Keeping up with the times

They are now all in their late 30s, definitely no longer the cute, teen idols that sent teenaged girls on a frenzy whenever they opened their mouths 20 years ago. But they can still dish out great sounds. And although the results now are of the sexy Usher variety and not as wholesome as the Jonas,’ it cannot be denied that these men still have what it takes to create a hit album. That is so right and the they here refers to the New Kids On The Block (NKOTB) who are back with a new album.

Also known as NKOTB, this group from the ‘80s provided the template on which later boy groups were based. They fully defined what a modern boy band would look and sound like. Among their hits were Step By Step, You Got It (The Right Stuff), I’ll Be Loving You (Forever), Cover Girl, Didn’t I Blow Your Mind, Please Don’t Go Girl, Tonight, This One’s for the Children, Valentine Girl, Let’s Try It Again and Hangin’ Tough. They disbanded in 1994 after selling over 70 million records, but without them, there would have been no Take That, Backstreet Boys or ‘N’SYNC and perhaps no Robbie Williams or Justin Timberlake.

And there would have also been no actor around as surprisingly riveting or fearless as Donnie Wahlberg. Donnie, big brother to Mark Wahlberg, who, in turn, was initially an underwear model and rapper named Markey Mark, was the acknowledged leader and bad boy of NKOTB. He was the one who had tattoos and body piercings. He cursed on stage and was once arrested for arson of a hotel room. He was also the one a lot of people thought would end up a casualty of his own success, a tragic fodder for dramatic pop history on VH-1’s Behind the Music in the future.

But contrary to what was expected, Wahlberg rode the wave of bad luck to even greater acclaim as an actor. I was not of the NKOTB generation but I started listening to their songs and keeping tabs on what they are now doing after watching Wahlberg act on films and TV. The NKOTB produced something as compelling as Wahlberg. He was recently in Killpoint and I remember telling myself that anybody who can hold his own against the scene-stealing John Leguizamo must be mighty talented.

Wahlberg did. He can also make the shortest of performances unforgettable. He was so creepy as the mental patient who shot Bruce Willis in Sixth Sense. He was a hero in the war drama Band of Brothers and in the slasher series Saw. He was one of the kidnappers of Mel Gibson’s son in Ransom. He also starred in Boomtown with Glenn Close and will be seen next on Righteous Kill with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Not bad for an ex NKOTB.

Aside from Wahlberg, the NKOTB was or I should say, is, Danny Wood, the athletic choreographer with the sexy muscles. He is now a solo artist and record producer. Joey McIntyre, the baby of the group became a respected actor on films, stage and TV and solo artist with a big hit in Stay the Same. Jordan Knight became a solo artist with a big hit in Give It to You. Jonathan Knight precipitated the break-up with his sudden departure in 1993. He became a real estate developer and totally absented himself from showbusiness for 15 years.

Well, they are now back on a CD The Block, which was released early last month and they are also on tour. Do you think they will be among the concert artists who will make it to local shores soon? That would be nice but I am already glad about some things. I am glad that they decided to stay with the name although they are no longer kids. NKOTB is what they always will be together. I am also glad they opted to stay with their sound instead of trying to get all dark and serious like most boy groups do when trying for depth or maturity. They did go all out sexy, but that is just fine because the NKOTB fan of today no longer needs a GP rating.

Then in keeping with the times NKOTB worked with big name acts on their comeback album. Ne-Yo is in the infectious current hit out of The Block, Single. The award-winning Timbaland is among the producers, Twisted. Grown Man has Pussycat Dolls and Teddy Riley, Put It On My Tab features Akon. The other cuts in the enjoyable, very hip mixture of, R&B/Club/Dance album are Click Click Click, Big Girl Now featuring Lady Gaga, Summertime, In the Morning, Dirty Dancing, Sexify My Love, Full Service featuring New Edition, Lights Camera Action and Stare at You.