During an appearance on The Jess Cagle Show, out former boy-bander Lance Bass of *NSYNC says one of the worst misconceptions about about he and his bandmates was “people thinking we were rich, because we were not.”
“We were famous, but we were not rich,” said Bass. “I made way more money after *NSYNC than I did during *NSYNC.”
Even though they were one of the hottest acts in music in the late 1990s/early 2000s with hits like “Bye Bye Bye,” “Pop,” “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and more, Bass and his bandmates Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick didn’t take home the majority of those record sales.
As many know today, Lou Pearlman – the music impresario who created not only *NSYNC but other boybands including the Backstreet Boys and LFO – was eventually sued by a number of his former acts for what they said were “unfair contracts and financial mismanagement.” Pearlman died in prison at age 62 in 2016 after pulling off an enormous $300 million Ponzi scheme.
“He really took a majority of all of our stuff…and the record label too. Horrible, horrible deals,” said Bass.
Lance Bass says despite what people think, he and his bandmates "were not rich" during their *NSYNC days. https://t.co/6mmSXL7YwK
— billboard (@billboard) April 27, 2023
Related: Lance Bass Told Britney Spears He Was Gay Before Others Knew
But, Bass isn’t bitter about the past. He shared that being in a band, as opposed to being a solo artist, afforded him a “great support system.”
“To do that with those guys, it was incredible and you had some of the best experiences ever,” he told Cagle. “Obviously, it changed my life, led me to so many things I wanted to do in life… they’re incredible, incredible guys. I’m glad I was in a band because I had four of my brothers that kept you down to earth.”
Bass’s post-boyband career has included several TV/film projects and Broadway shows (On The Line, Robot Chicken, Dancing With the Stars, Hairspray, Unicorn Hunters) as well as becoming an entrepreneur himself.
The 43-year-old went on to reflect fondly on career high points like performing at the 2001 Super Bowl half-time show with Aerosmith and more. Watch the interview exchange below.
I thought he would’ve made a lot more being in a band, crazy. I also think out of all those boybands more than just him has to be gay, at least I would think so.