New Kids On The Block Tickets : Brian Littrell And Donnie Had Been Working On Songs Together

New Kids on the Block are an American boy band from Boston, Massachusetts, assembled in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr. The band currently consists of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoyed success in the late 1980s and early 1990s and have sold 80 million records worldwide. They won two American Music Awards in 1990 for Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo, or Group and Favorite Pop/Rock Album.

After having disbanded in 1994, several attempts were made to get the group back together, all of them unsuccessful
In the early 1980s, Maurice Starr discovered R&B/Pop quintet (later sextet) 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 five hundred teenaged boys auditioned. Among them was 15-year-old Donnie Wahlberg, who immediately impressed Starr and Alford with his rapping skills, dancing ability and showmanship, becoming the group's first member. Wahlberg assisted in helping to recruit other members.

Among them were his younger brother Mark and his best friend Danny Wood. He also coaxed one-time schoolmate Jordan Knight, who sang an exceptional falsetto, into auditioning for Starr as well. Upon Knight's passing the audition, his older brother Jonathan was accepted into the group as well.

As the group began to take shape, Mark became disillusioned with its bubble gum direction, and opted to quit.[citation needed] Another one of Donnie's neighborhood friends, Jamie Kelly, took his place. Kelly, though, would eventually be dismissed for lack of concentration and discipline after his father's death.

Seeking a Michael Jackson-esque singer to sing the high solos, Starr replaced him with 12-year-old Joey McIntyre whom 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 eventually secured the group a recording contract 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.

After the group's split, most of the group members started families and began to venture into other avenues. Jonathan Knight and Danny Wood maintained low profiles, while the other three continued their careers individually.In 1999, MTV attempted to reunite the group and get them to perform on that year's VMAs. All of the members were on board for the project, except Jonathan. Consequently, the performance didn't happen.

In 2004, Aamer Haleem, host of VH1's Bands Reunited, also attempted to convince each of the members of New Kids on the Block to reunite for a one-night performance for the show. This time Jonathan agreed. However, Joey, Donnie, and Danny all declined. 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.

On August 18, 2010, an 'unofficial' announcement was made that NKOTB and the Backstreet Boys will be touring together in 2011. On October 8, 2010, Brian Littrell, a member of the Backstreet Boys, gave the tour a 78% chance of happening. He also stated that he and Donnie had been working on songs together.

On November 3, 2010, an official announcement was made that NKOTB and BSB will be touring together in the summer of 2011 along with Jordin Sparks and Ashlyne Huff.[In May 2011, Matthew Morrison confirmed during an interview on talk show Chelsea Lately that he would also be joining the tour.