New Kids on the Block

New Kids on the Block (also initialised as NKOTB) are an American boy band from Boston, Massachusetts, assembled in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr. The band currently consists of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoyed success in the late 1980s and early 1990s and have sold 80 million records worldwide. They won two American Music Awards in 1990 for Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo, or Group and Favorite Pop/Rock Album. After having disbanded in 1994, several attempts were made to get the group back together, all of them unsuccessful. After secretly reuniting in 2007 and recording a new CD, the group released that new album and embarked on a concert tour in 2008. The album, entitled The Block was released on September 2, 2008. The group is preparing to have a tour with the Backstreet Boys. The North American concert tour is scheduled to kick off in the summer of 2011. "NKOTB/BSB" performed live together on November 21, 2010 at the American Music Awards on ABC and again on 2011 New Year's on ABC's Dick Clark/Ryan Seacrest show.

History

1984-1985: Early years

In the early 1980s, Maurice Starr discovered R&B/Pop quintet (later sextet) New Edition and guided their early success. After breaking ties with them, Starr and his business partner, Mary Alford, sought to create a white counterpart act. Auditions were held around Boston, at which some five hundred teenaged boys auditioned. Among them was 15-year-old Donnie Wahlberg, who immediately impressed Starr and Alford with his rapping skills, dancing ability and showmanship, becoming the group's first member. Wahlberg assisted in helping to recruit other members. Among them were his younger brother Mark and his best friend Danny Wood. He also coaxed one-time schoolmate Jordan Knight, who sang an exceptional falsetto, into auditioning for Starr as well. Upon Knight's passing the audition, his older brother Jonathan (also possessing a strong singing voice) was accepted into the group as well.

As the group began to take shape, Mark became disillusioned with its bubble gum direction, and opted to quit.Another one of Donnie's neighborhood friends, Jamie Kelly, took his place. Kelly, though, would eventually be dismissed for lack of concentration and discipline after his father's death. Seeking a Michael Jackson-esque singer to sing the high solos, Starr replaced him with 12-year-old Joey McIntyre—whom the other guys initially resented for being the one to replace their friend. With the final line-up in place Starr rehearsed the boys diligently, after school and on weekends, and eventually secured the group (which was being called Nynuk) a recording contract at Columbia Records. The label, however, demanded Starr change the name of the group. Subsequently they settled on New Kids on the Block, after a rap song that Donnie had written and arranged for their first album.

[edit]1986: New Kids on the Block (debut album)

In April 1986, Columbia Records released the group's self-titled debut album. The album, almost exclusively written and produced by Maurice Starr, featured mid 80s bubblegum pop material. The first single, "Be My Girl" received minor airplay around the group's native Boston, but failed to capture nationwide attention. The album's second single, "Stop It Girl", fared even worse. The New Kids went on tour around the New England states, singing wherever Starr could book them: in bars, school dances, and clubs. Nevertheless, Starr remained diligent and persuaded the label to allow the group to record a second album. New Kids on the Block, however, would later go on to be certified triple platinum by the RIAA, largely on the strength of the popularity the group attained with their next album.

Group members/Post-Careers

Jonathan Knight

He left the entertainment business and began a new career in real estate. He has publicly announced his sexual orientation on the band's official website, though says he had been living openly gay for twenty years.

Jordan Knight

In 1999, he released a self-titled solo album, Jordan Knight on Interscope Records. It was certified gold. He also scored a top 10 hit with "Give It to You", which went platinum. That summer, he opened up for NSYNC on their concert tour. He appeared on VH1's The Surreal Life in 2004 and also in the Five reality show Trust Me - I'm A Holiday Rep, along with British comedian Syd Little, Scott Wright (actor) and glamour model Jodie Marsh.[36] In that same year he released his second solo album entitled "Jordan Knight Performs New Kids on the Block: The Remix Album". In 2005 he released his third solo album "The Fix". His most recent solo album Love Songs was released September 2006.

Joe McIntyre

In 1995, he completed filming the role of Matt Hucklebee in The Fantasticks which was not released until 2000. In 1999, he released a solo album, Stay the Same, on Columbia Records, scoring a top 10 hit with the album's title track. He has also released further albums: 2001's Meet Joe Mac, One Too Many — a live compilation album of his work in 2002, — and a pop album 8:09 in 2004. He later became a regular on the Fox television show Boston Public and has performed in Broadway musicals including Wicked. In 2005, he was a contender on the reality show Dancing with the Stars and toured with the series in a 2006 live show. In 2007, he starred in an independent film titled On Broadway and released his solo album, Talk to Me. In November 2009 he released his fifth solo studio album Here We Go Again featuring the title track as the first single with an accompanying music video.

Danny Wood

He started a Boston-based record label, and did some producing and performing, but for the most part he remained out of the spotlight. He was featured in MTV's follow up to Totally Scott-Lee called Totally Boyband, as a member of a new group with other former boyband members called Upper Street. With D-Fuse, he released a 1999 album called Room Full of Smoke. In 2003, he released Second Face,followed by the 2007 album Coming Home And also the 2009 album 'Stronger: Remember Betty' which is in memory of his late mother and all proceeds are being donated to the komen foundation. He is also a sales executive for a private jet travel company called Halcyon.

Donnie Wahlberg

Has followed in the footsteps of his brother Mark Wahlberg, forging a career in acting and appeared in movies such as Ransom (1996), Southie (1998), The Sixth Sense (1999), Dreamcatcher (2003), the Saw film series, and the critically acclaimed mini-series Band of Brothers. He has starred in two short-lived television series: Boomtown and Runaway. In 2006 he appeared in Annapolis and in 2007 he starred in Dead Silence with True Blood star Ryan Kwanten also in 2007 starring opposite John Leguizamo on the TV series The Kill Point. The pair went on to co-star with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in the 2008 film Righteous Kill. In 2010 he starred alongside Tom Selleck in the television series Blue Bloods.