Joey Fatone talks 'Boy Band,' death threats and *NSYNC reunion hopes

• Joey Fatone, a member of the group *NSYNC, is executive producer of the ID documentary "Boy Band Confidential," premiering Monday, April 14.
• Joey Fatone, now 49, is one of many musicians who sits for the docuseries, which also includes interviews with Wanyá Morris and Shawn Stockman from Boyz II Men and AJ McLean from Backstreet Boys.
• Joey Fatone reveals what it was like to receive death threats as a member of *NSYNC and recover from being on the brink of financial ruin.

*NSYNC’s Joey Fatone has a new docuseries that will transport viewers back to the time when the crooners with choreographed dance moves who served as "Tiger Beat" centerfolds were “Larger Than Life.”

“Boy Band Confidential” will air on Investigation Discovery (ID) over two nights, Monday, April 13 (9 ET/PT), and Tuesday, April 14. Fatone, an executive producer, is one of many musicians recalling the highs and lows of a storied career, giving viewers a taste of what life was like behind the scenes and beyond fans' screams.

Wanyá Morris and Shawn Stockman of the Grammy-winning group Boyz II Men remember the fatal shooting of their tour manager Roderick "Khalil" Rountree in 1992; Alexander James McLean, known to Backstreet Boys fans as AJ, discusses his recovery from addiction; and Nick Lachey remembers the early days when 98 Degrees just started to simmer. Jason Galasso, an original member of *NSYNC, later replaced by Lance Bass, sits down to share why he left the band.

“Anytime that I've talked to any of the other guys from other groups, we've always had some sort of camaraderie and something in common,” Fatone, 49, tells USA TODAY. “Lou Pearlman, of course, was a big common denominator, but it had nothing to do with anything about Lou. It was more or less the trials and tribulations of the pressure of being in a boy band.”

Pearlman, naturally, is covered in “Boy Band Confidential.” Before his death in 2016, Pearlman helped launch bands like *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and O-Town. The music mogul, subject of “The Boy Band Con” (produced by Fatone’s bandmate Bass) and “Dirty Pop,” died while serving a 25-year prison sentence for a $300 million Ponzi scheme. Musicians he managed also felt bamboozled. *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys filed suits against Pearlman in the late '90s but ended up paying him a $64 million settlement to escape their contracts.

Fatone revisits being on the brink of financial ruin and the death threats *NSYNC received, and he assesses the possibility of the band reuniting decades after going on hiatus in 2002.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Question: Some of those interviewed for the docuseries make terrible accusations against Lou Pearlman. Others have complex feelings, as Lou was a father figure. What are your feelings toward Lou today?

Joey Fatone: He was a great businessman for himself. That's what you got to say. I was on a plane and Lou − this is after everything happened − he was a couple rows behind me. And (my manager, Joe Mulvihill) was like, “Yo, man, Lou’s there.” I got up, said: “Hey, good to see you, man. Are you all right? Everything cool? Great, take care.” And I sat back down and Joe was like: “That was cordial. That was interesting.” I said, “Well, he helped my career.”

Now, is he a bad guy? Yeah. Did he do the wrong things? Yeah. But on top of that, he did help me get to where I am today. So how could I be really mad at that? I can be mad at him, but how could I be mad at the fact that I had an opportunity?

The docuseries covers death threats *NSYNC received. Did those concern you?

It got scary every once in a while. It was always like, “Yo, bomb threat.” Like, “What?” The band and us had to scoot out, which was crazy. And they let the audience stay there for a minute, which is even crazier. But really, they don't want to say anything because usually, 9 times out of 10, it's not a real thing, and they don't want to have pandemonium or a big panic.

One time Lance got, like, a death threat, and when we do “Sailing,” we're usually flying in the air, and there's designated places where we are. Lance was like, “Can you switch with me?” I’m like: “What do you mean, switch with you? I’m not going to switch with you. They’ll shoot me. Are you crazy?”

*NSYNC sold more than 70 million records, and you quite candidly talk about financial hardships. What is it like to share that?

I learned a valuable lesson of, when you're making the money you're making, which is great, you should invest money, obviously (laughs). And at a young age, I didn't do that. My accountant did not do that for me. They said that they did or talked about it and never did. I moved to a different accountant, and the accountant tells me, “You need to get out of this house or else you're going to go bankrupt.” I went: “I got two kids. I got a wife. Big house. What the hell am I going to do?”

I put my tail between my legs, literally asked people for money at first, because your brain goes to automatic survival mode. You don't know what to do. And I think I panicked for a second and I'm like: “Wait, you know what? Let's calm down for a minute. Let's figure out what we can do here.” Got rid of my house, moved in with my parents. I didn't cry about it.

I'm always going to find a way to be successful, whether it be somewhere local, somewhere small, or on a bigger scale. I don't care if I perform in front of 50 people or 50,000 people, I just love performing.

*NSYNC reunited for the songs "Better Place" (from the 2023 movie “Trolls Band Together") and “Paradise” (on Justin Timberlake’s 2024 album “Everything I Thought It Was”). What was it like to get together after all these years?

I would love to do things like that. You come out for, like, two, three months, do something with the guys and then do your own individual things. It's always that million-dollar question: Are we going to do something or not? And it's really hard to say, because I can only speak for myself.

I think that was just the perfect timing for “Better Place.” And then it went from that to “Paradise.” It was just a one-off thing. It wasn't like, “Well, guys, are we going to get back together?” I mean, was there hope? Of course there was. (Were) there thoughts about it? Of course. But (Justin) did his tour, comes back. Now, if you're working your butt off for a couple of months, do you want to go back out on tour, right out of the gate, right after you're done? I wouldn't. Everybody has their own thing, which I think is great. But, you know, who knows?

Well, I will individually get to each of you.

Please do, because I'd love to know what their answers are going to be. Because I'm telling you my answer: Probably not going to happen anytime soon. I'd love to see what they've got to say.