Sometimes less really is more!
During a Wednesday episode of SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, Lance Bass looked back on his *NSYNC career — and it’s not exactly what we would have expected! At the height of its run, the boy band absolutely DOMINATED the music industry, with one chart-topping hit after another. One naturally might assume the five members — Bass, Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, JC Chasez, and Chris Kirkpatrick — made a fortune during that time. However, according to the Bye Bye Bye singer, that was simply not the case.
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Cagle asked Lance, “What was the most fun thing about being rich and famous really young, and what was the worst thing?” The 43-year-old quickly shot down that perception. He explained, “Well, the worst thing is people thinking that we were rich, because we were not.” The Thinking of You singer surprisingly explained how the checks didn’t REALLY start coming in until he carved out his own solo career:
“We were famous, but we were not rich. I made way more money after *NSYNC than I did during *NSYNC.”
Whoa! Why? Because of one man…
The father of two revealed that the boy band’s former manager, Lou Pearlman, “took” all of their money. You may remember Pearlman, who created the band, was convicted of fraud in 2008 after his infamous $300 million ponzi scheme was uncovered in 2006. Several members of multiple boy bands, including *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, sued him as a result. Lance added:
“He really took a majority of all of our stuff… [made] horrible, horrible deals.”
The late businessman died in prison at age 62 in 2016.
However, despite the severe mismanagement, Lance still looks back fondly on his time with the rest of the crew. He reflected:
“To do that with those guys, it was incredible. And you had some of the best experiences ever — I mean, obviously it changed my life. It led me to so many things I wanted to do.”
He continued:
“Just a lot of pinch me moments, like, really, I got to do that? Like, how freaking cool because I still see myself as that little kid in Mississippi.”
So sweet! Even if he didn’t have the material wealth, it sounds like he was rich in experience and gratitude. *NSYNC famously ran from 1995 to 2002. Since then Lance has embarked on a lucrative career of his own, even hosting a season of Bachelor in Paradise!
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He later reflected on the band dynamic in comparison to having a solo career, explaining:
“I’m glad I was in a band because I had four of my brothers that kept you down to earth. If you said anything off the wall, they would just slap you down like, ‘What did you just say?’ But if you’re a solo artist, you’re always like, ‘Yes, yes, yes.’ You’re the boss. That’s it. But with a group, we had a great family unit around us, we were held down to earth.”
Watch the full clip (below):
So inneresting to hear about the behind the scenes dynamic! Were YOU surprised by Lance’s revelation, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments down below!
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