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New Kids On The Block
Biography
After his success with New Edition, producer Maurice Starr decided to replicate the singing group, substituting suburban white kids for the young black teenagers. The result was New Kids on the Block, a pioneering boy band that quickly eclipsed the popularity of Starr's previous group while laying the groundwork for the teen pop boom of the late-'90s. Comprising Boston-area singers Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, Jon Knight, Danny Wood, and Joe McIntyre, the New Kids were awkward and enthusiastic on their 1986 debut, which wasn't surprising given the boys' age (the oldest members were barely 16 years old, while McIntyre was only 12). With their next album, 1988's Hangin' Tough, the group's image had toughened up and they had the slick, radio-ready material to support it. From the saccharine ballad "I'll Be Loving You Forever" to the title track's stab at funk, the band enjoyed a seemingly endless streak of hits in 1988 and 1989. Five songs entered the Top 10, and even the group's Christmas album went double platinum as it road the coattails of Hangin' Tough up the Billboard charts.

New Kid mania continued in America with 1990's Step by Step; even if it sold five million copies less than Hangin' Tough, it still sold an impressive three million copies.