-year sentence after admitting guilt to conspiracy, money laundering, and submitting false statements in a bankruptcy case. A stroke struck in 2010; in August 2016 cardiac arrest ended his life at the Federal Correctional Institution, Miami, when he was 62.
Albums
Singles
