The Blimp Fraud That Built the Backstreet Boys (with Dave Holmes)

Backstreet Boys. Nsync. It’s hard to overstate how larger than life these groups were in the late ‘90s and ‘00s. While millions of girls screamed over these boy bands, though, the guys in the groups were getting royally screwed by the guy who built them: Lou Pearlman. The fraud goes so deep, and gets so weird. Writer and podcaster Dave Holmes @daveholmes  of the Homophilia, Who Killed the Video Star, and Waiting for Impact podcasts joins journalist and pop culture junkie Tess Barker for a dive into this strange and shocking story.    Looking for video docs about Lou Pearlman? Check out  “The Boy Band Con” and “Dirty Pop.”    Follow Pop Mystery Pod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @popmysterypod    Pop Mystery Pod is written and produced by Tess Barker @tesstifybarker. Produced by Tyler Hill.    Theme song by Rick Wood @Rickw00d.   Support independent pop journalism and join us on Patreon at Pop Mystery Pod. Get access to ad free episodes, bonus content, and polls about upcoming topics. patreon.com/PopMysteryPod   Follow Tess’s other podcasts Lady to Lady and Toxic: The Britney Spears Story wherever you get your pods.    Make sure to leave us a review! And tell a friend about the show!    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.