ABSTRACT
Born in Queens, New York, Pearlman became a major promoter of teen pop bands in the late 1990s, launching groups the Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync, among others. A cousin of singer Art Garfunkel, Pearlman had dreams of being a rock guitarist as a teenager, but settled for a more prosaic business venture, leasing commercial aircraft and blimps; some of his clients included pop groups, including boy band phenomenon New Kids on the Block. Impressed by the size of their audience-and income-Pearlman decided to launch his own boy group. Because his business was located in Orlando, Florida, he had access to young performers who were attracted to the area by employment opportunities at Disney World. In 1995, he successfully launched the group the Backstreet Boys, carefully selecting the singers to appeal to teenage girls, the main consumers of this style of music. He followed the Boys with ’N Sync, another hugely successful act. In 2001, he appeared in the television program Making the Band, which documented his attempt to form a new boy group, called O-Town. Meanwhile, Pearlman was embroiled in lawsuits when his earlier discoveries balked at continuing working with him under the terms of their original contracts.
