They’re all grown up, but New Kids on the Block are still kids.
The iconic Boston boyband returns with Still Kids, their first studio album in more than a decade and first through BMG.
Spanning 14 tracks, the LP was led by the mid-tempo single “Kids,” which was co-written and co-produced by David Stewart (BTS, Jack Harlow) and Luke Batt (Katie Melua) and is “full of pop anthems, dance tracks, love songs and grooves that will become fast favorites for the Blockheads,” reads an earlier statement.
Formed in 1984, NKOTB features brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood.
NKOTB racked up the hits through the late 1980s and early 1990s, with career album sales topping 80 million, according to BMG. The pop act landed 13 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including nine top 10 appearances and a hattrick of No. 1s: 1989’s “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever),” 1989’s “Hangin’ Tough” and 1990’s “Step By Step.”
Still Kids is the followup to reunion album 2013’s 10, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, one of the group’s six top 10 appearances on the tally, a list that includes two leaders, 1988 sophomore effort Hangin’ Tough and 1990’s Step By Step.
The quintet got Blockheads in a tizzy last year with the 15th anniversary of their reunion album, The Block, by way of a special edition The Block Revisited, including remixes and guest collaborations.
As we now know, that just a teaser for a full reactivation across touring and recordings, orchestrated through a new label deal.
“We promise 2024 is going to be a big year for NKOTB and our blockheads,” the pop outfit announced in February, following their signing to BMG. “New label, big tour, we are just getting started.”
That trek, NKOTB’s Magic Summer 2024 tour, gets underway next month, with special guests Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Stream Still Kids in full below.
