[Joey] Hello.
- [Woman] Joey.
- [Joey] Hello.
- [Woman] Joey!
- [Joey] Hey, how are you?
[Man] Calm down, calm down.
[Man] Hey, Chris, [indistinct]
[hysterical screaming]
[tapping on glass]
[Man] Stay away
from the elevator.
[Girl screaming]
[Chris] Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
I told you this
is gonna be crazy.
Yeah
So tell me what to do now
'Cause I, I, I I,
I, I want you back
[Lance] In all of Europe,
there was this thing
called boy band.
We never even heard
that term yet.
Proudly, we're like,
"Yes, we're a boy band."
And then we slowly like, "Oh,
wait, that's a bad thing."
You're my sunshine
after the rain
Well, the term
"boy band" was one
that we were very hesitant
to embrace early on.
We never thought of
ourselves as a boy band,
at least in the
conventional sense.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
[Donnie] I love boy bands.
I'm proud to say
I'm in a boy band.
I fight for boy bands. I
stick up for boy bands.
I love touring with boy bands.
[Lyndsey] What is a boy
band? It's a weird term.
A lot of bands that
are called boy bands
aren't bands in the true sense.
They don't play
instruments, they dance.
They're more from
that Motown tradition
of The Temptations,
the Four Tops.
And then there were some
that are actual full-on bands
like Jonas Brothers or Hanson.
[Taylor] We weren't
put together.
We were made together, right?
In the same womb.
It's gross, actually.
[brothers grimacing]
Candy girl, you are my world
[Man] We've seen so many stories
about boy bands.
This is about the evolution.
It formulates who you are
at such an important age.
All you people can't
you see can't you see
The rivalry is
what made it huge.
Just this nonstop battle.
When you think it can't
get bigger, it gets bigger.
'Cause I, I I'm in
the stars tonight
K-pop really is the center
of the boy band universe
at this moment in time.
[Lance] I'm sure they looked at
what happened in
Orlando, Florida,
but took it to the next level.
If I state the obvious,
everything that's
happening in our lives,
none of it will be
possible without our fans.
[Yve] The boy band is something
that only can exist in response
the wishes of teenage girls.
When you're in a boy band,
the main subject is the girl.
And you're saying
things to the girl,
"I wanna be with you.
I wanna hold your hand.
Quit playing games
with my heart."
They're singing
straight to the girls.
We would not be who we
are without the fans.
The power has always
been in the young girl.
[Man] It was the dynamic
of the little girls
that created every
boy band in existence.
[Ed] Ladies and gentlemen,
The Beatles.
She loves you
yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you
yeah, yeah, yeah
[Debbie] I will never
forget the feeling,
the excitement,
how magical it was,
when Ed Sullivan
introduced them.
[Woman] The Beatles,
who are considered
the original boy band,
were in the mid '50s.
[Brian] I heard about
them through a lad
who was asking for
a record by them
in one of my stores.
The Beatles were
then just four lads
on that rather dimly-lit stage.
I was immediately struck
by their music, their beat,
their sense of humor,
actually, on stage.
And even afterwards,
when I met them,
I was struck again by
their personal charm.
[Woman] He approached them,
offered to be their manager.
He had no management experience.
[Vivek] He believed that,
if marketed and presented,
and done in the right way,
The Beatles could be
bigger than Elvis.
You ain't nothin'
but a hound dog
Cryin' all the time
[Man] Elvis showed the world
what passionate fandom
could look like.
[Yve] With Elvis,
you have this one guy
you can like.
But then The Beatles come out
and, suddenly, you have an
option of four Elvis-es.
You have four
different archetypes.
You can express your identity
by deciding which one it
is that you like the most.
[Man] He really believed
that each individual member
had something special
and encouraged that,
and saw how different they were,
but how, when they
came together,
they created something special
that was so much bigger
than the sum of the parts.
[Debbie] Beatle mania
was that's what it was.
It was Beatle and it was mania.
You ever been this crazy
about any other entertainer?
No. And that's
what's so amazing.
We don't know why
we're like this.
I think they're sharp.
Ringo has a sexy nose.
[Debbie] Girls, fans,
discovered The Beatles.
It's flattering.
It's nice to think
that people enjoy
either what you're doing
or the things you say.
It's a good feeling.
[Woman] And then, of course,
all the merch started happening.
People were buying Beatle
wigs and Beatle dolls
and Beatle wristwatches.
They stopped touring
because of the exhaustion
of the sheer intensity
of this fandom.
[Michael] The Beatles deserve
all the credit in the world
because they gave birth
to so many boy band groups
over the years.
The modern definition
of the boy band,
you guys really
started, I'd say.
Not really.
We came after New Edition.
So, for us, they're
really the real blueprint
of the modern-day boy band.
The New Kids called us
the original boy band?
They keep it real.
My name is Michael L. Bivins.
That's B, as in Boston,
I, V, as in Victor, I, N, S.
When New Edition started,
our inspirations were LTD,
The Whispers.
We did Heatwave.
'Cause boogie nights are
always the best in town
And a lot of Jackson 5.
A, B, C Easy as 1, 2, 3
Or simple as Do-Re-Mi
[Suzanne] I first
met the Jackson 5
when I had gone
to work at Motown.
And one of the
artists, Bobby Taylor,
he said, "There is something
you really need to see."
So I went to his apartment
and there, across
his living room,
were these kids.
They got up and they sang
four songs a cappella.
And I was blown away.
They were adorable.
They were talented.
And Berry Gordy described as
the sound of young America.
Not "white American,"
not "black America"
but "America, young America."
He put the entire machinery
of Motown behind him.
The way Berry Gordy
would train his groups
was like the Ford assembly line.
They had four number-one
records in a row.
Stop The Love You Save,
I Want You Back, ABC,
and I'll Be There.
[Tina] And spanned
different age groups
so the different girls
across the country
could identify with
which one they liked.
Was it Michael, was it Jermaine,
was it Tito?
But Michael was
the heart and soul.
[Suzanne] It was the first
time that young black kids
really had their
version of Beatle mania.
Once we're coming
down the stairs
of the airplane at a dead run
of 300 kids.
And, literally, we had to dive
into the limo.
We had decoy limousines
and we'd leave in a panel truck.
And they'd still find us.
As a young person,
musical groups
were a big deal.
Jackson 5 came up and then
there were The Osmonds.
One bad apple don't Spoil
the whole bunch, girl
They came out with a
number-one record first.
And then I don't remember
how many months later.
We came out with One Bad Apple.
[Suzanne] This record
comes out, this song,
and everybody stops 'cause
they think it's them.
But it's called One Bad Apple
by The Osmonds.
And a hush fell over
Jerusalem in the car.
[Donny] One Bad Apple,
our first number-one record,
was written for the Jackson 5.
And they had turned it down,
from what I understand.
We got the song.
And we got the number-one
record out first.
So I think they probably said,
"Damn, we should've
got One Bad Apple."
Started singing when I was four,
but professionally at five.
So by the time The Osmond mania,
as they called it,
took place in 1970,
I been in the
business a long time.
The first show, we were dressed
in these Elvis type outfits.
We have no idea what's
about to happen.
It was this moment.
Blackout.
We run on stage,
massive screams
are taking place.
I think to myself,
as I look out,
somebody's hurt.
They're screaming that
something's happened out there.
And then I realize,
"They're screaming for us."
It was like, "You've
gotta be kidding me.
I gotta do this the
rest of my life."
This was the beginning
of the popularity
of The Osmonds as a boy band.
I would come to the
edge of the stage
and reach my hand down.
Couple of girls
would grab my wrist.
And as soon as my brother, Alan,
saw what was happening,
he would grab me and pull.
Two things went through my head.
"Alan, save me.
Alan, let me go."
I wanted so badly to have
them pull me in the audience
and just rip me apart.
[Michael] The
Osmonds, the Jacksons,
those were the groups we
looked up to, coming up.
That's the evolution
of New Edition.
When you talk about boy bands
and where they originated,
of course you could
say The Beatles,
of course you could
say the Jacksons,
and then The Osmonds,
but, for me, it's New
Edition, without a doubt.
Ronnie, Bobby Ricky and Mike
If I love the girl
who cares who you like
Cool it now
[Johnny] I was the DJ of Cape
Cod at that point in time.
Fifteen minutes on the
right side of 11:00.
Time check it, if you will.
I'm Johnny Wright here,
the conductor of
this musical ride.
Then, all of a
sudden, one night,
the phone rings in the station
and it's Maurice Starr.
And he says to me,
"I'm looking for 10 investors
to invest $1,500 a piece,
and I'm gonna have a
talent show in Boston.
And the winner of
that talent show,
the money is gonna be
used to record a record."
And that was interesting to me.
[Michael] The
Hollywood talent night,
I'll never forget it.
1978, we wanted to
be in talent shows
to get the girls to scream
and to get money,
and to be popular right
there in the projects.
In Boston, there was 82 groups.
We went on at 2:00.
We were number 15.
That show went on
till 11:30 at night.
And we lost. We came
in second place.
But Maurice said,
"You know what?
I'm still gonna give you guys
the recording contract
to make the demo."
He allowed us to
come in second place
and turned us into winners.
Our first single, Candy Girl,
is what I refer to as a monster.
When you can come out the gate
and blow it out the
water, it's huge.
Their latest single on
the Streetwise label
entitled Candy
Girl, New Edition.
[Michael] It was Ralph
Tresvant, myself, Bobby Brown,
Ronnie DeVoe, and Ricky Bell.
Our inspiration
was the Jackson 5.
But Maurice Starr added
a twist to the boy band.
He put the rap in there.
She walks so fast
she looks so sweet
She makes my heart
actually skip a beat
Then you got Mr Telephone Man.
Mr. Telephone man
There's something
wrong with my line
[Michael] Now with
Bobby Brown as the lead,
we knew each song would
have a different voice.
We wanted to make sure
each member had a role.
Are you smiling?
Are you doing the pelvic
thrust like Bobby?
Or are you pop
locking like Ralph?
Or Ricky, tipping your hat?
Who are you as an individual?
[Woman] All of their videos
were targeted towards
teen and tween girls.
They knew exactly
what they were doing.
Maurice Star genius.
I'm the man to get the job done.
Unfortunately, in this business,
the contracts have to be right.
And your first contract is
never gonna be in your favor.
[Michael] When we
separated from Maurice,
we had some things
we had to work out.
It was very hurtful.
I quit the business
for about two weeks.
And I said to myself
after two weeks,
"I'm not a quitter.
So let's get up and
get this thing going.
Now I'm gonna put five of
them white kids together."
They are what The
Beatles were to us.
New Kids on the Block!
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
The New Kids experience,
I think, was something
that not a lot of people
really saw coming.
These five white dudes,
mix in R&B and a
little bit or hip-hop.
[Donnie] When New
Kids were formed,
Maurice Starr was
looking for anybody
that could sing, dance, and rap.
Maurice almost got arrested
for driving around schools,
looking for young white kids.
I love break dancing.
I love rapping, Run DMC.
It's Tricky to rock a rhyme
To rock a rhyme
that's right on time
It's Tricky
[Donnie] It was New
Edition, Run DMC,
that was my thing.
And when I met Maurice,
I was the perfect guy
in the perfect place
at the perfect time.
Maurice probably saved my life.
I was bus to school in Boston
one block from where
New Edition grew up
in Orchard Park.
And when I would go to school,
I would look out
the school window
and I could see
where they lived.
These famous guys from Boston
lived right there.
And they made anything
seem possible to me.
And, literally,
within a year of that,
I was meeting their
former producer,
Maurice Starr, and creating
the New Kids on
the Block together.
My brother, Mark, was originally
the only other member
of New Kids with me
in my boy band.
When he left, I
brought in my friends.
Jordan Knight, Jonathan
Knight, Danny Wood,
were my schoolmates.
We all went to school together
from 6th grade on up.
And Donnie was the first
one to get in the group
- and he brought us all together.
- [Man] Brought you all together.
Archetypes in boy
bands, it's hilarious.
And it's really New
Kids that started that.
Donnie was the bad boy.
Jordan was the matine idol.
Danny was the
workout sports kid.
Jon was the sensitive kid.
And you have that
in Backstreet Boys
and you have that in NSYNC.
[Lance] Justin was
the young heartthrob.
Chris was the crazy one.
I was the shy one.
And then you read
it so many times,
you just started
falling into that trope.
And then you started
feeling like,
"Well, this isn't me, but
this is what people want."
[Lyndsey] And that's because all
us girls have a different type.
Some of us just
want the eye candy.
Some of us want the one you can
have a deep conversation with.
Some of us want the one
that'll make us laugh.
[AJ] And I was the "bad boy."
Yeah, I'm the biggest
pushover in the world.
I have not a bad
bone in my body.
[Donnie] No, I don't think
I was ever a bad boy.
I'm good.
It was just really
trying to find myself
and deal with all the
fame and craziness,
but also stick up for
myself and my friends.
[Johnny] And then
sometimes you had
the little Donny Osmond,
Michael Jackson type.
We need a Michael Jackson,
Donny Osmond type little guy
policing and just...
Because the crowd
really responds to that
and we found Joey.
Joey McIntyre had that
sound and it was just great.
[Donnie] We decided,
"Let's get a young guy."
And that was a group
decision with Maurice.
Joey McIntyre was a godsend.
[Maurice] So, from there,
I went to every major
label with New Kids,
but they just didn't get it.
They're like, "Ah, they're
a bunch of kids, no talent."
They told me to get
out of the building,
don't come back.
We played in prisons,
high schools,
birthday parties, parks.
And we played in ballrooms
that we were too young to be in.
We played everywhere.
So I said, "Hmm, let me go,
instead of through
the back door,
through the black door."
So New Kids were signed to
the African-American division
of CBS.
[Woman] How do you feel
about being dubbed,
"A white New Edition,"
or "The Osmond Four"?
We're not The White New Edition.
We're not The Osmonds.
We're the New Kids on the Block.
And the first album flopped.
I think this concept of
people hearing the New Kids,
thinking it's New
Edition or the Jackson,
and then seeing these
Irish kids pop up,
that was a strategy
in the old days.
And I think the record
company tried it.
I think it didn't work.
[Johnny] But their second
album started to take off.
And The Right Stuff became
that big dance record.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
The right stuff
First time was a great time
Second time was a blast
Third time I fell in
love Now I hope it lasts
You got the right stuff baby
[Donnie] We got really lucky.
A DJ took a chance on us
and played our record.
And it found its audience.
And that's what made it go.
I was, technically,
the tour manager.
So then Maurice
called me and said,
"Hey, we have this opportunity
to work with this
pop girl, Tiffany,
as her opening act."
[Tiffany] I'm Tiffany.
I sing a song called I
Think We're Alone Now.
I think we're alone now
There doesn't seem
to be anyone around
And I'm known as the Pop
Princess from the Malls.
[Donnie] Much like the one
DJ who played our record,
we were very fortunate
that Tiffany,
herself, personally,
advocated for us
to be her opening act.
Suddenly, we walked
out and they saw us.
Nobody knew what
was gonna happen.
Nobody knew.
My favorite girl
Oh, oh, oh, oh
She's my favorite girl
The teen twin bill of
the summer has hit town.
Tiffany and New
Kids on the Block.
[screaming]
[Tiffany] I started
hanging out with Jonathan.
But it produced a
little bit of a rift
because a lot of my female fans
wanted to you know, be with him.
[Girl] He has me.
One of these days, we're
gonna get together.
[Johnny] So they're
opening act of her tour.
And the DJ said,
"Are you ready for New
Kids on the Block?"
And the place went crazy.
And then they're like, "Are
you ready for Tiffany?"
And all of a sudden, you could
start to hear boos in the crowd.
And we're like, "Wait,
what's going on here?"
[crowd booing]
[Tiffany] When we
would be on tour,
the fans are screaming,
yelling at me,
calling me names,
pulled my hair.
[crowd booing]
I was shocked.
The girls were very tough.
[Johnny] So Tiffany ended
up becoming the opening act
of her own tour. [crowd
cheering hysterically]
And New Kids on the Block
were the headliners.
I came to MTV around 1986.
It was mostly random
music video rotations.
And then the videos they liked,
we ran 50 times a week.
The fans were most insane
for New Kids on the Block.
New Kids on the Block
are awesome. I love them.
They're great dancers.
I thought it was the best
thing I ever saw, ever.
The fanbase for a
boy band is crazy.
[screaming piercingly]
I love Donnie Wahlberg!
[Yve] What is a fangirl?
Well, according
to the dictionary,
the Merriam Webster dictionary,
a fangirl is a girl or woman
who is an extremely or
"overly-enthusiastic" fan
of someone or something.
They just have so much style.
They have a lot of charisma.
Great bodies, great
faces, just everything.
It means to love something
without fear or apology.
[Woman] The tweens
and the early teens,
it's a really special time
because most girls don't
have a boyfriend yet.
And their boyfriend
is often the person
that sings their favorite song.
You're a really
great guy, Donnie.
You care for your fans and
you're really understanding,
and I'd love to meet you
one day, hopefully soon.
People have such a
misconstrued idea
of what it means to
be a fan of something.
[Lance] It is the first
time that they experience
what is the meaning of love,
crushes, attraction.
Kevin, I love you!
[Yve] That's what
boy bands offer them,
our first chance to
suffer our first crush.
For all the girls out
there, you can attack me.
They are the most
successful piece
in the common thread
from The Beatles
all the way to K-pop.
Because, without the young girl,
there's no scream,
there's no audience,
there's really no poster.
Their lyrics don't
have no one to sing to.
If that's the only
price we have to pay
is having girls chase
us around the streets,
then I'll pay that price
for another 10 years.
I was there and it
was a phenomena.
We questioned whether
we really deserved
this level of success.
You're comparing
us to The Beatles?
We're just a boy band.
After just two
weeks, they've got
the number-one album
in the country,
the number-one single,
and the hottest video
in the country too.
Step by step, ooh, baby
Gonna get to you, girl
[John] With the
Step by Step album,
these guys were
like a money train.
[Maurice] Step by
Step, around the world,
sold about six
million-plus records.
Just that song, that single.
Step by step
[Johnny] At that point in
time, we were hawking thing.
So I would go,
"Hey, don't forget
that, at the stands
out there, we got
brand-new New Kids on
the Block merchandise."
And then there was
the 900 numbers
where they were
charging $2 a minute.
Hi, [all] we're the
New Kids on the Block.
Now you can hang tough
with us 24 hours a day
on our brand-new hotline.
Just pick up your
phone and call.
[Johnny] And in the first year
that they were doing that,
we had two million phone calls.
And so they're making
a ton of money.
[Maurice] I never thought
it was too much product.
I was sitting back, thanking God
that these millions
were flowing in.
[Johnny] Eventually, I think
they were just burnt out.
It was not about
the music anymore.
It was about the marketing
and they didn't like that.
[Donnie] The success was so much
and we were grateful for it,
and we also struggled with it,
having people
constantly screaming
and yelling,
and people carrying
my luggage for me,
and turning on a
light switch for me.
When all of it stopped,
I looked in the
mirror at myself.
And I saw Donnie Wahlberg
at 18 looking back.
I hadn't grown in a lot of ways.
At some point,
we just needed to
grow as human beings.
[Tina] In the meantime,
this guy, Lou Pearlman,
who is cousins
with Art Garfunkel,
had a plane business
called Transcontinental.
[Donnie] One day a week,
we would charter a plane
and fly home
'cause we missed
being home in Boston,
and allegedly we
chartered a plane
that belonged to this
guy, Lou Pearlman,
and he said, "Wow, who
are these teenagers
chartering my plane?
How can they afford this?"
And he said, "Oh,
wow, I wanna do that,"
allegedly.
I don't even know if
he owned the airplane.
[Johnny] People
kept saying to me,
"There's this guy, Lou Pearlman,
that's trying to get
in touch with you."
And I'm like, "For what?"
And they go, "He's
got a boy band
that he wants to
talk to you about."
Backstreet's back, alright!
[Johnny] Orlando, Florida,
we called it Motown,
was, and still is to this day,
the United States boy
band capital of the world.
[Tina] Back then, a
lot of talented kids
went to Orlando,
trying to get cast
at different studios.
And so Orlando just had a lot
of artists who were there.
Backstreet Boys were
very much put together
by this enterprising sort
by the name of Lou Pearlman.
- Good morning.
- [Man] How you doing, Louey?
Out there in Orlando,
he started doing
audition after audition
and AJ was the first
one to get picked
for Backstreet Boys.
There was a thing in Orlando
called the blue sheet./
which was the classifieds
for anyone in the
entertainment circuit.
I saw this headline
and I asked my mom
if I could go for the audition.
She's like, "Sure,"
and it was simple.
Lou signed me on the spot
and that was it.
Then we started generating
a bunch of auditions.
Next, Lou hired Howard Dorough.
Before Backstreet Boys, he
went under a stage name,
Tony Dinetti.
He looks about as Italian
as I look I don't know what.
Then Nick auditioned.
He was 12.
Nick had a contract,
potentially,
for The Mickey Mouse Club.
His mom asked him,
"You wanna do this
$75,000 contract
or take a chance on this
group that might go nowhere?"
Nicky made the right decision.
Hey, what's up?
And then we got Kevin.
Kevin was working at Disney.
[Barry] Kevin Richardson was
the oldest guy in the group.
He was the "business guy."
[AJ] And then we
tried to find a fifth,
and Kevin kept talking
about this cousin he's got.
Brian was at junior high school.
He's like, "Hey, y'all.
I'm Brian Littrell.
I'm Kevin's cousin."
I was like, "Oh, good
God, man, really?"
[indistinct]
Two weeks later, we
did Grad Nite '93
at Sea World.
Tell me that I'm dreamin'
It just clicked.
[Man] Mr. Lou Pearlman,
the man who started it all.
Onward and upward.
Lou was a businessman,
entrepreneur first.
Not a manager, doesn't
know the music business,
which is why he hired Johnny.
[Man] Right back at ya, babe.
Go right back at ya.
[Man] Johnny, yeah, got ya.
[Johnny] I was the tour manager
for New Kids on the Block.
And Lou Pearlman called me,
so I ended up taking
a meeting with him
at an Italian restaurant.
And this table was
set up for 14 people
and he was sitting on the
end of it like The Godfather.
All of a sudden, these five
guys come walking in the room.
And they're singing.
And it was the Backstreet Boys.
And the rest is history.
[Man] we have five very
popular new guys here.
It's called the Backstreet Boys.
Brand-new group.
And then we connected
with Clive Calder
who owned Jive Records.
Clive Calder, he said,
"There's a huge void
for boy bands in America."
And I was like, "Really?"
And he said, "These guys
are really good, though.
These guys could really sing."
But at the time, the
stock and trade of America
was all about Nirvana and rap.
One, two, three
and to the fo'
Snoop Doggy Dogg and
Dr. Dre is at the do'
Hey, wait I got
a new complaint
Evenflow
[AJ] You had Pearl Jam,
Nirvana, Snoop, Dre.
We don't fit anywhere
in that at all.
[John] So there's an
audience for young guys,
but a younger female audience
wasn't really being
served in the early '90s.
[Barry] So we said,
"You know what?
Let's take a shot.
Let's do this."
And signed the Backstreet Boys.
[AJ] After we got
signed to Jive,
we met Max Martin
who would, in turn, become
a staple of the
Backstreet sound.
Max with like '80s hairband,
his hair was down past his a*s.
We're looking at this guy like,
"He's gonna do pop
music? Really?"
But Max created
this sound with us
that was completely different.
That [imitates buzzing]
Jam 'cause
Backstreet's got it
Come now everybody
We've go it goin'
on for years
[Johnny] But Backstreet Boys
couldn't get a hit in the US.
So the label was
gonna drop them.
And so I said, "Look,
right now boy bands
are big in Germany.
Let's send them over there."
[John] In Europe, there was
Boyzone and there was Westlife
and there was East 17,
and all these other boy bands,
and the most notable
one would be Take That.
Want you back, want you back
I want you back for good
[John] Absolutely
dominating UK music
from the early '90s
through '95, '96.
[AJ] So the label
shipped us over
to the German, Austria,
Switzerland area,
and we did a bunch
of radio shows
and all these festivals.
We were the first American
group to come over to Europe
and they just slapped
this word on us,
"Oh, it's a new boy band."
[audience cheering hysterically]
But what we noticed was
the groups over there
were lip-syncing
to their music.
They never sang live. They
couldn't do a cappella.
And we did.
[Johnny] So one time, I
went to Backstreet Boys
and I said, "Go out there
and just sing a cappella style."
Everybody groove
to the music
Everybody jam
All of a sudden, the
mouths of that audience
just dropped like, "What?
These guys can really sing?"
It was a very
massive turning point
for the industry to go,
"These boys can sing."
We've go it goin' on
[crowd screaming hysterically]
[Johnny] We've Got It Goin' On
was starting to move up
to the charts in Europe.
And one time we came
out to get on our bus
and there had to be
600 or 700 kids there.
And they're jumping
all over the bus,
and that's finally
when you knew like,
"All right, we're on
to something here."
[AJ] And then, out of
nowhere, Hanson came out.
They blew up with MMMBop.
Yeah, yeah Mmmbop,
ba duba dop ba
MMMBop comes out of nowhere,
in the Middle of Nowhere
being the name of the
record, ironically,
and it becomes number one.
Yes, we did it!
[Zac] We were guys
with long, blonde hair
that looked like they
were dressed like Nirvana,
but they're playing Jackson 5.
Where's the love? Give it up
[Steve] I saw them perform.
I said to them on the spot,
"I really wanna sign
you and make a record."
I just felt like
there was this desire
for exactly this thing.
Grunge was so now-oriented.
It was music for dudes.
And I felt like there
was nothing for girls
to really get excited about
in pop music at that moment.
We got them together
with the Dust Brothers
who were hot
producers at the time.
They had just produced
Beck's Odelay album.
[Taylor] The Dust Brothers
had this culture around them
of being DJs, being rip mixers,
really loving
those '70s records,
loving those pop records,
loving those Motown records.
We had a common bond.
[AJ] Once Hanson broke
through the mold,
they opened up the door.
Yo, I'll tell you what I want
what I really, really want
So tell me what you want,
what you really, really want
[Johnny] Then Spice Girls
came and wrote Wannabe.
So I was like, "Hey, boys,
it's time to come home."
[AJ] So we came back to the US
and released our single,
Quit Playing Games.
Quit Playing Games
[with My Heart]
exploded off of the album.
And that became their
first real American hit.
Quit playing games
with my heart
With my heart
They get their
first big MTV hit.
Baby, baby!
The love that we
had was so strong
They're all writhing and sexual.
Getting all soaking wet.
This is not right
Let's stop this tonight
We love our boy
banders soaking wet.
While we're on set, I was
like, "This is interesting."
Howie was all nip nip.
Quit playing games
with my heart
At MTV, we had really
violent debates
about what to play.
It definitely didn't feel
like my kind of music.
But it felt like a genre that
we have got to take notice of.
In our generation, you
put out your first album,
it does good, cool.
But your second album
is the one that's gonna
make or break your career.
Ours was Millennium.
[Girl] We can't wait
to run into the store
and go get Millennium.
It's gonna be the best CD ever.
We love BSB!
[AJ] But it wasn't really
until we then released
from the Millennium album
the single for I
Want It That Way
that everything changed.
Yeah-eh-eh
[John] The single greatest
boy band song of all time.
The masterpiece that
is I Want It That Way.
I Want It That Way
Tell me why Ain't
nothin' but a heartache
Tell me why Ain't
nothing but a mistake
[Brittany] That
video is so iconic,
the glowing white shirts
and the airplane hangar
and all the fans
screaming for them.
Essentially, a
reference to The Beatles
with the fans screaming
and seeing them
get off the plane.
[John] People, they
analyze its lyrics
and people don't really
understand what it's saying.
I never wanna hear you say
"I never wanna hear you
say I want it that way."
See, exactly.
You're like, "What?"
So they felt, "This song
doesn't make any sense.
This isn't gonna go anywhere.
So we then, we wrote
it, so it made sense.
[John] And that was "I
love it when I hear you say
I want it that way."
And the group didn't like it.
We're just like, "It
just doesn't hit right."
So they put their faith in us
that we made the right call
and we made the right call.
'Cause I want it that way
We were 100% wrong.
They were 100% right.
The Backstreet Boys, they were
the masters of
their own destiny.
[Johnny] But the
next thing you know,
I kept hearing
rumblings from Orlando
that someone else
had another boy band.
Bye, bye, bye [Bye, bye]
[Chris] Before NSYNC, way
back in the very beginning,
I lived in Orlando, Florida.
I was in music class with
this kid, Howie Dorough.
And I remember him talking
about he just auditioned
for this band, the
Backstreet Boys.
[Johnny] So then Chris
Kirkpatrick decides
to audition for Backstreet Boys.
But he didn't make it.
[Lance] So Howie makes it
And Chris Kirkpatrick who was
working at Universal at the tie
singing and performing.
He's like, "Well, I can
sing just as good as Howie.
I'm gonna start a group myself."
So that's when he called
Lou Pearlman and said,
"Hey, would you back us
if I put a group together?"
And Lou said, "Sure,
let's do this."
There's a lot going
around that I auditioned
for the Backstreet Boys
and didn't make it,
but that is definitely not true.
I was introduced to
Lou and he's like,
"McDonald's works and
Burger King works.
They're the same thing,
but they're different.
There's room for two."
So he said, "I wanna
start another band."
And I was like, "Awesome."
Good evening, ladies
and gentlemen,
my name is Justin
Randall Timberlake
and I'm from
Millington, Tennessee.
[Lance] So Chris Kirkpatrick,
he called Justin Timberlake.
And Justin said, "Look,
I would love to do this,
but I'm working
with this guy, JC,
who I did The Mickey
Mouse Club with
and we're having a really
fun time at the studio.
Can he join the group?"
And Chris is like, "Sure."
Then we were out one
night and ran into Joey.
JC was like, "Oh, I
went to school with him.
And Chris Kirkpatrick works at
Universal Studios with him."
So we brought Joey
into the band.
I was 16 when I got the call.
They were looking
for a bass singer.
And Justin said, "Oh,
I'll call my vocal coach,
and I bet you he'll
know someone."
And he said, "Yeah,
the perfect guy
is Lance Bass, but his mom
will never let him do it."
Which I also would've thought.
Justin and his mother call me,
and I had heard of Justin's name
because I loved The
Mickey Mouse Club.
- Justin.
- JC.
- Britney.
- Ryan.
Christina.
All of these kids became a part
of the new Mickey Mouse Club.
[Lance] So I'm like, "Well,
let's go try it out."
I got to Orlando.
They put me up in a Rolls Royce
and I just thought that
was the coolest thing.
I went to the house
the guys were living in
and immediately you just
felt that connection.
Those first few months
we all lived in
a house together.
[Chris] I was poor,
so I was like, "Yeah,
I'll live in the house.
Whatever happens with this,
I'll get free rent for a
couple months, I'm in."
And we recorded
everything we did.
[Lance] I had to
learn very quickly
how to have better rhythm,
how to move a
little differently.
I was embarrassed. I'm like,
"They're gonna kick
me out of this group
because I can't dance."
I didn't know we were
gonna be a dancing group,
but here we are.
- Hello.
- How's it going?
- Welcome in.
- How are you?
- I'm Jim.
- Johnny Wright.
[Lance] But it wasn't
until Johnny came on board
that things really
started happening.
[Chris] Lou said, "Hey, listen.
I'm gonna to bring
in somebody now
that I know that can take
you to the next level.
Johnny's taken New Kids.
He's taken Backstreet.
HE's been around all this,
so he knows the deal."
[Johnny] At the same time,
Jan Boltz, who was
the president of BMG
in Germany who had
represented Backstreet Boys,
said, "If you have any
other acts in the US
that are as good as them,
let me know and I'll sign them."
So I flew into Orlando to see
this new boy band, NSYNC.
And I'm not expecting
anything great.
And I see these
five guys perform.
And, bang, my mouth dropped.
And Jan Boltz goes,
"I'll sign the band,
but I don't know."
He goes, "That Lance
guy, how should I say it,
he's a little feminine."
And I was like, "No,
he's not feminine.
He's sensitive.
This is the unit.
And we're not
changing anything."
So, finally, he was like,
"Fine, we'll just sign him."
So we got our record deal
over in Munich, Germany.
And because we were
an American group
that was on the same
label as Backstreet Boys
and got a lot of attention.
Joey! Chris. Hi, JC.
[Lance] That felt like
an overnight sensation.
It didn't feel real.
But eventually we were
playing arenas in Germany.
[fans screaming]
[Johnny] So about a year later,
we brought NSYNC in.
For whatever reason the
NSYNC album struggled.
They weren't really
getting on the radio.
But the tides turned when
we did that Disney special.
[all] Hi, we're NSYNC.
The Disney channel had
launched the In Concert channel
and I was one of the
architects of it.
Now Backstreet Boys
flew to be on the show.
At that point,
they'd gotten big.
[Johnny] The Backstreet
Boys were on the cover
of Rolling Stone Magazine.
And the guys were like,
"Why are we doing Disney?"
That's not who our
audience is anymore."
[AJ] Disney asked us
to do the special,
but we turned it down because
we were just tapped out.
[Tina] Now I'm devastated.
I need to find a
replacement in three weeks.
I was pitched NSYNC
by RCA.
And we said, "Okay, let's go."
The special came out and
the world went crazy.
My favorite boy band is NSYNC.
- They're hot.
- They're gorgeous.
Lance has the intelligence
and Justin has the looks.
Joey, Joey!
I think there's an NSYNC
boy for everyone out there.
You could just feel the change.
[fans screaming]
That Disney special
was their launching pad
and, overnight, they blew up.
[Tina] Backstreet
Boys were incensed,
'cause then, all of a sudden,
NSYNC was eclipsing them.
And they're going
to Johnny like,
"How did this happen?"
He said, "It was yours.
You turned it down."
And by the time
our special ended,
NSYNC, they were platinum.
Here we go
And then it was
full speed ahead.
Here we go one more time
everybody's feeling fine
Here we go now
[Johnny] With NSYNC, it happened
even faster than
the Backstreet Boys,
going from unknowns to
this massive hysteria,
being chased around.
Here we go
[fans screaming]
The personalities of the
two groups were different.
There was something more
genteel about Backstreet.
Backstreet just felt a
little bit more restrained
whereas NSYNC were just
like, "Let's have fun."
Are we that immature?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Oh, my God, you haven't seen
the show? What is wrong?
[John] They had a
very party vibe.
When they went into a studio,
it felt like trying
to herd five cats.
[Johnny] The Backstreet Boys
were dark and mysterious.
If we come into a hotel,
and there's 500
kids in the lobby,
Backstreet would go
in the back doors
or underneath the garages.
And NSYNC would still
just walk through.
And they would stop,
try to take pictures
with 1,000 people.
And at that time, the
three biggest bands
were Backstreet Boys, NSYNC,
and then the third
band was 98 Degrees.
[Nick] With 98 Degrees,
we never thought of
ourselves as a boy band,
at least in the
conventional sense.
[crew] Nick Lachey,
take one, marker.
And so we resisted, big
time, the label of boy band.
But then I think
we got very aware
of the fact that this was a
movement that was happening.
And we were probably lucky
to get swept up in it.
Hardest thing I've
ever had to do
[Jeff] The plan,
originally, for 98 Degrees
was to sell us to the
public as a true R&B group.
We were heavily influenced
by the group Boyz II Men.
Oh God give me a reason
I'm down on bended knee
But when our label
saw the frenzy
that was associated
with boy bands,
[crowd screaming]
and they thought, "Hey,
we have our version
of a pop group like this."
So we were like, "Maybe
it's not a bad idea."
At the time, boy bands
were all about dancing,
and, Lord knows, we were
not all about dancing.
We always joked that we were
the non-dancing boy band.
We never auditioned.
We never went
through dance class.
We put ourselves together.
We moved to California.
We sang for people.
We got discovered.
And then, from there,
we got swept up
in a whole 'nother thing.
This was a time that was
completely shifting pop music
for the next couple of decades.
[Nick] MTV was a
huge part of that.
MTV, to be honest,
well, I don't work there
anymore, so I can say this,
they were resistant to really
doing much with boy bands.
And the news department
was a little reluctant
to get on board
with covering them.
At the time, "boy band" had a
totally negative connotation.
[Lance] This boy
band term was a way
to make fun of the group.
It was a way to explain
a group had no talent
without saying that
have no talent.
I'm not no Miles
Davis or nothing,
but I know I'm good.
I can tell you that.
The perception is
it's manufactured.
But what band that
signs to a record label
isn't, at that point,
becoming manufactured.
[Woman] The bands
like The Monkees
were actually put
together for television.
It's pretty much the
same way to form a group
than anybody else forms
a rock and roll group,
whether it's John Lennon
walking down the street,
asking Paul and Ringo
and George to join him
or whether it's someone
putting an ad in the paper.
You've gotta start somewhere.
So much of the criticism
was leveled at boy bands
and ours, in particular,
because of the screaming fans.
Everybody was so bothered
by these female fans
and it was like, "Do they
not have eyes and ears?
Do they not have taste?"
[Taylor] If those girls were
reacting strongly to this,
maybe we need to
pay more attention
to just how real and
how authentic that is.
Watching how young people,
and, specifically, young women,
how much, not only,
their voices matter,
but their dollar matters.
[Donnie] And the
marketplace had changed,
and MTV went from hating
to play boy bands, us,
to relying on boy bands to
stay financially viable.
[Van] We saw the research
that the audience wanted to se,
colorful, beautiful,
funny videos.
Look! Look!
[Van] There was a need
for a program for kids
when they get home from school
in the afternoon.
And TRL came after that.
TRL was fan-driven.
We had the audience vote.
[Host] To you at home,
if you wanna vote
for your favorite
videos, you can.
- Call 800.
- DIAL.MTV.
[Nick] It was interactive.
Fans felt like they had a say.
I've tried to explain
it to my kids,
what it meant to
that era of music
and what it meant to
that generation of kids,
but if you were
of a certain age,
it was must-see TV.
Hollerin' folk outside.
What's up y'all?
Hey, Quddus here.
[Nick] The fans really
loved being a part of it.
People had bets
with their friends
about who was gonna end up
number-one on the countdown.
[Lance] It gives the fans a
way to show you, quantify,
okay, which one is the
biggest right now?"
Every day, right when
kids got home from school,
there was our video
on national TV,
and then the Backstreet video,
a 98 Degrees video.
And it was like, "All right,
who's gonna be
number one today?"
[Host] It's been a
battle all week long
between the Backstreet
Boys and NSYNC today.
Unfortunately, NSYNC
is at number two.
It fueled this giant energy
of competition, and
TRL was the gasoline.
They're the Backstreet Boys
with Shape of my Heart,
the number one
video in the country
taking us into the weekend.
Every video we put out,
it was number one,
or number two, number
one, number two,
and then NSYNC came out and
then you had 98 Degrees.
It was just this nonstop battle.
98 Degrees, This Gift.
This is your seventh
most requested video.
If any group told you
they didn't wanna be
number one on the countdown,
they were lying to you.
Of course you wanna
be number one.
We took notice of where
we were on the countdown.
[Jeff] The first
time we went on TRL,
it was almost like
an overnight change.
[Host] Jeff, Drew,
Nick, and Justin,
why don't you get out here?
[Jeff] We had gone from
driving ourselves around
in a Winnebago
that we had wrapped
to, all of a sudden,
not being able
to get out of the Winnebago.
Literally, fans everywhere,
wherever we pulled up.
Fans would sneak
on our tour bus,
and we would've even know they
were there till the next city.
I'm sure it doesn't
even come close
to rivaling The Beatles,
but it just felt special.
We ordered room service and they
were in the room service cart,
and popped out.
Some things are a little
bit too crazy to talk about.
[Van] Part of the
reason we did TRL too,
we found out that the audience
wanted to see themselves on TV.
My name's Debbie.
[Van] So we brought them
all into the studio.
This is our specially
selected studio audience.
[Van] It really
cemented the connection
between these boy
bands and the fans.
Hey, what's up?
I think TRL was definitely
the nail in the coffin
for the fandoms to be
at each other's throats.
This is my favorite one pretty
much out of all of them.
I'm usually always
bragging about them
and how great they are,
'cause everyone's
like, "NSYNC, NSYNC."
And I'm usually like, "No,
Backstreet Boys. That's it."
You're either Team NSYNC or
were Team Backstreet Boys.
Really couldn't be both.
Backstreet's going down.
[screaming] Backstreet Boys!
NSYNC can dance.
Backstreet's nothing
compared to them.
Look at this shirt.
I sleep in this.
Every boy band has
to have that rivalry.
You always gotta have someone
that the record label just
overpromoting against.
New additions thrown
at our butt was Menudo.
A Spanish boy band.
I just want you to hold
me, let me show you
How love can make
Our dreams come true
[Woman] Menudo being the
first Latin-American band
to come through.
I was like, "Who
are these guys?"
They were just so cute.
There's Ricky.
The big thing about Menudo
was how they would
replace the members
as they got to a certain age.
[Donny] The competition between
The Osmonds and the Jackson 5
was real.
We all had to have
cartoons back in the day
that played into
this competition
of the Jacksons and The Osmond.
Which one was the
most popular cartoon?
[Woman] The Beatles
and The Rolling Stones.
The bigger the rivalry got,
the bigger each band got.
[Barry] When the
NSYNC album came out,
there was a concerted
effort by the fans
to buy two, three,
four copies of the CD,
so they could have the
biggest first week ever.
It was a rallying cry.
They all come out
because they want
their group to be the biggest.
There is no real bitter rivalry
between Backstreet and NSYNC.
I think that it's just
friendly competition
more or less than anything.
[Lance] It was like a sport.
And friendly
competition is great.
And I wish it would've
stayed like that.
I would've loved this
to have been a Motown.
Motown, back in the
day, all the groups
were signed together, the
would tour with each other.
They would do songs.
It was a family affair.
But with Transcon, it
was not a family affair.
At the beginning,
I got to know a lot
of people at Transcon
'cause we went on the road.
That's where I learned
about the Backstreet Boys
and if they were gonna be mad
that we were working with Johnny
and even at the record label,
we were called beef eye
because they didn't want
"the boys" to learn about us.
So, immediately, we knew
that there's some shady
stuff going on there,
and if I was the
Backstreet Boys,
I'd be pissed.
It's like, "Find
your own identity."
I'd be so upset
if you're secretly putting
a group behind my back
and not telling me about it.
That means you
know you're wrong.
So I knew that they
weren't gonna be happy.
[screaming fans]
[Johnny] So the Backstreet
Boys were in Utah
and so I fly up there.
And Howie says to me,
"Hey, where you been?"
And I said, "Oh,
I've been in Orlando
getting things squared
away with NSYNC."
And he looks at me like,
"What do you mean NSYNC?"
And I said, "Yeah, NSYNC."
I said, "Lou told me that he
told you that we signed them."
He said, "Lou didn't
tell us that."
I was like, "What?"
He said, "Yeah."
So a little bit
later after that,
Brian and Kevin come to my room
and they knock on the door.
And they say to me,
"Why did you lie to us?"
And I said, "What are
you talking about?"
He goes, "Lou told us
that he didn't sign them.
He said you signed them.
And he showed us the contract
with your signature on it."
And so I'm like,
"Oh, my God, Lou."
I had said to them,
I said, "Look.
It's a done deal.
Both of you groups can survive."
I said, "I'll make
this promise to you.
I will never pit you
against each other."
Lou and Johnny were like, "Okay,
we're gonna manage them as well
to keep them out of
your way, essentially."
But they also got signed
to the same label,
got shipped over to Stockholm,
just like us,
working with Max and Dennis.
And it was literally
a carbon copy.
[Johnny] They were upset.
And I can understand that.
They felt like,
"We were the first.
You went and got
these second guys.
So we feel like now
you betrayed us."
It's like being
in a relationship.
It got really funky too
around our award shows.
Backstreet Boys, Everybody.
[Van] When those bands
were on together,
we had to logistically
plot their seating.
They couldn't be
near each other.
At the height of
Backstreet and NSYNC,
it was a methodical system
to keep them away
from each other.
[Lance] The reason
Lou kept us apart
was a byproduct of him
not wanting us to speak
so we didn't figure out how
horrible of a deal we've signed.
If we would've known those guys
and had real
friendships with them
and were able to
discuss business,
we would've figured
out very quickly
that we're all getting screwed.
Everyone has the same story.
"First deal's horrible.
We got taken advantage of here."
But people will still
sign that contract.
Congratulations to
the Backstreet Boys
on this signing.
Because they know that
sometimes that's the only way
they can get their
foot in the door.
Please welcome NSYNC.
[fans screaming loudly]
[Lance] And then,
after finding success,
people think, "They
can change it."
"No, I can start here,
but I know a way
I can change that.
It won't last forever.
I can renegotiate."
But when you sign a contract,
especially teenagers sign
these entertainment deals,
they're ironclad.
They're very, very
hard to get out of.
[Johnny] Your
first deal might be
the worst deal you
could ever have.
Lou has taken the lion's share.
Let's just say it's a dollar
and the band gets
15%, he gets 85%,
well, on top of that, he was a
one-sixth member of the band.
So he also got a piece
out of their 15%.
He was the one-sixth member.
Anything we got paid,
anything we did, he got,
even though he wasn't
lifting a finger.
And we were generating
him so much money.
It's crazy.
It wasn't until we
got our first paycheck
years later, and it just was
not what we expected at all.
And they had these
big checks made
that I didn't know banks took.
And they handed us the
big check, and he's like,
"$10,000."
And I looked at it.
And I looked at Justin.
And he looked at
me. And I was like,
[whispering] "I can't
believe we are rich!"
Meanwhile, JC pulled me aside
and said, "You're rich?"
I'm like, "Yeah, I got $10,000."
He goes, "How much
money did you make
waiting tables at the
outback in a year?"
And I was like, "Oh, but...
Oh. Now I get it."
We're working for
free for these guys.
[Brittany] The labels that
signed them and worked with them
often worked them to the bone.
Guys, welcome, well, I don't
wanna keep you too long here
because I know
you wanna warm up.
[Brittany] These
bands were touted out
on crazy schedules.
Yearlong tours,
producing an album
while they're on tour.
Just be everywhere in the
world at once, essentially,
for four, five years
straight with no breaks.
[Lance] While on tour, we
do hundreds of shows a year,
packing arenas.
We were just working.
Here are some of the
passes throughout the year.
They all look the same.
[Lori] These boy bands,
NSYNC, Backstreet
Boys, 98 Degrees,
they were the hardest-working
people I'd ever met.
[Brittany] They were on the
biggest tours of that time.
They were selling a
million albums a week.
And they were coming back
and they had no money at all.
[AJ] It was a hell of
a time for all of us.
While we were doing
the next album sh**t,
we hadn't had a title yet.
And we decided to
call it Black & Blue
because we literally felt
beat up by the label,
just beat up in general.
Eventually, we
basically were like,
"Okay, you know what?
Let's just cut you a check.
Cut our losses.
We're gonna buy the name.
You gotta open up the doors
and give us our stuff."
And that was that.
[Johnny] When NSYNC came around,
they were watching what was
going on with Backstreet Boys
and decided that they were
gonna do the same thing.
[Lance] We work for
three years and have
millions and millions
and millions of dollars
coming in,
we have power now,
so let's renegotiate
with the record label.
Oh, no, not even happening.
Not even a discussion
to renegotiate.
I went to Lou and I said,
"If you're not gonna
settle with NSYNC,
then I have to
step away from you
and this battle is yours."
The kids should
step back and say,
"How'd I get here?
Who took the risk? Who
put up all the money?"
That's when we realized, "Uh-oh,
this is gonna be a fight."
JC called his uncle
who was a lawyer,
sent him the contract,
and he was like, "Whoa.
This is horrible."
And he helped us find a
little out in the contract
that the Backstreet
Boys did not have.
And it was the 9999
Video Music Awards.
[Host] MTV Video Music Awards
live on stage from New York's...
[Lance] And we were performing.
And Jive Records comes to
the show and were like,
"We're gonna sign you."
[Brian] I was overseeing
both US and Canada
for Jive Records at the time.
We stole them.
Yeah, we basically stole NSYNC.
We said to Johnny, "We'd
like to have a meeting
with you and the guys in NSYNC"
I had to be careful
at what I did
because were still
fighting with Lou.
This is like enemy territory.
We were the
Backstreet Boys guys.
But then Johnny was
like, "Okay, let's go."
We met the group that
night after the show
at the hotel conference room.
Talked about it and we said,
"Wow, these guys are great.
We gotta try to do this."
We were signing contracts there
and RCA was running
down the traffic of Times Square
to stop us from
signing this contract
because they finally realized
that we were telling the truth.
But they didn't
get there in time
and [smacks lips]
signed with Jive.
That felt good.
We got our power back.
[Chris] It was a good
thing. I loved Jive.
But it was inside of me going,
"RCA worked hard for us
and now we're just
saying, 'bye, bye, bye.'"
[Lance] I remember
we were in a cab,
talking about the new album
and what we wanted to do and
how it was so liberating,
and we're finally away from Lou.
And we're doing it
ourselves this time.
And Chris was like...
"Hey, what if we do
a Pinocchio thing?
And what if we cut our
strings and we say,
we call it, "I got no strings."
And I'm like, "No
strings attached."
And it just was
born right there.
Bye bye bye, bye bye
[Chris] Everybody in
the business knows
you're only as good as
your sophomore album.
So here we are. This
is our sophomore album
and we go, "You Know what?
Let's leave our record company
and do this completely
differently."
I don't think any of us
thought it would've worked
like it did.
[Johnny] It's not about
Lou Pearlman anymore.
It's all about NSYNC.
We sold a million
and one records
in the first day.
I want to see
you out that door
Baby bye bye bye
[Michael] I think every boy band
has a sore spot in their career
with somebody, the manager,
the producer, the record label.
I think it's just the
nature of the beast, man.
However, the
Jacksons, The Osmonds,
the talent was in the house.
Then you have your manager
also in the same house.
The work ethic my father
instilled in all of us
was second to none.
I remember, as a
tiny little kid,
my brothers in
front of that piano,
playing and learning the parts,
and harmonizing to
where it was perfect.
My dad was an Army sergeant.
And so that infiltrated
in how he raised us.
I never wanted to
disappoint my father.
When we hit big,
father said, "Back in
the rehearsal hall.
Learn a new number.
Keep this engine going."
And I think having a
very strong father figure
was very important
for our success.
However, it can go
a little overboard.
I spent a lot of time
with Michael Jackson.
You look at The Osmonds
and the Jackson 5,
the comparisons of
the two families
are just uncanny.
There's nine children
in each family.
Mike and I both the
seventh child of nine.
Our mothers' birthdays
are on the same day.
Michael and I are the same age.
You and I are in the
same boat, really.
Because we both
sing with a group
made of our own brothers.
Most of them older
and one younger.
- Right, right.
- That's it.
We get together and
we would just laugh
and reminisce about
the comparisons and
the similarities.
Michael said something
to me one day,
and he said, "Donny,
you're the only
person on this planet
that knows what my
childhood was like."
And Mike would tell me a
lot of stories about Joe.
[Joe] I decided to
deal with the boys
as much as I possibly can
as far as rehearsing them
and getting them prepared
to be in show business.
- Did they resent it?
- Yes.
[Tina] Joe Jackson,
being their father
who was the driving force.
And you think, what
would've happened
had that force
been more loving?"
Would Michael have
the difficulties
that he might've
had in his life?
You have a kid who was truly
robbed of his childhood.
[Donny] When you
look at the dangers
of show business in general
whether you're a single artist
or a boy band,
I don't know if I
could've been able
to survive show business
if I didn't have my family.
[Zac] Our story is
highly influenced
by our parents
but not in the Hollywood way.
They saw that all three of us
were getting a lot
out of making music.
[Isaac] I remember Mom
and Dad coming back
from a date and they were like,
"You guys didn't
clean up the house.
You didn't..."
And then Taylor was like,
"Yeah, but we wrote a song."
And then my dad was
like, "Well, it...
- "Is it any good?"
- "It better be good," yeah.
"How good is it?"
And so we sung the song, he
goes, "Oh, that's pretty good."
"That's worth no dishes."
"You're forgiven. Now
clean up the house."
Exactly. Exactly.
[Taylor] When you see
your kids doing something
that seems productive
and positive,
you wanna support it.
We are proud to be
in the heritage of great bands
that have brothers in them.
The Bee Gees, come
on, the singing.
And The Isley Brothers.
Isaac Brothers and their groove.
They're singing with
their instruments.
In My Room by The Beach Boys.
And there were three
brothers in The Beach Boys.
With brothers in
bands, oftentimes
you get that organic thing
that you can't fabricate.
It is the closest thing
you have to your own voice,
is your siblings.
Let us know when.
[Crew] Whenever you're
ready. It's just practice.
Cool. Hey, we're
the Jonas Brothers.
And you're supposed to talk.
I was supposed to talk.
At one point in time, I wanted
to go into the
Christian music world.
So I had an assistant who said,
"There's this young kid who's
signed to Columbia Records.
His name is Nick Jonas.
I saw him on a couple of thing.
His dad's a pastor.
And he'll be eager to meet you"
So I went to meet them
and Nick's brothers
were his backup band.
So I watched them perform.
And they were great, so
I became their manager.
[crowd screaming]
And then Steve Greenberg
who was the originator of Hansen
took over Columbia Records.
[Steve] In 2004,
when I took the job,
they gave me a pile
of unreleased albums by acts
that they were gonna
drop from the label.
And then I hit this
Christian pop album
by a kid named Nicholas Jonas.
And I was amazed.
He sounded like Taylor Hanson.
And I thought, "Wait a second.
I wanna meet this kid."
So he calls me and he goes,
"I saw that you're managing
this kid named Nick Jonas.
I don't really have a
need for a Christian kid.
So before I drop him,
I just want you to tell me
a little bit about him."
And I said, "Well, if
you're not moving forward
in the Christian world,
I saw him perform
with his brothers.
Maybe if I can
convince the family
that this is the thing to do,
you could have the
second coming of Hanson."
[Steve] They came in and
they played instruments.
And I'm like, "Great,
you're a band."
So I thought, "I
know how to do this.
It's three brothers."
The album came out and that
became the Jonas Brothers.
That first album had Year 3000.
He said "I've been
to the year 3000
And slowly but surely we
all fell in love with them.
TRL, show some love
for the Jonas Brothers.
[fans screaming] [chanting]
Jonas, Jonas, Jonas!
It's great.
[Woman] The Jonas
Brothers were a rock band
and had a punk edge to them.
But they also had a
good-boy Christian image.
[Interviewer] What do you
guys look for in a girl?
Somebody that our mom loves.
Yes, it's important.
And our dad, of course.
I was obsessed with
the Jonas Brothers
just as much as her.
We grew up on Disney channel.
The Jonas Brothers
were very clean,
like Hannah Montana, very clean.
[Lance] Because you
have to remember,
with boy bands, it's
family audience.
[Chris] And because of that,
there were some
crazy boy band rules.
And a lot of those rules
I'd challenged
from the beginning.
[Lance] Record labels
and management,
we would always have
these comparison stories.
We're backstage...
[Lance] Like the New Kids,
Donnie would do da,
da, da, da, dah,
so you knew you were
being told not to do this.
"Nobody can have tattoos."
Boom, I'm like, "All right,
let me get some tattoos."
They would say, "Hey,
shave your moustache.
Hold onto your youth."
You can't be Fatstreet.
That is not cute."
Never had a drink in
your hand or a cigarette.
"Nobody can ride motorcycles."
Boom, bought a motorcycle.
Brought it on tour with me.
No girlfriends
because that would take
away the dream of the fan.
Why don't you have a girlfriend?
Because I'm in too many
places at one time.
And I'm like, "Screw you.
I got a girlfriend now."
The Jonas Brothers, they weren't
allowed to talk about sex.
[Johnny] With the
Jonas Brothers,
each one of them would
wear a purity ring.
And what we loved about
the Christian aspect of it
was, if you have a daughter
who's coming to a show,
she's not coming alone,
so she's gonna bring a friend.
And Mom's not letting
the two go by themself,
so either her or the dad comes.
So for one fan, we
sold three tickets.
They're literally going
from the garage to stadiums.
This is the stage.
It's 144 feet long.
Every seat in the
house is a good seat
and we are very happy
because we owe it to our fans
for bringing us to
this place, for sure.
[Amber] 2007 to
2009, I would say,
is their peak.
And the Internet was just
becoming seen as a way
to know your favorite celebrity.
They would talk to you directly
through their livestream.
Hey, what's up, everybody?
We're the Jonas Brothers.
- I'm Nick.
- I'm Kevin.
I'm Joe.
And you are on our Myspace page.
Pictures, blogs,
everything, check it out.
[Brittany] At that
time, a lot of artists
were still trying to figure out
how to use social media.
[John] I think, probably,
the earliest best example
of social media being used
for getting your
music and image,
importantly, out there
is Justin Bieber.
[Van] Bieber was able to grow
from just doing a song
on a street corner
to being able to perform
and sing and write
all because of YouTube.
Like baby, baby, baby, no
I thought you'd
always be mine
[Lyndsey] At that point,
YouTube had only been around
for a few years.
Even Facebook was pretty new.
And Twitter was very new.
One of the first
accounts for a boy band
that I ever saw on Twitter
- was One Direction.
- [both] One Direction.
But I don't think anyone
saw One Direction coming.
Hello.
Nice to meet you.
What's your name?
I'm Harry Styles.
[Amanda] They all came
to X Factor in 2010
and auditioned separately.
[Woman] The first time I
discovered One Direction,
was in my dorm room.
I was surfing YouTube
and my life changed forever.
I was like, "Who are they?
What's happening here?"
And then it was rabbit hole.
One, two, three
How we danced all night
to the best song ever
[Amanda] And then in order
to help them on X Factor,
Twitter was this thing where
you could tell everybody
to just support One Direction.
[Host] One Direction do
not wanna leave tonight.
Call that number.
We see these 15,
16 year old boys
shuffle onto that stage
with a heart full of hope.
Hoping that their dream
will happen for them.
And you get to feel like a
stakeholder in their dream.
[Amanda] And then the
One Direction fandom
spread on the Internet
- worldwide.
- Around the world.
[screaming fans]
We made a short film called
The Day I Didn't
Meet One Direction.
We've got 10 hours
until concert.
I will meet these boys today.
Discovering them on Twitter
was like discovering a sovereign
nation of teenage girls.
[Woman] Twitter is
what sent One Direction
straight to the top.
I had a One Direction
fan account.
That's where fangirls thrive.
That's where we get
the information.
Spreading the word, making sure
that everyone knew exactly
where they were at all times.
[Amber] Where they were
staying at the hotel,
when their flight was landing.
It was like, "I saw Harry
walking down the street.
Harry was just seen
in the guitar store,"
and we would run there.
I swear One Direction
fans are like the CIA.
We had eyes on them.
One Direction
released five albums
in five years.
They went on tour
every single year.
They were recording their
next album while touring.
[Woman] It was
album, promo, tour,
album, promo, tour.
There was no breaks.
[Amanda] So it was
just go, go, go.
I think that was
a lot of burnout.
And Zayn tragically left
in the middle of a tour.
[military siren wailing]
I remember. I sobbed.
I cried all day
because it was like
One Direction are the five.
And I think if they
had been given time
to rest and breathe,
they might've been
together a lot longer.
Zayn Malik left the
band One Direction.
And this was a
global news event.
Zayn Malik.
[Woman] He's shocking
fans by walking away
from one of the most
popular bands in the world.
[Amanda] I think it was
the combination of burnout
but also being like,
"I would like to be
the first one to leave to
try to do a solo tour."
[Tracey] When an
artist is so entrenched
in the history of a band,
and they break out solo,
it's all about
that first single.
That first single is
making a statement
as to who they are
as a solo artist.
So you have to
come out of the box
with something big.
[Woman] If you
think about the way
that Michael
Jackson's career went,
he was at the forefront
of the Jackson 5
for decades before
becoming a solo artist.
[Suzanne] At Motown 25,
Michael wanted to
perform Billie Jean.
That's when he did the moonwalk.
It's a piece of music history.
I don't think any artist
has ever hit the world stage
with that kind of success.
That was fuel.
It changed the trajectory
of Michael Jackson's career.
[Michael] After New Edition,
Bobby went out the coop first
and then Ralph Tresvant.
Johnny Gill went out the coop.
Bell, Biv, DeVoe came last.
It was natural procession.
It was growth spurts.
It was just elbow room.
It was destiny.
We went from a group
to four entities
who became
platinum-selling artists.
That was the success
of us as solo artists.
And look what it did.
Bell, Biv, DeVoe created
a different genre
of how the boy band evolved
from just a "bubblegum" style
to the street style
of hip-hop and R&B.
That girl is poison
We all did infectious
rhythm of Poison.
You had the hardcore drum.
You had a yah, cah, da, dah,
cah, da, da, da, dah, bam.
It spawned a whole
nother generation
of an R&B group with
a street appeal.
[Host] Let me give
you Justin Timberlake.
[Johnny] With NSYNC,
Justin exploded.
[Host] He is hotter
than the surface
of Mercury right now.
[Johnny] NSYNC was on fire.
But they were out on a run
for a long four-and-a-half
years straight.
So the conversation was,
"Let's take six months off,
and then we'll regroup."
And then Justin's point was,
"Well, if there's gonna
be no group activity,
I've got all this music
built up inside of me
that I've been thinking about.
I'm gonna go work
on a solo record."
Within five weeks,
he put the Justified
album together.
And based on the
success of that record,
MTV game him a look
for the first performance
on the MTV Awards.
Came out in that boom box.
And at that point, it was on.
Sing this song with me
Ain't nobody love
you like I love you
You're a good girl and
that's what makes me trust ya
[Johnny] I think that there's
always members of the band
that feel that they could
step up and go solo.
Whether they're
successful or not,
it's questionable.
And, usually, you might get one,
maybe two,
but for everybody else,
sometimes it's the
end of their career.
[Announcer] Here they are.
[Michael] The music
business teaches you
how to hold on,
how to believe in yourself.
But what it doesn't
prepare you for
is your downfall.
[AJ] With Backstreet Boys,
there is never a breakup.
But 2001 was a really dark time.
We had toured for
nine years straight,
just go on tour, make an album,
go on tour, make an album.
And instead of dealing with my
real emotions or my feelings,
kinda got caught up
in the lifestyle,
and the partying and the
drinking and the drugs.
And it wasn't until I did
what I told myself
I would never do
which was drink on stage,
that's when I even
had to know like,
"Okay, dude,
something's not right."
And the day that
I flew from tour
into rehab,
everybody was just
at their wit's end.
And then Kevin left
for six years to
go start a family.
And we gave him our blessing.
He gave us his blessing
to continue as four
and we kept going without him.
[Lance] 2002 was our last tour.
Justin was gonna
start his solo album
which we were super
supportive of.
I thought that was a great idea.
The label told us, "Look,
come back in six months."
And we were supposed to go
right into the next album.
That just never happened.
So it just phased out
without any fanfare at all,
with no goodbye.
We just never got back together.
[Chris] It was hard.
There was a lot of
animosity at first.
There was a lot of anger.
There was a lot of resentment.
I remember thinking,
"Are we ever getting
back together again?"
It was just a very confusing
part of our life right there
'cause we didn't know
what was happening.
[Johnny] From
Justin's standpoint,
when he's got the number-one
album in the country
and he's got offers
to tour the world,
it's like, how do you
come back to that?
"I gotta fulfill this.
It's not that I'm
saying goodbye.
It's just that I
can't stop this."
[Lance] And
business-wise, I get that.
Justin has the most
talent in the world.
And we wanted to give
him that respect.
But tell us that.
[Johnny] With One Direction,
every member went solo
and every member
had a top 10 record,
which was absolutely amazing.
And, obviously, Harry
has gone on to be global.
[Lyndsey] Harry Styles
has, at this point,
a bigger solo career than
One Direction's career was.
He won a Grammy for
Album of the Year.
[Woman] Harry Styles!
[Lyndsey] The only
boy band artists
that have also done that
would be Michael Jackson,
Justin Timberlake,
and George Michael.
sh*t. This is so, so nice.
Thank you very, very much.
[Lyndsey] Most boy bands,
when a key member leaves,
they don't continue on.
It felt like the end
of the boy band era.
But if you're a
One Direction fan,
you're probably a K-pop fan now.
[Lyndsey] The western
world realized
that K-pop is something
they can't ignore.
[Man] These groups tend to be
anywhere from 4 to 13 members.
And they come together
to make something
that we've never
seen as a group.
We are here with BTS.
I know the Army out
there is going crazy.
'Cause we got the guys that
are smooth like butter.
Yeah.
Smooth like butter like
a criminal undercover
[Amanda] I am not shocked at all
that K-pop is the next
boy band successor.
They're beautiful.
And they can sing beautifully
and dance really beautifully.
With K-pop, there's just
this consistent theme
of marrying the
old with the new.
You can just see the influence
of even Michael Jackson.
[Tracey] They are living
and breathing and
sleeping music.
And that's not
that much different
than what Berry Gordy
did with Motown.
[Lance] With K-pop,
I'm sure they looked at
what happened in
Orlando, Florida,
with training boy
bands to dance,
but took it to the next level.
[Brittany] It's great to see
that NSYNC, Backstreet
Boys style of choreography
come alive in all these groups
like BTS and Seventeen.
[Man] Seventeen is the
largest K-pop boy band
operating right
now with 13 members
and they have members
who are Chinese,
who have grown up in
America, who are also Korean,
and their last album
sold five million copies
in its first week worldwide.
Hi. Nice to meet you.
HI, nice to meet you.
To me, Seventeen
means lifelong youth.
[Abby] Seventeen
is so interesting
because they have 13 boys
and that just seems like
a recipe for disaster,
but they really have
just made it work.
Within the group, they
have three sub-units.
The hip-hop team,
the performance team,
and the vocal team.
You can tell their
chemistry is real.
[Vernon] We just always
try to have a good time,
make it fun for each other.
That's one of the perks of
having all these members.
[Amber] Seventeen is just all
these different personalities,
so the fans have
ample opportunity,
a million options,
so many questions.
[Vernon] Even before I was able
to dream about becoming
a K-pop group singer,
I was on my way back
home after school
and this casting
director approached me.
And she asked me if I
wanted to become a trainee
as a K-pop group singer.
And it just seemed
like a fun opportunity.
[Abby] A lot of
Seventeen's members
were street-cast.
And then, for a long time,
they become trainees,
and learn how to dance and sing,
and work as a group.
Many K-pop groups live together
for a long time in dorms.
I think every group should
have to live together
at the very beginning
'cause you know immediately
if you like them or not.
Hoshi's video for Spider
is the perfect example
of the strength of
the performance unit.
Seventeen released
a collaboration
with New Kids on the Block
called Dirty Dancing.
I think this is their
way of honoring them.
She's dirty-dirty dancin'
dirty dancin' on me
[Jeff] That song really
resonated with people
because, again, it's
a great boy band song,
but also I think people saw
the mutual respect
between each other.
[Donnie] When I think
back to my childhood,
I could never have
dreamed that we would
influence anybody.
They've become to the
world what New Kids were
30-something years ago.
[Vernon] Visiting all these
places around the world
to see thousands of people
that are there just for us,
it feels very surreal.
We didn't know what specifically
would lead us to success.
But having all these
members as a group together,
they make the journey enjoyable.
[fans screaming hysterically]
[Nick] With 98 Degrees,
the idea that we could share
these incredible
experiences together,
it was really super meaningful.
But, sometimes, when
you're in a boy band,
you go through really,
really hard times.
[fans screaming]
But that stuff, it
makes you stronger.
And I wouldn't change any of it.
Whether it was personal stuff
that one of us
was going through,
whether it was
professional stuff,
we did it together.
[Donnie] Your bandmates,
you'll struggle with them,
sometimes you'll even
fight over something
as dumb as who
gets the blue shirt
and who gets the orange one.
But when you look into
each other's eyes,
you'll see something
that no one else
or very few people in the world
will ever understand.
We all share it.
It's a very unique experience
and it's pretty cool.
We talk like family.
We fight like family.
We laugh like family.
We cry like family.
I think, of everyone
in the group
that changed the
most, it would be me.
I was the one that was
hiding a huge part of myself.
I wasn't the person that
I was supposed to be.
I became the shy one
because I didn't want people
to figure out the secret I had.
I didn't want people to see
that I had a personality,
that, "Ooh, he might be g*y."
Do you like girls
who wear makeup?
Or do you have a limit
on how much makeup
you like a girl to wear?
Well, I don't like
too much makeup.
But I like girls
that like to keep themselves up.
I look back at my
interviews 20 years ago
and I'm like, "Who is that kid?
That is not me."
It's just I didn't
know who I was.
But I remember, towards the en,
that I could speak my voice.
I became more confident.
And everyone in the group
always supported whatever I did.
Which is amazing,
looking at it now.
[Yve] Do I believe
that boy bands
have created a
beautiful safe space
for young people and,
specifically, young women
to find community and
love something together?
Yes, I do.
[Woman] When I was in college,
I was going through
a really rough time.
I didn't have a great experience
and, at the end of the
day, there is five boys
that I could open my
laptop and make me laugh.
One Direction was
my happy place.
It kept me going.
At 17, I was in a place
where, as a fangirl,
sometimes you're ashamed
of what you liked 'cause
the world tells you
the things that teenage
girls like are stupid.
[Yve] Why is it that the
image of a young girl
at a Justin Bieber concert
screaming her lungs
out with ecstasy
might be described as
crazy, psycho, over-the-top,
a bit much,
but the same image,
but make it a young boy
at a sporting match,
might be described
as passionate,
loyal, devoted?
We'd say, "That's the
love of the game."
Slow down. Take a breath, ready?
What if we didn't undermine
young women and their interests?
What if we didn't
allow ourselves
to use this language
that minimizes and belittles
them expressing enthusiasm
and love for the
things they care about?
[Donnie] The fans of boy
bands all get the last laugh.
They're mothers, teachers,
doctors, lawyers,
politicians,
they're in positions of power
all over the country.
Our fans have grown up to
be the new gatekeepers.
[Nick] The beauty
of having young fans
who grew up on your music
is that they grow up with you.
We have been friends since
we were in the third grade
and we used to wear T-shirts
and go to the concerts together.
And now, 15 years
later, here we are
wearing T-shirts, going
to the concerts together.
It's a very sentimental
moment for us.
Boy bands can command
this intense loyalty
that can really withstand
the test of time.
[Donnie] For the boy bands who
are willing to stick it out,
you will last more than
two or three years.
And we are living proof
as are our idols, New Edition.
[Woman] The girls who
liked you when you were 12,
those are the people that are
buying tickets for the cruises
and the mixtape tour.
[Donnie] The best way to
describe our second incarnation
is like when an athlete
becomes a veteran.
[AJ] I'll never forget
when Kevin came back,
we were at Staples Center.
And he came up on
I Want It That Way.
And I've never heard
screams so piercing.
I had to pull my inner ears out.
[hysterical screaming]
And he just stood there.
And I'm like, "Yeah,
you take it in, buddy.
Take that sh*t in."
And then we went
back into the studio.
It's generational.
You see our last
tour, you're seeing
5-year-olds to 85-year-olds.
Fans are an extension of you
because you are making
a personal connection
through music.
We lock eyes and
that's a moment.
[Host] Make some
noise for NSYNC.
[screaming hysterically]
[Taylor] You guys
are pop personified.
I had your dolls.
[Chris] When the five
of us are together,
it's almost like the world
disappears for a second
and we get to go
back to that time.
[Johnny] And after 11 years,
it was so great to
see them back on stage
performing together.
[Justin] Ladies and
gentlemen, we are NSYNC.
[screaming loudly]
[Nick] It's a beautiful
thing about music.
It takes you back
to where you were.
It takes you back to the
things you were feeling.
There's a desire to feel good.
There's a desire to
revisit those moments
that were happy
and were care-free.
[Michael] It's a
childhood memory
and it's something
to be proud of.
Boy band music is so powerful
because it keeps evolving.
[Fan] I love you, I love
you, I love you, I love you
always and forever.
- [music]
- [screaming loudly]
[music]
[music]
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Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands (2024)
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