Who Is Charles Edwards? New Details On The Failed Boy Bander Who Quit NSYNC And Backstreet Boys And Was Arrested In Florida
Bye, bye, bye...
Mugshot He was a former member of both Backstreet Boys and NSYNC who left each band before they "made it big," and let's just say that his luck has been less-than-stellar since that time. Now, his latest snafu has landed him behind bars. Who is Charles Edwards?
Few people have had worse luck in modern times than Charles Edwards. Let’s look at why that is so.
1. He left both Backstreet Boys and NSYNC before the respective bands “blew up.”
Not since Pete Best has someone had such terrible luck with joining — and subsequently leaving — a band.
While very little information is available about Charles Edwards, there are a few places that have some information about the failed boy bander. An old Tripod website (remember those?) hosted by a man named Nick Tendo has the full scoop about Charles Edwards’ bad luck.
“Poor Charlie, 28, gave up on the Backstreet Boys back in 1992 because he didn't feel the group was going to make is. A few months later, the band became stars in Europe and began their breakthrough in the U.S. gradually. Since then, they have sold an amazing 40 million CDs. He then joined and quit the group that became NSYNC because he wasn't making enough money to get by. NSYNC has gone to sell more than 10 million albums — and their latest CD, No Strings Attached, debuted at No. 1. But two-time loser Charlie isn't giving up. He's started another band called Colorblind and is convinced that lightning can strike three times for him,” wrote Nick.
It goes without saying that Colorblind went nowhere, making Charles Edwards a three-time loser. Sigh.
2. Was Charles Edwards asked to leave?
A few years ago, Challies did an interview with Burk Parsons, the official “first member” of the Backstreet Boys. According to Burk, Charles — who went to Valencia Community College with both Chris Kirkpatrick of NSYNC and Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys — didn’t leave of his own volition. He was, in fact, asked to leave.
It bears noting that since he left the Backstreet Boys, Burk Parsons has become an ordained Christian minister. Depending on your point of view, that makes him either the most — or the least — trustworthy source.
3. Charles Edwards was part of the group while Lou Pearlman was spending fraudulently earned money.
During the This is Us tour, a Chinese website called the Global Times noted that Charles Edwards was part of the Backstreet Boys during the height of the late Lou Pearlman’s fraudulent behavior.
“Pearlman had spent around $3.5 million of fraudulently obtained money (he has been convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme during this time frame) on his search to form the group and then spent more to launch their career. They officially became a group on April 19, 1993,” they reported.
4. He was arrested for trespassing in Florida.
According to Radar Online, Charles Edwards was arrested in Orange County for trespassing. However, he ultimately managed to get away with not getting prosecuted.
“Without paparazzi present, a lone sheriff’s photographer captured his mug shot. Charles pleaded not guilty, and the state attorney later decided not to prosecute the fallen star. However, public records show he previously tangled with authorities over traffic violations,” reports the outlet.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.