with the monkees. ♪ then i saw her face i'm a believer ♪ ♪ just as long as you hold me ♪ >> and here don't forget new edition. they had bobby brown. >> but it was the success of new kids that really caught lou's attention. >> how's my mic? good? >> lou pearlman talked to chris cuomo on "20/20" in 2000. >> i was invited to come down to one of their shows. all the screaming. i was like, "my god, what's going on here?" and these girls were buying these t-shirts and hats and chains and posters. >> i love the new kids. >> i was like, "man, this is exciting." i mean, not to mention, okay. there's a tinkle into the cash register. no question about it. unbelievable. >> so what did you do? >> i said, "i think i can do that. i think i can put a group like that together." >> by the time lou had his idea to start a boy band, he was living in orlando, florida. and orlando is a great place to be if you want to start a boy band because there's a lot of young talent auditioning for roles at the theme parks. >> i was a manager at the time. a.j. mclean was a client. >> i always felt that because he ha