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Pop Dee-Lite : NKOTB Reunion : Not the Right Stuff
Let me preface this by saying that I was 10 years old when New Kids on the Block released their debut album in 1986. I grew up during the height of New Kids on the Block popularity. While I never saw them in concert and didn't plaster my room with NKOTB posters or own the sheet and comforter set like some of my friends, I was a fan. I owned their tapes. So, you would think I might be excited about the NKOTB reunion.
But when news broke of their reunion and impending record release and tour, I was more skeptical than excited. Why is this necessary, I asked? Didn't they see Mission: Man Band on Vh1? That did not end well. Who would possibly want to watch a bunch of guys in their mid to late 30s singing bubblegum pop hits Hangin' Tough and The Right Stuff 20 years later?
This skepticism then turned to horror after watching the NKOTB performance on the Today Show this morning. I watched it out of sheer curiosity and to convince myself that this was really happening. It was like watching a train wreck – a train wreck surrounded by overweight 30-something women singing along to every word. They even used most of the same choreography from the olden days when they performed a medley of their hits, which now sound completely cheesy. That's not to say they weren't cheesy 20 years ago, but it was the 80s and I was 10. Even more disturbing was the new choreography, which attempted to resemble Justin Timberlake in an awkward I-have-to-look-at-my-feet-to-do-this sort of way. They also performed their new single, Summertime, which was obviously written to gain Top 40 airplay in the, uh, summertime. It's slick and polished with no-brainer lyrics about a summertime love. (I think about you in the summertime. And all of the good times we had, baby.) And it also sounds like something the Backstreet Boys did seven years ago.
What's even more perplexing to me is the fan response. I actually know someone who got tickets to go to the Chicago show, and my co-worker's friend hit her up to go to the Minneapolis show, after new tour dates were released today (all of these women are around my age). Why, I ask? Why??
I'm all for nostalgia, but this is one former fan who isn't ready to throw my support their way in the form of buying the album or getting concert tickets so that I can relive those awkward tween years and all of the crappy music associated with them. I suppose you could liken NKOTB's former popularity to that of today's Jonas Brothers. Tweens love the young, cute band and their infectious pop, just like I loved NKOTB at that age. Twenty years from now, they will probably reunite after the brothers go their separate ways, release failed solo efforts, appear on The Surreal Life, star in numerous TV shows, participate on Dancing with the Stars, and suffer a panic attack on Oprah.
Today's NKOTB Performance:
NKOTB - Hangin' Tough video:
And now I must face the rest of my day with Hangin' Tough replaying over and over in my head. Thank you, NKOTB.
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posted by Dee @ 11:55 AM
8 Talk back to yo' mama!
8 Talk back to yo' mama!:
I bet that place was MILF Central.
I'll admit I was excited about this. Definitely in for a show if it wasn't insanely priced (and you know it will be). This all was true.
Until I watched this performance and I said "This really was awful, wasn't it?" Perhaps cuz this is now 18 years later? Makes a world of difference how you see them when you fell in love at twelve and are now over 30 and saying to yourself "wtf was I thinking?"
they're rough...
I could not agree with you more. I was the fanatic with posters covering every inch of wall in my bedroom and talking my poor dad into standing in ticket lines with me for several hours then taking my screaming friends and me to four concerts. But watching their performance on the Today Show was uncomfortable from start to finish. It was as if no time has past since their glory days. Just like you said, grown men performing the songs and dance moves of a boy band. Donnie even lifted up his shirt while dancing to get the girls (er, I mean grown women) screeching just as he did back then.
It seems like the biggest problem is that they can't actually sing. My god! What a revelation!
Furthermore--and this is a painful observation--the boy bands of the '90's were an improvement in talent above the 80's versions. Or maybe they're just better at using technology to mask theri mistakes.
That was absolute shite...
When they took off their jackets I was all like LOL.
I completely disagree with each and every one of you. Just because you were a fan back in the 80's, does not mean you have to be a fan now. I was so excited when I found out about the reunion that I could not even sleep. What's the harm for the reunion if it at least makes one person happy? The few people that are not happy with the reunion, don't even compare to the millions that are happy. They're completely packed and sold out shows should tell ya so! I went to the Cleveland, OH show and I'm attending the Atlanta, GA show this evening. I would go to ever one of them if I could!
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