Original NSYNC member speaks out about quitting boy band – UK Times

Original NSYNC member Jason Galasso has reflected on leaving the boy band before they hit the big time.

Galasso was the original fifth member of the group, alongside Justin Timberlake, J.C. Chasez, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick.

He left just before they signed a record contract with music mogul and convicted scam artist Lou Pearlman in 1995, and was later replaced by Lance Bass. The four remaining members went ahead with singing the deal with Pearlman.

Galasso did leave a lasting impact on the group however: the name “NSYNC” was conceived by Timberlake’s mother Lynn Harless and incorporates the last letter of each member’s first name, including the “n” from Jason but not the “e” in Lance.

Speaking in an upcoming episode of ID’s new docuseries Boy Band Confidential, Galasso said he decided not to sign the contract with Pearlman because: “At that juncture with NSYNC, it didn’t feel right. So I didn’t do it.”

Galasso, who knew Fatone from high school choir, said the other members of the boy band were unhappy with his decision. He said Chasez let him know, recalling: “JC was pissed, calling me like, ‘What are you doing? What are you doing?’ And I don’t blame them. I kind of left them high and dry. So I get it. I’d be pissed at me too.”

He went on to say that his life subsequently took a different path, explaining: “After NSYNC, I went back to college and got my degree. Then a buddy of mine I went to school with, he was in the mortgage business, and I’ve been doing that ever since.”

Asked if he has pondered what would have happened if he signed the deal, Galasso added: “There’s always going to be those ‘what if’ moments, it’s just human nature.” After a pause, he added wistfully: “I don’t know, I don’t know.”

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Boy Band Confidential is set to air Monday, April 13 and Tuesday, April 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Investigation Discovery. Episodes will then also be available to stream on HBO Max.

NSYNC were one of the most popular boybands of the 1990s and 2000s, selling over 70 million records.

Pearlman, who was also behind the Backstreet Boys, died in prison in 2016 at the age of 62.

He had been convicted of fraud for running a $300m (£230m) Ponzi scheme through his Trans Continental companies. He ran away to Indonesia but was captured by the authorities in 2007 and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2008.