New Kids On The Block

The brainchild of producer Maurice Starr, the male quintet New Kids on the Block were to bring R&B-style pop in the form of white suburban teen idols to a young female audience. After picking the boys from a talent search in Boston in 1985, Maurice Starr signed the group to Columbia for the release of their self-titled debut album a year later. Their perfectly manufactured pop hits produced what looked to be an unbeatable string of hit records and in 1989 five singles, taken from the 1988 album Hangin' Tough, hit the upper echelons of the US Singles Chart. Their third studio album Step By Step in 1990 sold over 20 million copies, went triple platinum and was followed by a tour of Europe. However, after being accused of lip-synching, the group's fortunes changed and they spent several years trying to re-invent themselves from a boy band to an urban act. They renamed themselves NKOTB, severed ties with Maurice Starr and penned the music for their fourth studio album, Face the Music, released in 1993. But with their popularity waning and failure to get any singles into the top 50, the group decided to go on hiatus in 1994. After a spate of 1980s and 1990s band reunions, NKOTB announced they were re-forming for a new tour and album in 2008. The Block was their first album in 14 years and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. After touring the US and Canada, in 2011 they announced a joint tour with fellow reunited boy band the Backstreet Boys. With a record release accompanying the tour, the NKOTBSB ('New Kids on the Backstreet Boys') name became a brand and reignited all their careers. In 2016 they toured with Paul Abdul and Boyz II Men and announced a brand new single, "One More Night." In May 2024, the group unleashed their first studio album in eleven years—following 2013's 10—titled Still Kids, packing in contributions from DJ Jazzy Jeff and Taylor Dayne.