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[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 matinée 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 ass.

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 shoot,

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.

Shit. 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 gay."

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 shit 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]