News · moment 7 of 22
The 'Smart Boy, Figure It Out' Story and Backstreet Boys' Origins
from Lou Balls · #7
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
5 minNews
They read the infamous Vanity Fair anecdote of Pearlman in a bathrobe telling a hopeful bandmate to 'figure it out,' then riff extensively on blowjob jokes before covering how Pearlman transitioned from chartering planes for New Kids on the Block into starting the Backstreet Boys himself.
- 10:58Lou Pearlman's blimp obsession: saw one from his Queens bedroom window in 1964 and decided to start a blimp business.
- 13:20Pearlman's first blimp crashed on its maiden voyage after sponsors wanted gold leaf painted on the bottom, making it look like a floating turd.
- 14:01Tim compares Pearlman's perseverance after the blimp crash to greatness, telling kids listening that there's still time after failure.
- 14:18Pearlman launched Transcontinental Airlines, a luxury charter plane company, after the blimp business.
- 14:36New Kids on the Block chartering Pearlman's plane for $250,000 led him into the music business after learning they made a billion dollars a year.
- 15:10Tim reads allegations about Pearlman's sexual predation toward band members, including a late-night encounter at his mansion.
- 15:46Story of band member confronting Pearlman in his white terrycloth robe about joining the group, with Pearlman responding "smart boy, figure it out."
- 15:57Tim begins analyzing the implications of Pearlman's cryptic instruction and what it suggests about the band's formation.