NLT: Following In (Probably Too) Many Boy-Band Traditions

Maura Johnston — Fri, 09 May 2008 08:55:00 EDT

The OneRepublic-vocalist-produced "Karma" by the new boy band NLT seems to be catching a little bit of fire, or at least has a viral-marketing team that knows about the world of pop-music blogs behind its push. The song is an early-'00s-informed bit of pop-radio playlist filler, and the group, which is apparently something of a redemptive product for B2K svengali Chris Stokes, seems to be the Mach 2008 version of the classic boy band. It's made up of four just-shy-of-20 dudes who are just cute enough and just threatening enough, and who have as one member someone named "V." Watching this video, I noted that NLT also carried on important boy-band traditions, as if to honor the boys to men who have traveled in the streaming-girl-strewn path they hope to ride an Escalade down.

• A dumb acronym for a name. "NLT," which may be one of the most innocuous names in the world (everyone knows you need vowels to stick out!), stands for "Not like them." Perhaps that means they are not like these guys:

They're actually into girls who shop at Hollister.

• An extended dance sequence in a well-lit hallway.

Although Justin Timberlake et al never had the presence of mind to sing in front of an illuminated equals sign. Mathy!

• A sequence where it seems they are crawling around the hair on someone else's head.

Let's hope that this means they'll be going the "surrealism as a way to show their disgust with the biz" route early.

NLT - Karma (Official video) [DailyMotion via Chris Picks]
LFO - Summer Girls [YouTube]
NSync - Bye, Bye, Bye [DailyMotion]
The Monkees - HEAD (Dandruff) [YouTube]

Boy-Band Svengali Even Sleazier Than Previously Thought

mjohnston — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 09:01:37 EDT

The upcoming issue of Vanity Fair will take a look at the predilections of disgraced boy-band maestro Lou Pearlman—currently cooling his jets in a Florida jail while awaiting a trial on bank fraud charges—and you may be shocked to hear that his interests in young men went beyond their abilities to sing, dance, and make the little girls cry. In addition to allegations that he was "definitely inappropriate" with the Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter and a description of his clumsy pickup techniques (one person recalls him spreading his legs while wearing a white terrycloth robe and matching underwear, then uttering the not-quite-Mae-Westian come-on "You're a smart boy. Figure it out."), ex-members of lesser boy-band lights recall events that echo the very special Gordon Jump episode of Diff'rent Strokes:

Tim Christofore, a member of Take 5, recalls that during a sleepover at Pearlman's house, the music czar swan-dived onto his and another boy's bed and wrestled with them wearing only in a towel, which came off. "We were like, 'Ooh, Lou, that's gross.' What did I know? I was 13," Christofore told Vanity Fair.

Rich Cronin, lead singer of LFO, recalled Pearlman told him of an "ancient massage technique that if I massage you and we bond in a certain way, it will strengthen your aura."

"Strengthen your aura"? Wow. With sub-singles-bar persuasion techniques like that, you'd think that people would have been a little more skeptical of Pearlman's make-money-fast schemes.

SLEAZEBALL BEHIND BOY BANDS [Page Six]

Idolator: lfo

NLT: Following In (Probably Too) Many Boy-Band Traditions

Boy-Band Svengali Even Sleazier Than Previously Thought