NKOTB

That's right, I am blogging about the New Kids on the Block. It has been well over a decade since I heard their music and yet, I still know the words. I mean, any girl that was born around the 1980's knows "Hanging Tough," "I'll be Loving you Forever," and my personal favorite "Please Don't go Girl." And yes, I know they have terribly corny lyrics and somewhat nasaly voices... but I loved them when I was a kid. No, adored them. We had all of their cassettes, we bought the Teeny Bopper magazines just to cut out their pictures. And we all had a favorite we were certain would fall madly in love with us if only we'd meet...

I know it's sad.

New Kids on the Block (later NKOTB) was a boy band that enjoyed enormous success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Assembled in Boston in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr, the members consisted of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. The group went on to sell over 70 million albums worldwide, generated hundreds of millions of dollars in concert revenues, and paved the way for acts like Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC.

KNOTB were at the top of their game and lasted in the music industry for several years. They were not a one hit wonder group. Then all of a sudden they were gone, unpopular. If you listened to their music all of a sudden you were a "nerd" or "geek." The industry blaims this on a shift to grunge and gangsta rap becoming more popular, but that claim leaves me suspicious.

I have always wondered what happened to truly cause their downfall. I heard rumors of homosexuality but am unsure of truth of that claim. It does make you wonder how a boy band could inspire cartoons, sheet sets, dolls, and millions of adoring fan and then be gone as quickly as they came.

Guess that's just the business.


Watch "Step by Step" here: