New Kids On The Block (later NKOTB) is a successful boy band of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Assembled in Boston in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr; the members consist of brothers Jordan Knight and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood. The group went on to sell over 70 million albums worldwide, generated hundreds of million of dollars of concert revenues, and roughly paved the way for acts like Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC.
New Kids were awkward and enthusiastic on their 1986 debut, which wasn’t surprising considering that the oldest members were barely 16 years old. With their next album, 1988’s Hangin’ Tough, the group’s image had toughened up and they had the material to support it. From the saccharine ballad “I’ll Be Loving You Forever” to the title track’s stab at funk, the band had a seemingly endless streak of hits in 1988 and 1989; their Christmas album even went double platinum. New Kid mania continued with 1990’s Step by Step; even if it sold five million copies less than Hangin’ Tough, it still sold three million copies. But that was the end of the road for their short time in the sun — they were the subject of an endless amount of jokes and were getting no respect. Besides, their audience was growing up. In 1994, they returned with the Starr-less Face the Music, which actually showed a remarkable musical maturity — they were a credible urban R&B outfit — but hardly sold anything, even if they were packing theaters on tour. In June of 1994, the band announced that it had acrimoniously parted ways and all of the members were pursuing solo careers
In 2008, the members regrouped, recorded and released their first single together as New Kids On The Block titled “Summertime” from their new album titled “The Block”. “The Block” features artists such as Ne-Yo, Lady Gaga, New Edition, and Akon. |
