Coming of Age - TV Hits

October, 1999

WHEN ONE FIFTH OF NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK, THE ORIGINAL BOYBAND, INVITES YOU TO JOIN
HIM IN TEXAS, WHAT CAN YOU SAY? OTHER THAN, ‘CHEERS JORDAN KNIGHT, HAVE THE LIMO
WAITING…’

So Jordan, what’s it like starting all over again?

Its really exciting, because it’s been so long since I’ve done it. I’d forgotten
how good it feels!

You obviously don’t need the money, so why exactly are you bothering with it all?

I kind of felt like I needed to. Sure, I didn’t have to do it for money reasons,
but I guess I needed to do it for myself. When you’re in a group you have a bunch
of different opinions and you’re not in total control of what’s going on…not that
being in a group was bad – we had a great time and I loved working with the guys
– but this is something I really wanted to do.

So what exactly have you been doing for the last six years?

We stopped touring in ’94 and I took the rest of the year off. In ’96 I signed a
record deal, then for the next two years I worked on the first single, which got
released here (in the US) in early ’99. I knew I had a lot of time and I didn’t need
to rush anything. Music’s the most important thing – you can have talent, looks,
charisma and a great video, but if you don’t have a great song, it’s not gonna work.


How did you choose Give It To You as the first single?

I didn’t! A guy from a radio station in Miami, Florida, chose it. We sent him a copy
of the album before it was even pressed and asked him if he’d play a song off it.
We told him to play the Prince song, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man, ‘cos
everyone thought it’d be the best first single. He was like, ‘I don’t know about
the Prince song, but Give It To You I really like…’

So, how’s your brother, Jon?

Really good!

Is he thinking of coming back into the industry?

No, no…he’s absolutely out of it.

Is he the one with the ranch?

No…me and my brother bought a house for the family and we’ve got a few horses, but
I don’t think you could call it a ranch!

Do you see much of Joey McIntyre these days?

Yeah, I still speak to him every now and again. You know, there was no big fall out
with all of us – it’s just that after being together so much, we needed to spend
a bit of time apart. It’s just like when you’ve been at school with people, then
you go your own way – you tend to drift apart, and that’s what happened with us.
I’ve actually bumped into Joey a few times recently, ‘cos he’s on the same sort of
music circuit as me now, and that’s been good.

Have many of your old fans stuck with you?

Oh, tons, tons, tons! (quite a lot, then!) I’ve been extremely lucky that a lot of
fans have stuck by me. It’s kind of kept me going too, you know? They’ve still got
websites, and there are fans from across the world leaving messages – before I even
released a record they were saying, ‘When are you gonna release an album? We can’t
wait! I was like, ‘well, this is cool!’

Do you have any mad stalkers?

Yeah, there are definitely a lot of crazy girls – there were a couple of girls who
followed me through a whole world tour! I don’t know where they were from, but they
went to Canada, Europe, America…they went everywhere!

What audience are you aiming at now?

To be perfectly honest, anyone who wants to listen! I don’t mind what age they are
as long as they like it and enjoy it!

Is it just a coincidence that you and Joey both have singles out?

Complete coincidence! Neither of us knew the other one had plans to release this
year. It’s weird, really.

Who would you say is the 1999 equivalent of New Kids?

Do I have to answer that question? C’mon…don’t we all know that?! Oh, alright! I’ll
say it – Backstreet Boys or N’Sync.

So isn’t it weird that you’re now supporting ‘N Sync?

You know, I personally don’t see it as weird ‘cos I know their manager and that’s
how I ended up on the road with them – as a new act, in a support role, which is
what everyone has to do. I can see why people could look at it and think it was kinda
weird, though.

When you first met them, were they a bit in awe of you?

I think when we first met we were all a little standoffish. I was wondering what
they thought of me, and I guess they were feeling the same, but as soon as we got
to know each other it was real cool. Actually, I went out shopping with Justin the
other day to the mall, but it just got totally crazy as we were both recognised –
the whole place came to a standstill!

Do they come to you for advice?

Not really. I guess they’re finding the way for themselves, but maybe in a year or
two when it gets harder they may wanna know how I dealt with things.

Have you ever actually had a ‘normal’ life?

It’s certainly not an ordinary life, that’s for sure. Most people stay in their city
or town, working in an office or whatever. But I’ve had the chance to experience
so much…I just feel really, really, lucky.

Do you ever look at your friends from school who are married with kids and feel jealous?

Never! A lot of people go, ‘It’s so terrible you missed out on your teenage years
– you didn’t get to live a normal life…’ (laughs) I’m like, ‘Well, you can have your
normal life – this is the bomb!’

Give It To You’s a bit saucy…

It was really a ‘whatever’ song – it was actually the last song we did on the album
and we thought ‘Let’s just do a song with no boundaries and go where we want with
it and see what happens…’ and that’s what happened!

Do you think you’ve learnt from your mistakes?

I’ve learnt you should get more sleep, but I haven’t learnt how to do it yet! I’m
still working on it!

Do you still enjoy the dancing?

Yeah – didn’t you see me up there (on stage) tonight?! I love dancing – I always
have.

Have you thought about managing someone else?

(blows a raspberry!) I can hardly manage myself, let alone someone else! I mean,
I could consult for someone else, but I’d never do it myself! I mean, just watch
this dude, (pointing at Miguel) – he’s on the phone, like, constantly!

Are you looking forward to getting the star treatment again?

Erm, this is going to sound really corny, but what I’m really looking forward to
is just growing as an artist, being able to work with awesome, really creative people
– that’s what I get off on. (laughs) The rest is just the perks!

Do you have any regrets from your New Kids days?

Regrets? Well, no matter what you do, you make mistakes and you can either regret
them or you can learn from them, so I’d rather learn from them. If I’m gonna sit
here and regret things then I’m gonna put myself in a negative state of mind. (all
pumped up) Yeah! I’m still here and I’m doing well, so is there anything I regret?
No!!

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