Lou Pearlman, the man behind some of the world’s biggest boy bands, has passed away at the age of 62.
According to Billboard, Pearlman died Friday night while serving a 25-year sentence behind bars. He was sent to prison in 2008 after he was convicted of organizing a Ponzi scheme that swindled more than $300 million from investors and banks. Not too long after he was convicted, Pearlman faced several heavy accusations—including molestation and sexual harassment—from aspiring artists.
Prior to his fall from grace, Pearlman’s claim to fame was the manager and producer of acts like Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and O-Town. He was also the creator of MTV’s Making the Band.
Shortly after Pearlman’s death was reported, *NSYNC members Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Justin Timberlake shared some words on Twitter.
I hope he found some peace. God bless and RIP, Lou Pearlman.
O-Town's Erik-Michael Estrada wrote on Twitter that he was "sad about the news" and that we should celebrate his musical accomplishments.
Pearlman's group's dominated the Billboard charts in the 1990s. Billboard broke down the numbers: Backstreet boys landed six top 10 singles in the Hot 100 and had nine albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200. *NSYNC had six top 10 singles on the Hot 100 and had four albums in the Top 100 of the Billboard 200. O-Town had a single and an album in the top 10.
