The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood.

After he was fired by New Edition for embezzling funds,[7] Starr and his business partner, Mary Alford, sought to create a white counterpart act.

[1][8][11] When a search was made to find a Michael Jackson-esque singer to replace Kelly, Starr recruited 12-year-old Joey McIntyre, who initially struggled to fit in with the group.

[11][12] Nikki Van Noy, author of the group's official biography, wrote in 2012 that the name Nynuk is "meaningless",[13] although a 1989 article by Rolling Stone suggested a possible connection to Nanook of the North.

The first single, "Be My Girl", received minor airplay around the group's native Boston but failed to capture nationwide attention.

Failure seemed destined a second time when the song became another that went unnoticed by the listening public, and Columbia Records made plans to drop the New Kids from the label.

[15] In the meantime, the group began making national televised appearances on such music programs as Showtime at the Apollo and Soul Train.

Columbia Records also released the single "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" (a cover of The Delfonics' classic hit), from the group's previously overlooked debut album.

With the success of "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)", "Cover Girl", and "This One's For the Children", the group pulled off a rare feat of having three singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, but each from a different album.

In 1991, the group topped Forbes' list of highest paid entertainers, ahead of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince and Bill Cosby.

The group immediately responded to the allegations and interrupted the Australian leg of their tour to fly to Los Angeles to perform live on The Arsenio Hall Show.

In April 1992, McPherson dropped his suit against Starr and released a statement recanting his previous allegations stating, "[The New Kids] did sing lead on their vocals".

Despite their success, the group was regularly dismissed by critics for their attempts to promote themselves as an urban act and their practice of using backing vocals for live performances.

[30] The album's final single to chart was "Dirty Dawg" (which featured a rap cameo by Nice & Smooth), peaking at No.

NKOTB went on tour to support the album, playing smaller venues such as clubs and theaters, as opposed to the arenas and stadiums they were once accustomed to.

While Wood and Wahlberg declined on-camera interviews, McIntyre cited that the only way he would perform with the band was if the group would make the decision to reunite permanently.

[34] In April 2008, after months of speculation, Wahlberg confirmed to CNN that the group had reunited with plans to record new material and to stage a tour.

McIntyre recorded a few songs written and produced by fellow musicians such as himself, Drew Ryan Scott from boy band After Romeo, Brent Paschke, and Gabe Lopez.

On August 18, 2010, an 'unofficial' announcement was made that NKOTB and the Backstreet Boys would be touring together in 2011 after the successful surprise collaboration performance at Radio City Music Hall on June 19, 2010.

[42] On November 3, 2010, an official announcement was made that NKOTB and BSB would be touring together in the summer of 2011 along with Jordin Sparks and Ashlyne Huff.

During the show, they also announced that they were going to tour North America with 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men as their opening acts in summer 2013.

The group appeared on various television series to promote the album including The Today Show, The View, and an iHeartRadio concert release party.

The official website described the tour: 'Kicking-off at the Annex in Stockholm on May 6 and culminating at Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow on June 1, the shows will take place at some of the most intimate venues across Europe, giving our fans a rare opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with the band.'

The show entitled New Kids on the Block After Dark ran for 4 consecutive nights from July 10–13, 2014 at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood.

They also starred on Pop's Rock This Boat: New Kids on the Block, a reality television series featuring the band on a cruise to Bermuda.

[52][53] In October 2018, New Kids announced their MixTape Tour, which would include 1980s and 1990s stars such as Salt-N-Pepa, Naughty by Nature, Debbie Gibson, and Tiffany.

On March 3, 2022, NKOTB uploaded the music video "Bring Back the Time", which features Salt-N-Pepa, Rick Astley, and En Vogue.

[56] Directed by John Asher, the video parodies 1980s music videos such as Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)", Devo's "Whip It", A Flock of Seagulls' "I Ran (So Far Away)", Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime", Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It", Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love", Billy Idol's "Flesh for Fantasy", Madonna's "Vogue", Duran Duran's "Rio", Toni Basil's "Mickey", Art of Noise featuring Max Headroom's "Paranoimia", and Michael Jackson's "Beat It".

The group, along with opening acts Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff, embarked on The Magic Summer Tour (2024) in June 2024.

[58] New Kids on the Block: Live from New York: A 1990 PPV special filmed at Nassau Coliseum on March 15, 1990 during the 1990 leg of the Hangin Tough Tour.