New Kids on the Block: Are They or Are They Not Regrouping?
And how much longer will it take before New Edition and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch follow?
Just kidding about the preceding sentence, although the title is a legitimate question.
On Saturday, celebrity rag People magazine reported that the five members of the 1980s–1990s, Boston-based boy band that disbanded in 1994 are planning to reunite. The verification comes in the form of an alleged proverbial “well-placed source,” who the magazine claims confirmed that an official announcement “will be made in the next few weeks.” In other words, surviving NKOTB fans have a lot to look forward to in February if this story is true.
As proof, People notes the resuscitation of the quintet’s official website at www.nkotb.com. It features a Flash-enhanced “exclusive video” that I must admit seems ominously like an advertisement for the group’s eventual return to performing. As touchy-feely piano music with vocals plays in the background, the following text appears on a television image showing footage of NKOTB in action during their heyday:
They rose from the streets of Boston
To become the biggest band in the world
They influenced a generation
They sold over 70 million albums
and grossed more than one billion dollars5 Multiplatinum Albums
10 Top 10 Singles
5 Number One SinglesThen they walked away from it all…
Millions of fans around the world
await their return.[A beat finally kicks in]
New Kids On The BlockAre you ready?
Sign up for access to exclusive info
at www.nkotb.comwww.nkotb.com
Whew! The pulse absolutely quickens!
So, with all that evidence—a “well-placed” source and a swankily updated website spotlighting a suggestive promo—why wouldn’t the rumor be true?
Well, the main source of doubt arises from a message posted by 38-year-old former NKOTB member Danny Wood on his MySpace website just this morning. According to the 8:44am note that was presumably written by him, none of his boy-band colleagues have discussed getting back together for a tour.
Hello to everyone. Hope all is well and everyone is enjoying the New Year. I wanted to address the rumors of the NKOTB Reunion Tour. There has been no talk of this and you are getting it from source directly. Never say never, and you can’t believe everything you read.
Note that Wood specifically refers to a reunion tour, while People just says the band members are reuniting for a comeback, which could mean for a studio recording or a jam session at a neighborhood dive or a one-time performance on a talk show or a million other things.
That’s not to mention why someone like Donnie Wahlberg, who’s enjoying a pretty lucrative and successful acting career at the moment, would want to step away from his current bread-and-butter to gamble on a return to the old days. I guess only time will tell exactly what’s going on with all of the speculation and whether we’ll soon see Wood, Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, and brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight stomping across a stage together once again.
4 Comments
Look at what the Spice Girls have started!
I think I would have to do some fast talking to get my friends from the South Shore to accompany me to a NKOTB reunion concert!
I pray that it is true and they do a reunion tour!! I’ve been a “block head” for 21 yrs now!!! (feel for jordna knight at the age of 2) I’ve seen JK in concert 4 times thru his solo career but would love to have a night of all the kids together on one stage!!!! This would be a dream come true for me and many others! And to those who don’t care or have rude comments to say, then don’t buy tickets!
DANNY WOOD DIDN’T KNOW THE REUNION HAD BEEN LEAKED! SCOTTIE G FROM THE FUNKY BUNCH HAS INFORMED US THAT THEY WILL BE TOURING OVERSEAS FIRST!!! THERE WILL BE A REUNION!! ALSO- ALL USA FANS- WE NEED TO DEMAND MORE NKOTB OR… THEIR TOURING IN THE US WILL BE LIMITED!
[...] at the end of January, a revamped band website with suggestive video footage set tongues a-wagging about a possible reunion of Boston’s own 1980s–1990s boy-band sensation New Kids on the [...]