lastdecember said:

Huge i can tell you that much, much bigger than i would say Nsync, Backstreet and Britney, not looking at the numbers cause you really dont have the same tracking systems in place. As someone who worked in Music Retail right when they blew up, i can tell you i had people around me saying that when "step by step" was released and lines formed for it day off, they had never seen anything like that, so they were huge, and though then i was like "f these kids" gotta give them props for being able to put a strong new record, and tour now in their 40's. Met Donnie recently in NYC and the coolest dude, i think thats really why they can still go out there.

Would you say the spice girls may have been more close to their popularity?

babybugz said:

lastdecember said:

Huge i can tell you that much, much bigger than i would say Nsync, Backstreet and Britney, not looking at the numbers cause you really dont have the same tracking systems in place. As someone who worked in Music Retail right when they blew up, i can tell you i had people around me saying that when "step by step" was released and lines formed for it day off, they had never seen anything like that, so they were huge, and though then i was like "f these kids" gotta give them props for being able to put a strong new record, and tour now in their 40's. Met Donnie recently in NYC and the coolest dude, i think thats really why they can still go out there.

Would you say the spice girls may have been more close to their popularity?

the Spice Girls and Britney were, BY FAR, more popular than NKOTB and BSB COMBINED

JoeTyler said:

babybugz said:

Would you say the spice girls may have been more close to their popularity?

the Spice Girls and Britney were, BY FAR, more popular than NKOTB and BSB COMBINED

NSYNC were pretty huge too lol. I was there for all their success and was a fan of all of them , but I honestly don't know how I would ranked their popularity. The Spice Girls would be in the top two though.

babybugz said:

IstenSzek said:

a tiny shard of memory just dislodged itself from the darkest recesses

of my brain and i remembered that i actually had one of their albums,

in 1990

i think it was called "step by step" and it had this pink/purple-ish cover

and back.

My favorite album from them.

[img:$uid]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2f/Stepbystep_album_cover.jpg/220px-Stepbystep_album_cover.jpg[/img:$uid]

that's the one!

funny how some things just get lost in your mind for such a long time

and this thread just picked at that hidden bit of information. i can even

remember being in the store buying it now. weird.

MickyDolenz said:

If you can go to a department store and buy bedsheets, lamps, gowns, dolls, and all sorts of other things with them on it, then they had to be pretty popular. Some magazines called their popularity the new Beatlemania. Their 1st album which didn't sell when originally released, all of a sudden became multi-platinum.

Looking back on it, I think NOTB was bigger than Beiber! They had everything imagineable with NKOTB's name on it. Stickers, buttons, posters, dolls, bed spreads etc. Does Beiber have all that stuff? Maybe because I'm older now I don't see it...

JoeTyler said:

babybugz said:

Would you say the spice girls may have been more close to their popularity?

the Spice Girls and Britney were, BY FAR, more popular than NKOTB and BSB COMBINED

Far from true. yes NKOTB weren't on the success level of the Spice Girls and Britney. But the Backstreet Boys were huge. They may not have reached number one for every single like the Spice Girls did in the U.K. but the singles (and albums) still sold millions even when they didn't reach the top of the charts

dancerella said:

MickyDolenz said:

If you can go to a department store and buy bedsheets, lamps, gowns, dolls, and all sorts of other things with them on it, then they had to be pretty popular. Some magazines called their popularity the new Beatlemania. Their 1st album which didn't sell when originally released, all of a sudden became multi-platinum.

Looking back on it, I think NOTB was bigger than Beiber! They had everything imagineable with NKOTB's name on it. Stickers, buttons, posters, dolls, bed spreads etc. Does Beiber have all that stuff? Maybe because I'm older now I don't see it...

Bieber did until he decided to become a tattooed up sex icon.

I remember some folks being upset that the New Kids blew up, when New Edition couldn't really crossover, especially since some of the people behind the scenes were formerly with NE (Maurice Starr, Dick Scott). To them, it was the old "Elvis Presley/Pat Boone" thing again.

Ellie said:

Javi said:

I remember they were huge with Hangin' Tough and Step By Step. Maybe the most popular band of the end of the 80's-beginning of the 90's, together with U2. By the way, Step By Step included a pretty decent tune, "Tonight".

I'd put Bon Jovi and Guns N Roses up there too for that era as far as album sales.

N'Sync were pretty much a US phenomenon. They were just about starting to gain momentum internationally when 'Girlfriend' was a hit and then they broke up. Kind of like the Spice Girls in the US. They had loads and loads of hits in Europe but only 2 or 3 big ones state side.

Backstreet Boys were much bigger overall. I still don't get where those huge first week sales for N'Sync's albums came from though. Wasn't one of them 2 million in a week? Crazy. It was that weird bubble of time before legal downloads but after the physical single had died out in America so the only choice for the consumer was to buy the CD album. It explains why so many of those teen pop albums were so terrible (3 singles, 10 fillers).

One good thing about NKOTB that as been said was that they were clearly all good friends. Even the 10 years between the split and reunion they all saw eachother regularly.

aardvark15 said:

dancerella said:

Looking back on it, I think NOTB was bigger than Beiber! They had everything imagineable with NKOTB's name on it. Stickers, buttons, posters, dolls, bed spreads etc. Does Beiber have all that stuff? Maybe because I'm older now I don't see it...

Bieber did until he decided to become a tattooed up sex icon.

For the life of me I don't get Bieber. His current image seems to be emulating Vanilla Ice.

Ellie said:

Ellie said:

JoeTyler said:

what tour?

Well it was Drowned World when I was about 19, then I went back again for Re-Invention a few years later with stage side seats hoping for the best and it was even worse. Totally dead atmosphere filled with corporates at the front. The ticket prices just aren't worth it at all for her. Still a huge fan of the old music though.

I'll tell you what though, I've seen NKOTB 3 times and they were incredibly fun with tickets a third of the price Madonna charges.

wow - I had the same experience as you.

After years of waiting to see Madge and being obsessed with her as a kid, I managed to see the 'Drowned world' tour - rubbish seats for an extortionate price, no 80s hits (I could have slapped her for singing the whole of La Isla Bonita in Spanish) , i tried my best to enjoy it, but people were walking out half way into the show - the atmosphere sucked.

The 'Reinvention' tour was slightly better though.

In regards to NKOTB - same level as 'Backstreet boys' i'd say - my sister had all their records. But they weren't exactly #1 with every release in the UK, but then again Bieber hasn't had a #1 here yet. If you look at his stats - they aren't impressive, yet he is the biggest teen sensation in the last 20 years IMO. So i guess if you weren't there at the time, it's harder to comprehend the impact they had.

MickyDolenz said:

I remember some folks being upset that the New Kids blew up, when New Edition couldn't really crossover, especially since some of the people behind the scenes were formerly with NE (Maurice Starr, Dick Scott). To them, it was the old "Elvis Presley/Pat Boone" thing again.

I wouldn't put it down to a race thing - MJ, Whitney and Prince had no problem with cross-over success.

I'd say it's because they weren't that good looking.

But then again I can't think of any black international teen sensation boy band - JLS in the UK is as close as it gets.

New Edition were like 3 hit wonders from the early 80s over here. I don't know the reason as I was far too young at the time. Bobby Brown's solo stuff hit it big but by then New Edition was a distant memory of Candy Girl for us. It wasn't until the mid 90s reunion that I even realised they were more than that in the US.

Wow, actually the Jackson 5 may have been the biggest all black boy band in the UK until JLS (who themselves are just a localised success story). Boyz II Men were big but were never teen pin-ups.

[Edited 6/5/13 2:45am]

NKOTB in late 80s = Backstreet Boys in mid to late 90s.

aardvark15 said:

JoeTyler said:

the Spice Girls and Britney were, BY FAR, more popular than NKOTB and BSB COMBINED

Far from true. yes NKOTB weren't on the success level of the Spice Girls and Britney. But the Backstreet Boys were huge. They may not have reached number one for every single like the Spice Girls did in the U.K. but the singles (and albums) still sold millions even when they didn't reach the top of the charts

from Wikipedia

"Spice was a huge worldwide commercial success. The album peaked at number one in more than 17 countries across the world,^[3] and was certifiedmulti-platinum in 27 countries, platinum in 14 countries and Gold in 3 countries,^[3] including an 10× Platinum certification in the UK and Canada^[4] by the British Phonographic Industry, and Canadian Recording Industry Association, 8× Platinum in Europe by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry^[5] and 7× Platinum in the US by Recording Industry Association of America.^[6] It became the world's top-selling album of 1997 selling 19 million copies in over a year.^[3] In total the album sold 28 million copies worldwide,^[7][8] becoming the biggest-selling album in music history by a girl group and one of the most successful albums of all time.^[9][10]"

SP-Britney > NKOTBBSB

period

I don't know how big NKOTB were worldwide in the late 80s, but at least in America (and Canada) they couldn't have been bigger.

mancabdriver said:

I wouldn't put it down to a race thing - MJ, Whitney and Prince had no problem with cross-over success.

I'd say it's because they weren't that good looking.

But then again I can't think of any black international teen sensation boy band - JLS in the UK is as close as it gets.

There's always an exception, and their music was more pop, adult contemporary, or rock based, just like Lionel Richie & Billy Ocean. The same with the earlier rap acts that crossed over like Run DMC & Beastie Boys. Back then, the average R&B act didn't get Top 40 pop radio play, which is where you get more mainstream media attention. The Gap Band were popular with the R&B audience, but only had 2 or 3 top 40 hits, and they didn't even hit the top 20. Teena Marie, a white singer who made R&B/funk, only crossed over with Lovergirl. Even with Michael, his records got way more attention from Top 40, than ones by The Jacksons, who were considered more of an R&B act. Triumph came after Off The Wall, but didn't get the same mainstream attention as Off The Wall or Thriller, which came after it.

sexton said:

bobzilla77 said:

I'd compare their popularity in the 80s to the likes of Hannah Montana and the Jonas Bros at their respective peaks. Beloved by youngsters and completely unavoidable if you watched TV or looked at the mag racks of 7-11, but not taken even a little bit seriously by adults. I think Bieber may have actually penetrated the culture

I don't know sales stats so it's possible at their peak they were outselling Prince in 1989 but I'd be shocked if they outsold Madonna or MJ whose audience included both kids and grownups.

RIAA certifications for 1988/1989 releases:

Hangin' Tough = 8x platinum

Like A Prayer = 4x platinum

Lovesexy = platinum

Batman soundtrack - 2x platinum

I'm shocked. And stunned.

I woulda thought they were outselling Prince at the time but dang. That's a lot of babysitting money!

NKOTB were big enough to present this boy band that was black:

bobzilla77 said:

sexton said:

RIAA certifications for 1988/1989 releases:

Hangin' Tough = 8x platinum

Like A Prayer = 4x platinum

Lovesexy = platinum

Batman soundtrack - 2x platinum

I'm shocked. And stunned.

I woulda thought they were outselling Prince at the time but dang. That's a lot of babysitting money!

Okay it sold about the same as Bad (though I know it was 8 times platinum a few years later and a lot of sales towards it were not documented at the time)

And Like a Prayer classics are remembered by everyone and embraced by new generations, to my knowledge, not with NKOTB and if younger people went to their show a few years ago, I'm sure they remember backstreet boys more and NKOTB is new to them or they barely remember, or maybe their parents liked them.

I remember being scared of the Batdance video then, the music I knew was what adults in their mid to late 20's played at the time, and nobody played new kids on the block though I was really little, so I was not familiar

[Edited 6/5/13 10:09am]

[Edited 6/5/13 10:10am]

JoeTyler said:

alphastreet said:

And Like a Prayer classics are remembered by everyone and embraced by new generations, to my knowledge, not with NKOTB and if younger people went to their show a few years ago, I'm sure they remember backstreet boys more and NKOTB is new to them or they barely remember, or maybe their parents liked them.

I went to the NKOTBSB concert and also their own tour from 2009 before that. You're right, most of the younger people there were there for BSB but overall they got an equal reaction, and Donnie Wahlberg was the absolute leader of that concert so anyone there who didn't know them was won over by the end.

Plus Backstreet Boys set was far too ballad heavy and NKOTB's stuff was more uptempo, so it got everyone going a lot more.

My favourite part of the first comeback tour though was during Cover Girl when Donnie traditionally takes a little girl on stage to sing to her like the video. We're talking young girls, about 7 or 8. It was OK in 1989 because that was their fanbase, but in 2009 it was clearly the daughter of one of their fans and the girl had NO idea who they were. The look on her face at the show I went to was priceless.

Ellie said:

alphastreet said:

And Like a Prayer classics are remembered by everyone and embraced by new generations, to my knowledge, not with NKOTB and if younger people went to their show a few years ago, I'm sure they remember backstreet boys more and NKOTB is new to them or they barely remember, or maybe their parents liked them.

I went to the NKOTBSB concert and also their own tour from 2009 before that. You're right, most of the younger people there were there for BSB but overall they got an equal reaction, and Donnie Wahlberg was the absolute leader of that concert so anyone there who didn't know them was won over by the end.

Plus Backstreet Boys set was far too ballad heavy and NKOTB's stuff was more uptempo, so it got everyone going a lot more.

My favourite part of the first comeback tour though was during Cover Girl when Donnie traditionally takes a little girl on stage to sing to her like the video. We're talking young girls, about 7 or 8. It was OK in 1989 because that was their fanbase, but in 2009 it was clearly the daughter of one of their fans and the girl had NO idea who they were. The look on her face at the show I went to was priceless.

Aw they should have called up a mother and daughter, that would have been sweet Once I did get around to hearing their music/videos way later on though I liked Good Vibrations in the 90's (marky mark) , I could not get into them though I've been an 80's lover from birth, they were too bubblegum for me even if I did like some cheese here and there (I prefer early 80's to mid 80's with exceptions later on) , but I am in love with I like the remix and had it on repeat the other day. Donny is handsome for sure now, he looked good in the video

But yeah, a lot of my coworkers and mom's friends were excited when nkotb were coming back, and people around my age were excited for both though mainly bsb.

Cinny said:

NKOTB were big enough to present this boy band that was black:

I vaguely remember Perfect Gentleman, but don't recall their songs. Weren't they the sons of another singer?

MickyDolenz said:

Cinny said:

NKOTB were big enough to present this boy band that was black:

I vaguely remember Perfect Gentleman, but don't recall their songs. Weren't they the sons of another singer?

"Ooh La La" was their big hit debut while "One More Chance" was the followup. I believe they were related to Maurice Starr... I'm pretty sure one of them is his son.

I always kind of admired the way they blatantly ripped off both New Edition and the Boys.

AlexdeParis said:

MickyDolenz said:

I vaguely remember Perfect Gentleman, but don't recall their songs. Weren't they the sons of another singer?

"Ooh La La" was their big hit debut while "One More Chance" was the followup. I believe they were related to Maurice Starr... I'm pretty sure one of them is his son.

I always kind of admired the way they blatantly ripped off both New Edition and the Boys.

This sounds exactly like "Popcorn Love"

NKOTB were huge, man! Everywhere you looked, it was all about the New Kids! Cartoons, dolls, posters, megatours, million-selling albums - they were hot! If I had to compare them to someone of today, hmmm... the closest would be Bieber but without the drama that surrounds Bieber. Not to mention, NKOTB had a nice five year run unlike Bieber who is closing in on his 14:58 of fame!