|
Summary:
Submitted by: Jessica Lynn
The Biography of our favorite guys begins in 1984 with Maurice Starr looking for talented guys in the Boston area. After Starr's bitter breakup with New Edition, he decided to show New Edition the fortune and glory they had missed out on by forming a new boy band marketed to white teenage girls. After the departure of Mark Wahlberg and Jaime Kelly the group was complete in 1985 after the addition of Joey McIntyre. Unlike Donnie, Jordan, Jon, and Danny; Joey didn't grow up in the rural areas of Boston and had a hard time adjusting. Starr and Dick Scott searched and searched for a label for the boys and finally found Columbia Records, the company which renamed Nynuk "New Kids on the Block" after one of the tracks on the first album. Columbia dropped the New Kids after sales from the first album flopped. Without any money from record execs, Starr and Scott worked hard to promote the kids with tours and gigs at theme parks, roller skating rinks, and pretty much any venue. After recording the second album, Hangin' Tough in 1988, the New Kids made their first national performance at the Apollo Theater before a predominantly African American audience. Jordan and Jon recall in their interviews hearing women cry, "Go white boy! Go white boy go!" Just before Columbia was ready to drop the New Kids, a Florida radio station began playing "Please Don't Go Girl" and the single rapidly climbed up Billboard Charts to #10. The rave reviews at the Apollo Theatre and the first hit single persuaded Columbia Records to keep the New Kids and Hangin' Tough was released-spawning five Billboard Hits. The New Kids open for Tiffany but critics and MTV refused to take the Kids seriously until thousands of screaming girls at Tiffany concerts started attending just to see the kids. Tiffany recalls one concert in which she was booed off stage when she appeared after the New Kids' opening. The New Kids eventually start touring with Tiffany as the opening act. Soon, in 1989, the New Kids "Merry, Merry Christmas" album goes double platinum. After signing a few papers, New Kids appear on toilet paper, marbles, bed sheets, and of course as dolls. Jonathan Knight recalls having severe panic attacks and lonely nights in which he could not cope with the loss of privacy caused by the constant touring. Jonathan and Tiffany who began their relationship when the Kids first toured with Tiffany, are seeing less and less of each other. The Kids hit the recording studio again to record "Step by Step". Bodyguards recall women and their teenage daughters offering everything including their bodies just to meet the guys, an event that happened after every concert. The boys start to live the rock n' roll life of partying with women, except for Jon who is interested in spending more time with Tiffany. But as the touring continues, especially overseas, Jonathan finds less time to spend with her and he eventually loses his first love. After the New Kids record their remix album in 1991, they hit #1 on the Forbes List--making them the most wealthy entertainers in the world. As the kids get tired of touring, they get tired of the loss of privacy as well as each other. While touring overseas in 1991, their popularity grows unbelievably. At a concert in Korea, the Kids stop singing after the third song b/c the stadium is jam packed. Afterwards, mass hysteria ensues and one young teenage girl is trampled on and eventually dies. The Kids are not let out of Korea as the President has called the National Guard until the Kids finished their concert. While their popularity grows overseas, back home, the New Kids are fast becoming yesterday's news as the commercialization of the New Kids (lunch boxes, dolls, cartoons) has taken precedent over the boys' music. To add fire to this, the Milli Vanilli scandals shocks pop music. Greg MacPherson, a New Kids drummer takes advantage of the situation and accuses the Kids of lip singing 80% of their vocals on records. The Kids quickly fly back to America and sing on the Arsenio Hall Show to prove MacPherson wrong--MacPherson withdraws his accusations, but the damage is done. The New Kids' squeaky clean image is ruined by the story of Donnie Wahlberg starting a fire in a hotel in Louisville Kentucky. The New Kids take a year and half sabbatical from music. During this time, Donnie produces music for his brother Mark who rises to fame as a rapper. When the New Kids record Face the Music, critics bash the music and audiences are in love with alternative and rock, not pop! The New Kids begin touring Europe in stadiums but are reduced to small theaters. Soon, Jonathan becomes restless and decides to quit the tour. In order to explain Jon's absence, a publicist creates a story saying Jon has fallen off a horse. A few months after his departure, the boys call it quits. Joey pursues an acting career, and lands a role in the movie Fantasticks. Donnie becomes father of Xavier and eventually marries the mother of his child, Kim Fey after starring in Ransom, Southie, and Sixth Sense--Donnie makes his mark on Hollywood. Jon pursues a career in real estate and Danny pursues a career as a producer--both men become very successful. Joey releases Stay the Same, the single and album making it to the Billboard charts again. Jordan releases the single, Give it to You--catapulting him to the Billboard charts in 1999 and he releases his self titled album. In May of 2001, Joey releases his sophomore album. Jordan plans on releasing his sophomore album in September of 2001. Jordan recalls that the New Kids survived, they survived with each other b/c as Joey puts it, "we were a family first!" Jordan, Joey, and Jonathan all talk about the strong bond the guys still have today! The Kids will be successful in whatever venues they pursue, and most of all, they have enduring friendships to get them through the rough spots on the road to success!
By, Jessica Lynn
|
