RedditIn the '90s, there was no greater honor than being in a boy band. If you were boys and could sing and dance to a song that was even the slightest bit catchy, you had a shot at stardom. That's why there were roughly 13,000 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys copycats.
One of those copycats trying to capitalize on the boyband era was a group called Youth Asylum. They were a six-member multi-racial band signed to Qwest/Warner Brother's records from 1998-2000, and had one semi-successful single called "Jasmin." They were a hit on the Disney Channel, but their debut album was never released.
Kevin Ye was one-sixth of that group and he recently did a reddit AMA to spill some secrets about trying to get a boy band off the ground in the '90s. He's still making music through Broadway productions and his own YouTube channel, so at least he came away relatively unscathed. Before you read on, make sure you press play below to put yourself in the mood for this rare (and sad) behind-the-scenes look at the music industry:
1. He had zero control over his life while in the band
"We were told how to talk, dress, act. I was pretty geeky when I started, but they bleached my hair, pierced my ears, and tanned me. Most of our clothes were forced on us by whatever designer was sponsoring us. Music wise we were never encouraged to write our own music since our manager did and made all of his money that way. We were also coached what to say on certain subjects if we were coming off "not sexy enough" etc."
2. Kevin is gay, but his label reportedly told him to act less gay for the female fans, and they tried to "teach" him how to be straight
"My management guessed that I was gay pretty early on even though I wasn't out. One day they had a closed door meeting with the record execs and told me that I was coming off gay and that I had to change how I acted. They didn't care if I actually WAS gay; it was more how I was being perceived. We were marketed towards teenaged girls so there couldn't be a gay member. That's when they started to style me and control what I said and did. They used to teach me how to walk ‘straight' up and down the aisles of a grocery store. It was a very homophobic environment including the members of the group. When the group was over I came out of the closet to my family and now I am very open about my sexuality because I want to prove to people that it isn't a hindrance."
3. They had insane fans, even if they weren't as popular as, say, 98 Degrees
"We had a lot of really die hard groupies that would travel far to see us and bring us random presents, make us signs, make us take millions of pictures and sign millions of things. I do think their parents enabled their behavior. Most were very respectful but screamed a lot. They were SO loud. Never underestimate the vocal chords [sic] of a teenaged girl."
4. His bandmates enjoyed the perks of having groupies
"I did witness some of my cohorts take advantage of the situation, but personally I never did. I also think ‘the people taking care of us' were letting the fans get close to us, bringing them backstage and such, enabling the situation. I think they figured the happier the fans, the more money will come in. It does seem a little strange in retrospect..."
5. He actually came out of the band in debt instead of richer
"[I made] about $4,000 over three years. Although housing was provided, [the debt] was from other things like day to day life. We weren't always provided with food or non-performance clothing especially when we weren't on tour. My mom ended up paying for a lot of my living expenses. I had to work at a clothing store to stay afloat afterwards. I remember a few times there would be customers that would come in and recognize me. Once I was recognized when I was mopping the floor."
6. He has rubbed elbows with some big '90s stars
"While we were on tour we did meet some 'N Sync-ers. We lived in this apartment complex where a lot of teen stars lived so we ran around with Christina Milian and Raven Symone back in the day."
7. The band broke up because they were not good at singing live and due to a record label change
"We weren't great live because we had never worked together before we were signed…There were some shady music business dealings behind the scenes. Ultimately what ended us was a change at the record label. Our label was an offshoot of a larger label and they decided to shut it down. They gave our management the option to keep us, but our managers thought we could shop the album to another label. We were all sent home after a very unfair settlement and told that we'd hear from our managers when they found us a new label. It's been 14 years and I'm still waiting for that call."
8. The guys were all crammed together in one apartment
"Very few of us were from Los Angeles (where we were based) so they rented us a two bedroom apartment where six of us and a chaperone lived. So we had to get very uncomfortably close very fast. There wasn't really any ‘outside of work' since we were all in our teens and couldn't really go anywhere unescorted. Basically, we spent three years in that apartment unless we were touring or recording. None of us have kept in touch except through Facebook... and even then I have most of them hidden from my feed."
9. The money that was supposed to go their tutoring went somewhere else
"I have to be a little vague on this one, but people who were supposed to be taking care of our well-being were keeping the money that the label was giving us for education (for their own lavish lifestyle), and giving us occasional subpar tutoring not up to Los Angeles child performer standards. Halfway through our three years with the group ‘someone' (probably the union) found out and the label got in trouble. Only then were we provided with an education (the best tutor money could afford... he ended up traveling with us), but by then many of us were too far behind…My diploma was basically bought for me."
10. He does have a copy of the album that was never released
"It occasionally plays on my iPod randomly and I wistfully remember when.... And then skip to the next song."