~Warning: This Program Contains Explicit Language and Situations~

Pop5 was at the height of their fame. But the pressures of keeping up their glamorous image would almost destroy them. Victoria, the only woman, was hit hardest by the music industry's desire for perfection outside the studio.

Victoria: I knew my looks were slipping, and looks are everything in this business. No one cares about talent. But I didn't know what to do.

Buddy: When things didn't improve, we decided we had to do the mature, responsible thing.

Mike: Basically, we went behind her back and complained to our label execs. They were already concerned, and they took matters in hand.

But putting it in the hands of record label executives meant that the situation soon spiraled out of the band's control.

Victoria: It started with a nutritionist and a personal trainer. Then they convinced me I need liposuction, breast implants, and "minor" cosmetic surgery. They hired professional stylists. They dyed my hair blonde. I wasn't allowed to dress myself or leave the house without makeup.

Rob: They transformed her into this Barbie doll clone. And that's when the trouble really began.

Buddy: Once they had her all fixed up, they didn't want her to be a backup singer any more. They wanted to move her to center stage.

Rama: It was a plot. A fascist fucking label plot against the half-Asian man. They were always trying to get rid of me!

Record Exec #1: We knew we were on to something good once we got the girl to look halfway decent. I mean, the Hispanic guy could have stayed in the band, but he would have to be in the background, so he didn't distract from her costumes and dance routines.

Rama: They looked into my one Asian eye and my one American eye and they could tell I was a world of trouble.

Record Exec #2: So we brought the lead singer - what he is he? Arab? Jewish? What does it matter? We brought him into the office and sat him down and explained that he was holding the band back.

Rama: There was fear in their eyes. They were afraid I was gonna go kung fu on their asses.

Record Exec #3: I mean, we knew we would lose diversity points in our audience share. What other mainstream band had a Native American lead singer?

Rama: I couldn't take their racist bullshit, so I overturned their fucking table and I stormed out.

Record Exec #4: He started shouting about how the man was keeping him down, and then he tried to shove our eight-foot-long solid oak conference table. I have no idea what that was about.

Record Exec #2: Of course it didn't go very far, so he just kind of collapsed. That's when we called security.

Rama left the band...but not the music business. It didn't take him long to find a new gig as the replacement lead singer for Rage Against the Machine. The first album of the collaboration went platinum, with hit singles like "(Asian) Eye of the Tiger," "Kung Fu Killah," and "Fuck You Yankee Orientalists."

Rama: For the first time, I was able to do music with a social message. No one else in Pop5 really understood the horrible discrimination we Asian Americans face every day.

Rob: Excuse me?!?

But Pop5 was also suffering under their new label-imposed image.

Mike: The creativity was gone. All the label wanted were pop songs where Vicki could dance around.

Rob: We were in the background of every photo, and every video.

Buddy: We'd always had wide appeal. But now our audience was full of dudes. There were hardly any female groupies! It took all the fun out of it.

Rob: Actually, that part was pretty good.

Victoria: I couldn't stand the spotlight. I mean, I'm a smart person. I have intelligent things to say. But no one cared. They just wanted me to smile and look pretty. Well, I decided I'd had enough.

Victoria disappeared one night after a show in Chicago where the largely male audience chanted for her to remove her shirt after the show.

Mike: She didn't even tell us where she was going.

Victoria: I couldn't take it anymore. I found a doctor who could reverse most of the surgery. I dyed my hair brown again, and started wearing my old clothes. And I went to find Rama.

Rama's honeymoon with Rage Against the Machine was also coming to an end.

Rama: They were great on my political songs. But they refused to let me do love songs. I may be a fighter, but I'm a lover, too. The final straw came when I had the opportunity to do a duet with Beyonce, and they tried to stop me. No one stands between me and Beyonce.

Victoria: That's where I found him, in the studio with Beyonce. I begged him to come back, so we could be the old Pop5 again.

Once again, Pop5 was headed for the big time. But could they manage to stay there?

Coming up next: Population Five - The Top of the World...or Is It?