New Kids on the Block reunite for tour, album

By John Benson

The quintet had to be in one accord for the reunion.

Still “Hangin’ Tough” two decades after they broke into the mainstream with a screaming frenzy of kids (tweeners before we called them tweeners) in tow, New Kids on the Block, um, NKOTB, has finally returned with the reunion tour that has been talked about for nearly a decade.

If rumors weren’t circulating at numerous MTV Awards shows that Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood and Jordan and Jonathan Knight would reunite, then a world tour has been hinted at seemingly every summer concert season.

“The reunion came about now because even though it seemed like there was talk of a reunion before, and there was talk, at the time it was either a record company wanted to put it together, a promoter wanted to put it together or a TV network wanted to put it together,” said NKOTB heartthrob singer Jordan Knight, calling from Long Island, N.Y. “It was all for their own gain, never really looking out for the actual people in New Kids on the Block and to keep the group’s integrity and brand value intact.

“Other people thought this could work to make a quick buck, but that never appealed to any of us. We’ve been in this business so long and have seen it all, we can sniff that out in a second. So it was always dependent on us five guys, ‘Do we want to do this?’ The time came when all five guys’ intentions aligned, so this was the time.”

With a reunion in store, which has sold out many dates across the country, the pop group decided to up the ante. Instead of banking on their past, which includes more than 80 million albums sold and international No. 1 songs (“Hangin’ Tough” and “Step By Step”), not to mention hit pop-R&B songs such as “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” “Cover Girl,” “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time),” “I’ll Be Loving You” and more, the quintet made the decision to record new album “The Block.”

“Doing the album, first of all it makes it fun for us,” Knight said. “We just didn’t want to get on stage and regurgitate the old stuff. That’s boring. So the new material gives us something to look forward to; to breathe new life into the group. It gives us pride.

“We know going forward that we’re not old fogies that can’t come up with good material. We still have our finger on the pulse and are still very creative guys.”

Keenly, part of having their finger on the pulse of music involved enlisting some of the hottest 2008 acts to make guest appearances on a few new songs. This includes R&B superstar Ne-Yo (“Single”), The Pussycat Dolls (“Grown Man”) and Akon (“Put It on My Tab”).

In fact, NKOTB even collaborated with ’80s supergroup New Edition for the song “Full Service.” What makes that move interesting is the fact back in the day – you know, the late ’80s – New Edition used to boast they were the first New Kids on the Block.

So here we are with a new NKOTB album and tour, including a Friday show at Quicken Loans Arena. Aside from somewhat cashing in with its mostly female audience, now in their 20s and 30s, what’s next for this boy band-turned-adult singing group?

“I don’t know, we’ll see,” Knight said. “I just had fun doing this album, and now I’m having fun with this tour. We’ll see how it goes and how we’re all feeling about it. From what’s going on right now and the way we’re jelling and the momentum that’s been building, I don’t see why we can’t do another record. That would be a lot of fun.

“My main thing would be, let’s enjoy it this time around. We were kind of like chickens with our heads cut off last time around, where it was such a whirlwind and we were new to it all. Now we can kind of relax and pace ourselves more and really make sure every move is something that is pleasurable to all that are involved.”