Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam profiles in detail the rise and fall of Lou Pearlman, an influential yet controversial figure in the music industry. Responsible for creating some of the most iconic and popular boy bands in the 1990s, including O-Town, NSYNC, and Backstreet Boys, Lou was also alleged to have exploited them. In the 2000s, he was accused of running one of the largest Ponzi schemes in the history of the United States, all of which is explored in the insightful docuseries. It also features interviews with members of the boybands he created, his friends, and employees, including his personal assistant Mandy Newland.
Mandy Newland Was the Personal Assistant of Lou Pearlman
Amanda “Mandy” H. Newland (née Weldon) was reportedly born and raised in Hong Kong, where she did her schooling at the English Schools Foundation (ESF). After attending Peak Primary School, she joined the Island School in 1970. She graduated from her school in 1971 with flying colors, setting a standard of excellence for future batches of students. In a conversation with the South China Morning Post, she reminisced about her experience of Hong Kong schooling, “I learned to keep my head down, work hard, not skive off, and have a great work ethic. To this day, I most certainly maintain that philosophy.” Soon, she moved from Hong Kong to the USA and bagged a job as a flight attendant at Pan American World Airways.
After that, Mandy worked as a personal executive assistant of Lou Pearlman, the owner of Trans Continental Records. He was the one who created several popular boy bands, such as Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. She was also employed at Trans Continental Records as an Artist Representative. In the early 1980s, she decided to tie the knot with Bob and made their relationship official in the eyes of the law. During her 12-year stint with Lou Pearlman and the record label, he was accused of running a Ponzi scheme and was convicted and sentenced on charges of money laundering, conspiracy, and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding. During most part of his run-ins with the law, Mandy always had the back of her employer through thick and thin.
Mandy Spends More Time With Her Family and Friends
After the entire debacle involving her former employer, Lou Pearlman, Mandy Newland relocated to Orlando, Florida. At some point, she was also employed as a Business Development Manager at Hope and Help Center of Central Florida. She regularly gets hit with bouts of nostalgia as she remembers some pleasant memories with her childhood classmates from her time at ESF in Hong Kong. Although all of them reside all over the world, she still maintains a connection with several of them. Moreover, having spent more than 15 years in the music industry while working under Lou Pearlman, she believes that she could have studied music in more depth than she did.
Apart from focusing on her professional life, Mandy has always been a devoted family woman. Over the course of her decades-long marriage with Bob, she has given birth to two sons, Andy and Ian, and one daughter named Alexia. Except for Andy, who supposedly resides in Illinois, her other two children appear to be living pretty close to her in Florida itself. Her daughter is married to Brian Boodram, with whom she shares two sons — 18-year-old Riley and Aiden, who is still in his early teenage years. Not only she is a devoted mother, but she also serves as a loving and caring grandmother to the two teens.
In September 2019, Mandy and her husband, Bob, went on their first vacation together as their daughter Alexia claimed. She wrote, “And just like that, after 38 years of marriage my parents are headed on their first vacation. They are headed to England and going to see mums family. I am beyond excited for them and I pray they forget about Orlando and soak up the countryside.” The entire Newland family and Boodram family ensure to unite together on special occasions and festivals, including each year on her birthday in July, on Thanksgiving, on Christmas, on New Year’s, and more. In August 2023, she visited St. Pete with some of her friends. Recently, the two families had gathered in May 2024 and caught up with one another.
Read More: Jerry Rosen: Where is Lou Pearlman’s Former Friend Now?
