Lance Bass Made Way More Money After *NSYNC Broke Up
Lance Bass attends The Grove's annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and CBS's "A Home For The Holidays" special taping at AMC The Grove 14 on November 20, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Lance Bass is doing better now than ever before, financially. The former *NSYNC boy-bander recently reflected on the time when he was a member — and things weren’t as glamorous as they seemed.
In a recent interview, Bass, 43, was asked to recall the best part about “being rich and famous really young.” With a chuckle, he cleared that misconception. “Well, the worst thing is people thinking that we were rich because we were not,” Bass said. “We were famous, but we were not rich. I made way more money after *NSYNC than I did during *NSYNC.”
*NSYNC creator and manager Lou Pearlman famously mishandled the group’s finances and was sued by several members of different boy bands for cheating them out of their earnings. “He really took a majority of all of our stuff… [made] horrible, horrible deals,” Bass said of Pearlman.
Pearlman died in 2016 at the age of 62 while serving time in federal prison. He was convicted on numerous fraud charges. For example, in 2006, investigators discovered Pearlman had perpetrated the longest-running Ponzi scheme in American history and had defrauded investors out of more than $1 billion, out of which $300 million is still missing.
Family Matters
Bass remembers how fellow bandmates Justin Timberlake, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez and Joey Fatone were the family that kept things grounded and sane. “To do that, with those guys, it was incredible. And you had some of the best experiences ever,” Bass shared. “Obviously, it changed my life, led me to so many things I wanted to do in life… they’re incredible, incredible guys.”
They also formed a “great support system.” The singer said he was glad his brothers kept him “down to earth” and called him out “if you said anything off the wall.” Compared to being a solo artist, Bass said, “You kind of get this Michael Jackson syndrome of not knowing what reality is. But with a group, we had a great family unit around us, we were held down to earth.”
Justin Timberlake’s 14 Greatest Music Videos Ranked
Justin Timberlake is one of the most legendary men in pop music. The Aquarian crooner was born on January 31, 1981, and boasts a fantastic music library. He isn’t called the “Prince of Pop” for nothing, Justin comes from a musical family. Growing up in Nashville, Tennessee, his grandfather introduced him to music from country music artists like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. Performing as a child, Timberlake sang country and gospel music. At eleven years old, he appeared on the television show Star Search, performing country songs under the name “Justin Randall” (Randall is his middle name). With broadening exposure to different music genres, JT was listening to rhythm and blues musicians from the ’60s and ’70s, like Al Green, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye. He would also have listening sessions with his father of the Eagles and Bob Seger.
From Mickey Mouse to World Famous
In 1993, Justin landed the gig as a Mouseketeer on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, along with future famous castmates Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, JC Chasez, Ryan Gosling, and Keri Russell. After Mickey Mouse Club, Timberlake recruited Chasez to be in an all-male singing group, put together by Chris Kirkpatrick and financed by boy band manager Lou Pearlman, which eventually became *NSYNC. The boy band formed in Orlando, Florida in 1995, and began their career in 1996 in Germany. Timberlake and Chasez were the group’s lead vocalists. Their self-titled debut album was successful in Europe and later debuted in the US with the single “I Want You Back.” The band released four albums, with over 70 million records worldwide, becoming the fifth-best selling boy band in history. They performed at the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show.
The rise of JT’s own stardom and the general decline in popularity of boy bands led to *NSYNC’s hiatus in 2002. Moving onto his solo career, he partnered with Pharrell Williams. He released his debut studio album, Justified, that same year. He then
released his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds four years later. By 2013, he released The 20/20 Experience, with a second part of the album releasing later the same year. His fifth album, Man of the Woods, released in 2018. Five years later, the singer-songwriter announced his sixth album, Everything I Thought It Was, would be released in March.
To commemorate the former *NSYNCer’s amazing career, we’ve compiled our favorite music videos of his career. See how your favorites ranked below:
Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.
