LFO Founding Member Brian "Brizz" Gillis Dead astatine 47

When LFO stopped by in the summertime of 1999, they dropped an highly catchy hit.

"Summer Girls," with its ode to brand-name treats past and present and generation-spanning pop civilization references—Has immoderate tune since successfully comingled New Kids connected the Block with Mr. Limpet, ruby slippers, Macaulay Culkin and Paul Revere?—went to No. 3 connected the Billboard Hot 100 and announced the accomplishment of different "boy band" to watch.

Abercrombie & Fitch-wearing girls everyplace took a radiance to Rich Cronin, who was 24 when the opus hit, Devin Lima, past 22, and Brad Fischetti, 23. "Summer Girls' wasn't the group's first-ever azygous (1997's non-charting "Sex U Up" whitethorn person deed excessively adjacent to Color Me Badd's "I Wanna Sex You Up"—and what a clip it was, kids), but it was the pb offering from their self-titled 1999 debut album.

By the clip LFO (for Lyte Funky Ones) became a vigor staple, Lima had replaced founding subordinate Brian "Brizz" Gillis—which is why so galore headlines heralded Fischetti arsenic the group's sole surviving subordinate years earlier Gillis died March 29 at the property of 47.

Now, Fischetti officially has that distinction.

Before sadness overtook the LFO story, their trajectory may not person been up there with the meteoric emergence of Backstreet Boys and NSYNC—but astatine slightest theirs was a reasonably communal communicative of a short-lived radical having a fewer large songs and engendering capable popularity to support chugging on successful hearts and minds.

Much similar those different groups, though, LFO was also initially under the thumb of notorious manager Lou Pearlman, who sold Cronin's publishing rights retired from nether him because—as Cronin admitted successful aboriginal interviews—he didn't recognize helium was signing them distant erstwhile the radical inked their declaration with the Florida-based impresario. Cronin, who wrote "Summer Girls" and "Girl connected TV" (inspired by then-girlfriend Jennifer Love Hewitt) ne'er pursued ineligible action.

Pearlman, who did end up successful a ineligible conflict with NSYNC that was settled for an undisclosed amount, died successful situation successful 2016 portion serving a 25-year condemnation for wealth laundering and different fiscal crimes.

"I had to spell done tons of therapy," Cronin said on The Howard Stern Show in 2009 astir his dealings with their erstwhile manager. "I went crazy. I mean, I wrote immoderate large songs."

"The feline was awful," helium continued. "But too each this wealth stuff, helium was truly a creepy guy."

"We didn't truly extremity connected bully terms, to beryllium honest," Fischetti told WaldenPonders successful 209. "When we walked retired of that country successful 2002, it was similar a value was lifted disconnected of our shoulders."

"When you unrecorded and enactment truthful intimately with people, you're bound to make boundaries and barriers," helium explained, "and if you don't interruption 'em down, if you don't enactment connected 'em, they conscionable proceed to grow. Before you cognize it, the lone clip you're really corresponding with each different is for the 45 minutes you're connected stage, and that's beauteous overmuch wherever it got to."

On a bully note, helium shared, helium had received a flood of enactment from Lima, Fischetti and different artists from the popular euphony world—and Cronin credited Fischetti with helping him benignant retired issues with his wellness insurance.

"In 2 weeks, this has wholly changed my beingness and my position connected it," Cronin said. "The archetypal happening you privation to bash erstwhile you perceive the quality is run, but you can't, due to the fact that it's wrong of you. You person nary prime but to look it."

He had been moving connected a solo album, helium added, and planned to donate the proceeds to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. "It is simply a nightmare of a concern to beryllium in," helium said, "but I truly privation to marque thing affirmative retired of this."

"I surely ne'er thought it would happen," Fischetti, who started the statement 111 Records successful his post-LFO days, told WaldenPonders. "I deliberation I got to a constituent wherever I spent truthful galore hours trying to interruption these babe bands and past astatine immoderate constituent I sat down and thought, 'Wow, I've got a sanction already built.' We spent a batch of clip gathering that name, and it conscionable seemed similar a implicit discarded for america to fto it go."

During their years apart, helium explained, "We've each grown a batch arsenic radical and artists…and I deliberation that the accidental is present present for america to really beryllium stronger than we ever were, not lone arsenic a group, but arsenic friends. I didn't deliberation determination would beryllium overmuch much to it than conscionable a mates reunion tours, a fewer caller songs, past everybody moves on. After spending clip rehearsing, it seems similar this is really the commencement of thing new."

A caller album was surely a possibility, Fischetti said. But mainly, helium noted, "I'd similar to spell retired determination and play shows, and I'd similar radical to travel retired and spot america play."

Asked what concertgoers could expect from LFO, helium predicted, "There volition surely beryllium a batch of energy. That's beauteous overmuch what we effort for, to truly marque radical blessed for a abbreviated play of time."

Their hopeful endeavor was chopped short, however, erstwhile Lima was diagnosed with signifier 4 adrenal crab successful October 2017 and had to person a kidney removed.

"It's devastating news," Fischetti said successful a YouTube video, "but astatine the aforesaid time, there's cipher I cognize stronger than Devin Lima. No 1 has a stronger body, mind, oregon soul, and if anybody tin decision this, it's Devin." He noted that the illness his buddy had was "really rare," a "one-in-a-million cancer."

Lima died Nov. 21, 2018, astatine the property of 41.

"Devin, arsenic the satellite knows him, was an bonzer talent, a doting begetter to his six children, and a loving spouse to their mother," Fischetti said successful a statement. "He was a beloved lad and member and a person to truthful many."

He also revealed that, a fewer days earlier Lima died, "he said to me, 'Bro, erstwhile it's over, conscionable archer them I disappeared.' My friends—Harold ''Devin' Lima has disappeared."

Fischetti regularly invokes his precocious friends, including erstwhile his mom, Susie, died past August. Calling her his "biggest fan, agelong earlier I was blessed with existent fans," helium concluded his tribute to her with the sentiment, "My bosom breaks but I grin conscionable a small bit, imagining her being greeted by Devin and Rich."

On what would person been Lima's 46th day connected March 18, Fischetti wrote that his youngest girl had conscionable been baptized at the Texas religion that had been the tract of galore milestones for some of their families, arsenic good arsenic where they "said goodbye" to Lima.

"Something weird though has been happening," Fischetti continued. "I inactive retrieve you. I don't adjacent request pictures oregon videos to callback your smile, your voice, your hugs. But somehow, it's starting to consciousness similar you ne'er truly did exist. That my memories of you are conscionable dreams. Almost arsenic if I conjured you, my champion friend, my bandmate, my homeboy."

Thanking Lima for being his champion friend, Fischetti concluded, "I cognize you and Rich are celebrating large and making immoderate saccharine sounds connected the night-shift."