New Kids on the block furono una boy band di genere pop che ebbe molto successo a cavallo tra gli anni '80 e '90.Il gruppo si formò a Boston nel 1984 dal produttore Maurice Starr, ed era formato da Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood e i fratelli Jordan e Jonathan Knight. Il gruppo vendette più di 70 milioni di album in tutto il mondo, e segnò un nuovo modo di fare musica, aprendo la strada a gruppi come Backstreet Boys, Take That e N'Sync.Il gruppo si sciolse nel 1994 e ognuno dei componenti prese strade diverse, c'è chi tentò la carriera solistica, c'è chi tentò la carriera come attore.I NKOTB si sono riuniti ed il 4 Aprile 2008 faranno il loro primo concerto assieme dopo quattordici anni. Sarà al Rockfeller Plaza a New York in occasione dell'annuale concerto organizzato dallo show televisivo Today della rete NBC.In the early 1980s, Maurice Starr a.k.a. 'Podman', discovered R&B/Pop quintet New Edition, and guided their early success. After breaking ties with them, Starr and his business partner, Mary Alford, sought to create a white counterpart act. Auditions were held around Boston, at which some 500 teenaged boys auditioned. Among them was 15-year-old Donnie Wahlberg, who immediately impressed Starr and Alford with his singing and dancing skills, and would become the group's first member. Wahlberg assisted in helping to recruit other local talents to audition. Among them were his younger brother Mark, and his best friend Danny Wood, who was a skilled breakdancer. He coaxed schoolmate and neighborhood friend Jordan Knight, who sang an exceptional falsetto, into auditioning for the band, and he was immediately accepted. Jonathan, Jordan's 16 year old brother, was also recommended to Starr by Jordan, and he made the group on the same day as Danny.As the group began to take shape, Mark became disillusioned with its direction of clean-cut bubblegum pop and opted to quit. He was intending on working with a harder edge. Another one of Donnie's neighborhood friends and classmates, Jaime Kelley, took his place. Kelley, though, would eventually be dismissed for lack of concentration and discipline. Seeking a Michael Jackson-type singer to sing the high solos, Starr replaced him with 12-year-old Joey McIntyre from Dorchester, who the other guys initially resented for being the one to replace their friend. With the final line-up in place, Starr rehearsed the boys diligently after school and on weekends and scored the group (which was being called Nynuk) a record deal at Columbia Records. The label, however, demanded Starr change the name of the group. Subsequently they settled on New Kids on the Block, after a rap song that Donnie had written and arranged for their first album.
