NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

New Kids on the Block formed in 1984 in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts. Producer Maurice Starr — who had previously discovered and managed New Edition — ran a Boston-area talent search; Donnie Wahlberg, then 15 and a Dorchester native, was the first member recruited. Starr assembled, trained, wrote for and produced the group's debut album almost single-handedly, and secured its first deal with Columbia Records.

The final lineup — Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight, Danny Wood and Joey McIntyre — settled in shortly after; Mark Wahlberg (Donnie's brother) and Jamie Kelly were part of early, pre-breakthrough versions of the group but left before it came together. The Knight brothers' childhood home, a Victorian on Melville Avenue in Dorchester, has been documented by Boston Magazine, Boston.com and DotNews.

The self-titled debut album (1986, Columbia) had modest initial sales; the breakthrough came with Hangin' Tough (1988), which GRAMMY.com credits with setting “the boy band blueprint.” Step by Step (1990) continued that success; “Step by Step” is reportedly their best-selling single.

The group earned a Grammy nomination for Best Long Form Music Video for “Hangin' Tough” (1990 ceremony, lost to Janet Jackson) and won two American Music Awards in 1990. On April 24, 1989, then-Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis declared New Kids on the Block Day.

The group disbanded in 1994 after Face the Music. They reunited in 2008 with the album The Block (Interscope), followed by the joint NKOTBSB tour with Backstreet Boys (2011) and the album 10 (2013).

On October 9, 2014, the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in the Recording category, with all five members present at the ceremony.

The Thankful EP came out in 2017. In 2024 came Still Kids (BMG), their first studio album in eleven years, with the singles “Kids” (March 5, 2024) and “A Love Like This” (April 26, 2024).

On March 14, 2026, the group headlined the halftime show at the inaugural home opener for Boston Legacy FC — the NWSL's newest team — at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, with over 20,000 tickets sold, in a show explicitly framed around the group's Boston identity. As of this research, the group is in the middle of a Las Vegas residency, “The Right Stuff Remixed,” at Dolby Live, Park MGM, with final announced dates running October 2–17, 2026.