"I don't want to say anything negative, but Backstreet Boys were put together as five guys who were on roads of their own, five individuals with five individual careers moving forward who are together," he said in a Rolling Stone cover story about 'N Sync. All of these elements led to screaming and adoring female fans. While NSync might have had the larger first sales week, might have been better dancers, and might have been asked to play the Super Bowl, theyll have to make dowith thesilver medal in the90s boy band Olympics. I didn't know if they were going to yell at me or not.". 2022 E! So why did management stage and encourage this rivalry? "I guess you could say Backstreet Boys are the Temptations and 'N Sync are the Four Tops.". , Home for Christmas, 28. 1998, 7. , 2 . But he made the decision to enter the music industry after chartering a private plane for New Kids on the Block, the gold standard of boy bands at the time. [11] , , . They were far from the only super-groups Pearlman attempted to form:C-Note, a Latin boy band;Take 5, a total BSB/'N Sync knockoff that he was hoping would be his third breakthrough group;LFO, a trio that had one major hit in "Summer Girls," and his first girl group,Innocence. Likewise, Van Halen were able to survive David Lee Roths departure. "It's Gonna Be May" memesa play on their hit single "It's Gonna Be Me"have also outlived the group. Pearlman, who died in 2016, was the man credited for kicking off the boy band boom in the '90s, starting the careers of super-groups like 'N Sync,Backstreet Boys, LFO and O-Town. [39], 2013. Girlfriend Bye Bye Bye. There are other, less concrete factors to consider. However, a similar debate involving One Direction and The Wanted will always be inherently one-sided in One Directions favor due to how disproportionately successful they are compared to their rivals. You don't know whether to laugh. Each decade has its own definitive boy band: The 60s had the Monkees, the 70s had the Jackson 5, the 80s had New Kids on the Block, the 00s had the Jonas Brothers, and the 10s have One Direction. Happy Birthday Jessica Biel! NSYNC did sell more than 2.4 million copies of their second album "No Strings Attached" in its first week of release a feat unmatched by Backstreet Boys but stopped making music after their fourth album. The late '90s saw a resurgence of boy bands, but NSYNC and Backstreet Boys stood out above the rest. Backstreet Boys have the numbers to prove that they owned the late '90s. In 1998, BSB was offered the chance to do an hour-long special for the Disney Channel, but after years of nonstop touring and working, they were running on fumes. Main Menu. I don't think any of us hates him truly. Both boy bands were signed to Jive Records after being discovered by sleazy music manager Lou Pearlman.BSB would go on to become the best-selling boy band of all time.NSYNC fans argue that does not make BSB the best. You should do something like that.' "A.J. photos. ", For 'N Sync, the underdog band that eventually overtook BSB, they seemed unfazedby the rumors of competition, at least publicly. Most iconic '90s boy band: Backstreet Boys or NSYNC? But it boils down to context: Backstreet Boys were always seen as a collective unit. 2.4 million copies! And it was one performance that would prove to be the defining moment for the two bands. ", He continued, "That hurt our feelings. There's nobody like us,'" he continued. Like 'N Sync, BSB used their experience with Pearlman and the indelible marks it left on them as fuel for their third album, 2000's Black and Blue, a reference to the way their former mentor had bruised them. ", Part of Pearlman's strategy was taken straight from the hallway of your average middle school: He would complain about BSB to 'N Sync and vice versa, turning them against each other with lies about diva behavior, with Kirkpatricksaying, "If I were the Backstreet Boys, I would've hated us too. , . "I was on the wrong side of the coin," Pearlman said. At the same time, 'N Sync was relishing their own freedom following a bitter legal battle with Pearlman. , , 9. , , , .[22][23][24]. 'N Sync member Lance Bass' documentary, The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story, was released in 2019, and featured members of multiple boy bands and their families documenting the devastation and deceit they experienced during their time working with former managerLou Pearlman, their father figure turned enemy. However, whileNo Strings Attachedwon the battle,Backstreet Boys albumMillenniumwon the war: total sales for the albums stand at 12,250,000 forMillenniumand 11,160,000 forNo Strings Attached. "He's doing no work.". Naturally, because both bands career origins, level of success, and time in the spotlight were so similar, they have become forever intwined in pop cultures collective unconscious. , , , . Beyonce is the most notable example of this: After successfully launching a solo career with Dangerously in Lovein 2003, she came back to Destinys Child for one final studio album. One person not ready to get out of the boy band shadow was Pearlman. That rivalry was realfor the guys and for fans. [32][33], , 2001, 90 . So long, college plans. "With the success of the Backstreet Boys, as 'N Sync, we always felt like the redheaded stepchild. ", Soon after, a "livid"Littrell went to the other members and said, 'I want to file a lawsuit.'". Backstreet Boys led the pack and became households names in 1996, while NSYNC followed shortly after in 1998 and despite being in competition with one another, apparently it was all "healthy rivalry." Pearlman remembered asking. It's bittersweet. But the necessaryfifth slot was proving difficult to fill. But at the end of the day, it was all about Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, two of the best-selling bands at that time and of all-time. So how did Pearlman end up starting, fueling and ultimately ending one of the greatest boy band rivalries? Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. "It was almost like a betrayal,"Richardsonsaid. It sold 2.4 million copies in its first-week in 2000, basically doubling the previous record, which was set only months before by their archrival. AJ McClean, known as Backstreet Boys' Bad Boy, told US Weekly in 2016, "If anything, it might've been a healthy rivalry, but there was never any competition. Backstreet Boys signature song, I Want It That Way, was a huge radio hit in 1999; although it only peaked at #6 on the Hot 100, it was the most played song on American radio for three consecutive weeks. , NSYNC , . NSYNC Or The Backstreet Boys: Who Sold More Records. "Not to sound ungrateful, because it was a lot of money," Bass said, "but when you compare it to how many hours we had put into this group for years, it didn't even touch minimum wage at all. Ahead of Celebrity's release in 2001, 'N Sync wanted to make it clear they were different thanahemsome other groups in their genre. ", The special proved to be the breakout moment that the up-and-coming group had been waiting for. "Some of us will never come to terms with it. But we are sure Backstreet boys were glad when they said "Bye Bye Bye.". Then all of a sudden, 'It's business, guys, sorry.' Second, aside from a quick reunion at the 2013 Video Music Awards, where Timberlake was honored with the Video Vanguard Award, he has never returned to NSync. As for Pearlman, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2008 after being accused of running one of the largest and longest-running Ponzi schemes in history, bilkinginvestorsout of more than $300 million. So I looked at Lou like a father figure. In their doc,Richardson recalled Pearlman breaking the news of his new band to him in 1995 when he showed him a VHS recording of the rival group performing. Both bands were competing in a charity basketball game, withTimberlake, Chasez,Littrell andCarter heading to McDonald's afterwards. Backstreet Boys.Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA, US . Their most signature hit might be Burger King's greatest endorsementthe acoustic pop hit "I Want It That Way.". "They weren't happy with [Pearlman] because he would put another band together to compete with them. Check out the music video for "It's Gonna Be Me" below. "He wanted to be the sixth member of the groupand I think he wanted those boys to see him that way too," Timberlake's momLynn said in The Boy Band Con, "and if he hadn't taken advantage of them, they would have.". After that, wed almost certainly have to give the bronze medal to 98 Degrees. community environmental science examples . Bass revealed during a live taping of the Homophilia podcast at SXSW, where The Boy Band Conheld its world premiere. You don't know whether to be relieved. But Timberlakedidbecome a huge solo star and he never looked back. Saturday 03 September 2022 - Saturday 03 September 2022. , NSYNC- . And just for good measure, NSync also have thesecondbest sales week ever: third album,Celebrity,sold just shy of 1.88 million copies upon release in July of 2001. The Backstreet Boys follow-up,Black and Blue, then sold 1,591,191 copies, making Backstreet Boys the first artist to have back-to-back albums debut with over a million in sales. Soon, both bands were dominating the pop landscape through the late 90s and into the early 00s. "Backstreet Boys were basically like, 'No, we won't even touch this!'" The best-selling album by BACKSTREET BOYS is MILLENNIUM, which sold over 40,000,000 copies . Before becoming the so-called Berry Gordy of the boy band generation, Pearlman was the head of Trans Continental, an Orlando-based umbrella company that included a travel agency, Chippendales dancers and chartering planes. "It's ridiculous," Littrell, who was the first to sue Pearlman, told Rolling Stone in 2000. Anytime an individual member tried to stray from the Backstreet Boys brand, the publics apathy sent out a clear message: we would only accept this band as a collective whole. They left RCA and joined Jive Records, BSB's label. So they declined. To have gone back to NSyncwould have been seen as a step backwards for Timberlake, while re-elevating the groups status. And that, in a nutshell, is how the Backstreet Boys were formed, with the help of successful music manager Johnny Wright, who worked with NKOTB. "It just made me sad. It's hard to hate someone that brought you into your own. Not exactly a traditional start for a music manager. Timberlake side-stepped all of that; in doing so, NSyncs legacy as a solo-star launching pad remained frozen in time. "When I saw that," Richardson said of the show, "I about puked. While Bye Bye Bye is a great tune, it unsurprisingly shares none of the accolades ofI Want It That Way the song is just not in the same league. Who is the real Prince of Pop: Justin Timberlake or Justin Bieber? BSB would go on to become the best-selling boy band of all time. Portugus. I Want You Back 7. 1996, 10 . who did peyton manning retire with; illinois lockdown start date 2022 , 1995. . [25] . , No Strings Attached 2,4 . In 2010, Pearlman suffered a stroke while incarcerated, and in 2016, hedied after going into cardiac arrest. NSYNC had the edge when it came to individual talent, including future solo music star and actor Justin Timberlake. Each boy band also had to have the right sound, look, and moves. But when it comes to signature songs, Backstreet Boys blow NSync out of the water. BSB took him back to court in 2014, claiming they were still owed almost $3.5 million. If I saw them in a room I would've even want to talk to them. [27] , "It's Gonna Be Me", 1 . The BSB member who felt the most betrayed by Pearlman was Richardson, who especially viewed the producer as a parental figure after losing his father to cancer. , , - . "We have no intention of replacing Kevin, and the door will always be open for him to return to the Backstreet Boys. But that doesn't mean their contemporaries felt the same way. The list goes on and on. I have never seen them argue with each other, and that kind of scares me. "It's happening now," Chasez said of the concert special in The Boy Band Con. Their longevity is perhaps why the Backstreet Boys are the best-selling boy band of all-time, per The Tylt. N Sync, they're always moving as a group. And don't forget about the hair. All five Backstreet Boys have released solo material in one form or another, but none of them were successful away from the band (Brian Littrell had modest success on the Christian charts with hisWelcome Homealbum in 2006). In the beginning, Pearlman definitely had a favorite soft drink. Best late '90s boy band: *N SYNC or Backstreet Boys? I mean, the average person sitting there watching that show is probably like, 'So this is how the Backstreet Boys came to be.' Because of all this, Backstreet Boys were always the more definitive boy band. 10.000.000 , 2000. [40][41], , . In the end, both Backstreet Boys and NSyncare going to be remembered for being iconic torchbearers of a teen-pop empire. I'd lost my father to cancer. But it's also really hard to respect someone who lied to your face for who knows how long. You were either Team NSYNC or Team Backstreet Boys and whichever you listened to on your Walkman basically determined your friendship circle. I have a cousin who can sing his butt off. Who's the ultimate Pop Queen: Janet Jackson or Madonna? Pearlman wasn't the only member of their management team that the Backstreet guys felt anger toward over the conflict of interest, as Wright was eventually given an ultimatum by the guys: us or them. After that, BSB struck first, releasing their smash hit album Millennium. [14] , . , NSYNC. NSYNC also made it into the top 10, ranking at #7. [19][20], I Want You Back, 20. 1998. We either want the group or the solo artist to be the major success story, but not both and certainly not at the same time. 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