10 boy bands and singers who were discovered by Lou Pearlman, the disgraced music manager who inspired the new docuseries ‘Dirty Pop’

*NSYNC

“Dirty Pop” includes an excerpt from Pearlman’s memoir “Bands, Brands and Billions,” which reveals his rationale for launching *NSYNC while still mentoring the Backstreet Boys.

“If Backstreet ends up being a dominant brand like Coke, someone is going to come along and create a Pepsi,” Pearlman wrote. “We might as well beat them to it.”

Chris Kirkpatrick is actually credited with forming *NSYNC by recruiting his four bandmates: Timberlake, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, and JC Chasez. They signed a record deal with Pearlman in the ’90s.

“It doesn’t matter if the contract is written in raccoon blood,” Kirkpatrick says in the docuseries. “You’re signing it because it’s your deal — it’s your shot.”

The band released their self-titled debut album in 1997, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and has since been certified diamond by the RIAA.

However, Pearlman was keeping the lion’s share of the profits. According to the bandmates, they spent three years touring and making music while living on an allowance of $35 a day. In 1999, they sued Pearlman and his label for defrauding the group, seeking to be released from their contract.

“The judge in the case was flabbergasted at Pearlman’s claim, that according to his contract and ownership of the band name he was *NSYNC, and therefore entitled to 90% of their earnings,” The Guardian reported. “She ruled for the band and the implosion of Pearlman’s empire began.”

In other words, the parties reached an undisclosed settlement and Trans Continental released *NSYNC from their contractual obligations.

The following year, *NSYNC released their first album with Jive, “No Strings Attached.” It sold over 2 million copies in its first week and spawned hits like “Bye Bye Bye” and “It’s Gonna Be Me.”

“After we left Lou, we had a record that was huge,” Kirkpatrick says in “Dirty Pop” episode two. “That’s when it felt like, ‘Now it’s our band.'”

The band’s final album, “Celebrity,” was released in 2001. Like its predecessor, it topped the charts, sold millions of copies, and earned a nomination for best pop vocal album at the Grammys.