‘Boy Band Confidential’: Lou Pearlman’s Repeated Sexual Abuse, Money Problems Surrounding NSYNC — and Everything Else We Learned

Where have all the boy bands gone?

If you’ve asked yourself this question, there’s a simple answer — they don’t exist anymore. At least, not the way they used to.

The ‘90s and early aughts were filled with boy bands featuring synchronized dancing to up-beat pop tracks, such as NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men, O-Town, and LFO, to name a few.

Executive produced by NSYNC member Joey Fatone, Investigation Discovery’s “Boy Band Confidential” takes a look beyond the leather jackets and gelled hair at the darker side of being that level of famous, especially at a young age.

“Boy Band Confidential” features first-hand accounts from Fatone’s fellow NSYNC member Lance Bass; AJ McLean of Backstreet Boys; Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees; Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men; Ashley Parker Angel of O-Town; Brad Fischetti of LFO; along with managers and various industry professionals who witnessed their rise to fame.

From the industry’s systemic exploitation of young men to the tragic deaths of various band members, there is much to discuss in “Boy Band Confidential.”

• The Death of Boyz II Men’s Tour Manager Khalil Rountree

  Image Credit: Gilmar Photography

  In 1992, Rountree, Boyz II Men’s tour manager, was shot and killed during the group’s 2 Legit 2 Quit tour. At the time, the band was opening for MC Hammer, and ahead of the tour, Mike Bivens put “personnel together and introduced us to Khalil during a rehearsal,” recalled Morris. “You know, big, burly guy.” In addition to being the band’s tour manager, Rountree was also the security, said Stockman. “He knew what it all entailed and he wanted us to be safe and he protected us, hook or crook. He would do it all, no matter what,” said Morris.

  In the hotel that night, someone had been going door to door, police determined, and came across Rountree’s open door (“Khalil would leave his hotel door open just to kind of keep an ear on everything,” said Stockman). They then pushed their way into the room, and “saw him counting the tour money,” said Morris. In attempting to get the men out of the room, Rountree and his friend, Qadree El-Amin, got the men to an elevator, where they were both shot. El-Amin survived, while Rountree did not. 

  “In reality, they were looking for us, and Khalil knew that,” said Stockman. “Because that happened to us. We had people sneak into our dressing room and stuff like that, so he really was our protector.”