Jordan. Donnie. Joey. Jonathan. Danny. Those five names will forever ring into people’s heads as the five that are New Kids On The Block. I remember you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing their music on the radio or on MTV and there was all kinds of merchandise with them, they even had collectible trading cards! I’m done digressing, on July 2nd the Mixtape Tour featuring New Kids On The Block with special guests Salt N Pepa, Naughty By Nature, Debbie Gibson and Tiffany adorned the stage to a packed Prudential Center in Newark.
This night was so cool as it felt like you took a step back into time into the late 80’s/early 90’s with the spandex, the excessive amounts of makeup and hairspray, the hoop earrings, and the outfits that looked like you were getting ready for jazzercise. New Kids On The Block took over the stage as you could hear the screeching and screaming from the mostly female audience as the teen idols took over the stage. NKOTB showed why they were pioneers of the boy band movement that engulfed the late 90’s with jams such as “The Way”, “My Favorite Girl”, and “You Got It(The Right Stuff)”. The audience sang as loud as they could to every word and NKOTB gave the fans a special treat as they went into the crowd for “Block Party”.
The interesting thing about this night was after they completed that set, Tiffany and Debbie Gibson both had their sets. The mall queen Tiffany jammed out to her three main hits “I Think We’re Alone Now”, “All This Time”, and “Could’ve Been”. Debbie Gibson, who still looks as gorgeous as ever, sang her smash hits such as “Shake Your Love”, “Out Of The Blue”, and cell phone lights adorned the arena as she sang “Lost In Your Eyes”.
Then, NKOTB came back out a did a cool medley with “Didn’t I(Blow Your Mind This Time)”, “Valentine Girl”, and “If You Go Away” and their smash hit “Please Don’t Go Girl”. Then, you weren’t getting a break on this Mixtape Tour as legendary hip-hop artists Salt N Pepa took over the stage.
Salt N Pepa still have that sex appeal that they’ve always had. They flowed and got the crowd into a frenzy with their smash hits “Shoop”, “Whatta Man”, and “Let’s Talk About Sex”. It got me to thinking, this is a really cool way to keep the night moving like an all night party instead of waiting 15 to 20 minutes between each band.
NKOTB came back out and had some audience singalong time with breaking into some medleys and covers of songs like “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard, “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper.
Then, as an extra treat, Naughty By Nature came out and got the crowd waving their arms to “Hip Hop Hooray” and shouting back “You Know Me” with the song “O.P.P.”.
NKOTB came back to do an encore with their smash hit “Hangin’ Tough”, which they also paid homage to Queen’s “We Will Rock You”.
It was a night where memories and nostalgia flooded our brains and we sang our hearts out. This is what it feels like to be a kid again.
- Photo Credit: Kim Casper at Garden State Band Connection
- Photo Credit in Slideshow: Marcello Ambriz
For further news, go to www.nkotb.com
