Jordan Knight Interview with the Calgary Herald

Here is an interview with Jordan from The Calgary Herald:

Knight Time: New Kid enjoying spotlight second time around


Jordan Knight notices a distinct difference in the reaction he and the New Kids on the Block are getting these days during their current tour with fellow veteran boy band the Backstreet Boys, when compared to their late ’80s heyday.

Sure, they’re still packing arenas with wild, vocal, mostly female audiences, but the sound of the crowd is, shall we say, slightly more mature.

“It’s a little less high-pitched,” he says and laughs. “It has a little more purr to it.”

That is just one of the many noticeable now vs. then comparisons Knight and his fellow bandmates are making. Not surprising, really, considering the time that has passed for everyone and all that has gone on since he and the other four New Kids — Donnie Wahlberg, Joe McIntyre, Danny Wood, and Jordan’s brother Jonathan — were chosen for the act during a Boston teen talent search. Millions of albums sold, tours around the world, insane marketing campaigns, a breakup in the mid-’90s, solo careers, acting careers and, finally, four years ago the members regrouped — it’s been nothing short of a long strange trip.

And while the singer is mindful of the transformations that have taken place in his fans, he’s also quick to point out how different he is these days.

“I am having a lot of fun and I’m getting a lot of satisfaction, because it’s kind of like we have a second chance to do it right, or at least do things different, to learn from our mistakes and do it again,” he says before expanding. “Such as mostly to soak it in more to experience more to give more, actually. In the past, when we first hit stardom 20 years ago, I was kind of shell-shocked and in my own little bubble. And this time around I’m out of the bubble. I’m able to experience people more and how we are actually touching people’s lives and helping them relive memories.

“I think I’m a little more selfless now.”

He’s also, he says, perhaps a little less cynical this time around. Knight admits that at their peak and, of course, on their way down NKOTB were something of a critical target — hammered because of their fabricated nature and even their good looks, they were seen as the epitome of style over substance. Much of that ire, he admits, has subsided, but even if it hadn’t he’s in a much better place to deal with it

“Now, I think people are a lot more accepting of us. We’re more coasting along,” he says. “I don’t resent it, not at all. I don’t resent it. Even if I did resent it and I thought it was unfair I’m way past that and beyond it.”

As for the current tour, which sees the band teaming up with its supposed boy band rivals — despite the fact the Backstreet Boys came almost a decade after the Kids’ height — the shows are also going along, according to most parties, quite smoothly. The idea for the dreamy team actually grew out of a NKOTB show at Radio City Music Hall, which they invited the Boys to, and then offered to share the stage with them for one song.

“People’s jaws just dropped,” says Knight about the immediate response from their fans. “The reaction was crazy and we got so much press from that particular show and that particular moment that all of our wheels started spinning, like, ‘Wow, this could be a cool tour.’ . . .

“We all love what we do, so it was an easy sell for both groups.”

Logistics aside — of getting all of the members schedules in order, as well as putting a cohesive show together for a 41-city North American NKOTBSB tour — Knight says things came together surprisingly easy, including between all of the various personalities.

“To do this tour, we all needed to check our egos at the door. And I think we’re doing a good job. The good thing also (about) doing it 20 years later, is that . . . the older you get the more you’re able to tame your ego and see the big picture,” he says.

“What so sweet about this time around is that everybody’s older and wiser. We know why this tour sold, it’s because both groups joined together and teamed up. And it’s because of that team that we’re doing this.

“Of course we want equal billing, equal time on stage all that kind of stuff, and we work all that out and everybody knows that’s only fair.”

One thing that unfortunately fans of Knight won’t get the opportunity to hear during the show is some of his own solo material. The singer just released a slick new album, Unfinished, which is his first solo effort in five years and features collaborations with writers and producers who’ve worked with Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.

It’s been a little bit of a hectic time for Knight, trying to balance his New Kids duties with promoting his new project — which was released on his own music imprint and has already sent a pair of singles, Let’s Go Higher and Stingy, up the Canadian radio charts — but he’s certainly not about to complain. “Days off are days on for me, but it’s the fans and the excitement and the love of what I do that gets me through it.”

Besides, he notes, there will be plenty of time to focus on the solo career once the NKOTBSB tour wraps up in August.

Although, that said, Knight admits that just because this round of dates with the Kids may be coming to a close, it doesn’t mean that the band itself will call it quits — not if he has anything to do with it.

“Well, I’m definitely a New Kid on the Block for life, I know that,” he laughs.

“I know that much.

“So we might as well just keep it rolling forever. As long as the fans want it, we’ll be there.”
The NKOTBSB Tour hits the Saddledome on Wednesday.