This interview is a few months old, but it's a longer casual interview worth posting.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Friday, March 27, 2015
Donnie Wahlberg and Wahlburgers nominated for 2015 Reality TV Awards
The Reality TV Awards will be held on May 13, 2015 at The Avalon in Hollywood, CA. You can vote online until May 5th here.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
CTV's interview with Jonathan Knight and Harley Rodriguez
CTV in Canada interviewed Jonathan and Harley about their Amazing Race experience and more. Here is the transcript:
After being saved from elimination in the previous leg of “The Amazing Race,” New Kids on the Block’s Jonathan Knight and his partner of seven years, Harley Rodriguez, were the last team to arrive at the final pit stop after falling behind and failing to get earlier plane tickets to Bangkok, Thailand.
Between being the last team to depart from Phuket, and having to complete a speed bump in the middle of the race, it seemed as if the odds were against Jonathan and Harley from the beginning, making them the third team to be eliminated from Season 26 of “The Amazing Race.”
How did they stay so positive through it all? How far behind were they? And most importantly, did Jonathan like “The Amazing Race” more than touring with the New Kids on the Block? See what the New Kid had to say below.
CTV.ca: Jonathan you mentioned on the show that you were a big fan of “The Amazing Race.” How was it finally getting to do it with Harley?
Jonathan: I started watching the show a long time ago; I’m a huge fan of it ever since the first time I watched it. So for the last four seasons I kept calling the casting agent asking them if I could be on the show and my schedule never matched up with the taping schedule until this year, so this year we got to do it!
CTV.ca: You guys were definitely one of my favourite couples in the race, mostly because both of you were so patient with each other throughout it. Did you and Harley ever have a blow up moment?
Jonathan: In our seven - year relationship I think we’ve only had one really bad fight and it was on our fifth date. He knows me well and I know him well. He knows if I’m getting a little pissed off; he knows when to back off.
CTV.ca: “The Amazing Race” is very different from touring around the world with the New Kids on the Block. Which one do you prefer, touring or running “The Amazing Race?”
Jonathan: Oh goodness, they are two totally different things! I don’t know. I think that if I was on “The Amazing Race” for as long as I go on tour than I would have to choose touring.
We’re on these really nice buses, we have a cook that comes with us and a road manager that books our flights so you know that you’re going to get on a plane and that you won’t get left behind while everyone else goes zooming ahead… so I’d have to pick touring.
By the way, we are going to be in Toronto very soon, May 1st we start a new tour with TLC and Nelly.
CTV.ca: I know you have personal ties with Toronto as well how do you like it?
Jonathan: Yea! All my family is from there. Me, my brother, my parents, my sisters and all my cousins and aunts… everyone is from there. I love Toronto.
CTV.ca: So you guys were off to a pretty late start, do you think that contributed to the elimination?
Jonathan: Yea, they didn’t show it on TV but we missed a second flight and that’s what screwed us pretty fast. If we didn’t miss that flight we would have landed two hours earlier we were only about an hour and a half behind initially.
We just got so frustrated and the more you get frustrated the more your mind shuts down and stops working.
CTV.ca: It seemed to me that you guys weren’t just running the race but that you also enjoyed the travelling experience.
Jonathan: Yes! I love travelling. I get bored sitting in the same place for too long.
Harley always tells this story that last winter I was sitting at home and it was cold and I wanted to get out of there. So I said to Harley that I was just going to go for a car ride for the weekend. I was just planning to go to Maine or Vermont or something, so I got in my car and I ended up coming back like a month later.
I ended up going down to Atlanta, Florida, North Carolina and all around just travelling.
And then also like a week before the race started I flew to California for the [NKOTB] Walk of Fame stuff and I ended up driving home from California. I went to see Mount Rushmore and a bunch of cool things on the way home. So I was telling my friend yesterday that I want more unemployed friends because I want to take off now and go somewhere warm and everybody always has to work.
CTV.ca: Was there anything that you could have done differently to avoid elimination?
Jonathan: Getting to the transfer gate, that’s what, screwed us over. I had never experienced a transfer gate in my travels, but I will never miss a plane because of that again.
CTV.ca: How has “The Amazing Race” affected your relationship with Harley?
Jonathan: It’s good and it was good to start. If people have problems with their relationship going into the race then it’s just going to make the problem compound along the way, but yea we were fine and it just proved to me once again what a great guy he is and that we’re able to work under pressure and still be good.
CTV.ca: What is next for you and Harley?
Jonathan: We are living in New York right now and we are thinking about getting out of New York and we just don’t know where to go but we’re talking about maybe kids and who knows right now we’re just taking it one day at a time.
CTV.ca: …and for NKOTB?
Jonathan: Touring. We are touring from May 1st to July 2nd.
CTV.ca: Overall how would you describe your experience on “The Amazing Race?”
Jonathan: It was probably one of the best experiences of my life. I was just so proud going through the auditioning process. There was a week before we left that I was just wide awake and freaking out thinking ‘What am I doing?’ So it was something that was definitely outside of my comfort zone and the fact that I did it makes me feel proud of myself. It was a phenomenal experience and something that will stick with me through the rest of my life.
Jonathan Knight loved ‘The Amazing Race’ but prefers travelling on the NKOTB tour bus
After being saved from elimination in the previous leg of “The Amazing Race,” New Kids on the Block’s Jonathan Knight and his partner of seven years, Harley Rodriguez, were the last team to arrive at the final pit stop after falling behind and failing to get earlier plane tickets to Bangkok, Thailand.
Between being the last team to depart from Phuket, and having to complete a speed bump in the middle of the race, it seemed as if the odds were against Jonathan and Harley from the beginning, making them the third team to be eliminated from Season 26 of “The Amazing Race.”
How did they stay so positive through it all? How far behind were they? And most importantly, did Jonathan like “The Amazing Race” more than touring with the New Kids on the Block? See what the New Kid had to say below.
CTV.ca: Jonathan you mentioned on the show that you were a big fan of “The Amazing Race.” How was it finally getting to do it with Harley?
Jonathan: I started watching the show a long time ago; I’m a huge fan of it ever since the first time I watched it. So for the last four seasons I kept calling the casting agent asking them if I could be on the show and my schedule never matched up with the taping schedule until this year, so this year we got to do it!
CTV.ca: You guys were definitely one of my favourite couples in the race, mostly because both of you were so patient with each other throughout it. Did you and Harley ever have a blow up moment?
Jonathan: In our seven - year relationship I think we’ve only had one really bad fight and it was on our fifth date. He knows me well and I know him well. He knows if I’m getting a little pissed off; he knows when to back off.
CTV.ca: “The Amazing Race” is very different from touring around the world with the New Kids on the Block. Which one do you prefer, touring or running “The Amazing Race?”
Jonathan: Oh goodness, they are two totally different things! I don’t know. I think that if I was on “The Amazing Race” for as long as I go on tour than I would have to choose touring.
We’re on these really nice buses, we have a cook that comes with us and a road manager that books our flights so you know that you’re going to get on a plane and that you won’t get left behind while everyone else goes zooming ahead… so I’d have to pick touring.
By the way, we are going to be in Toronto very soon, May 1st we start a new tour with TLC and Nelly.
CTV.ca: I know you have personal ties with Toronto as well how do you like it?
Jonathan: Yea! All my family is from there. Me, my brother, my parents, my sisters and all my cousins and aunts… everyone is from there. I love Toronto.
CTV.ca: So you guys were off to a pretty late start, do you think that contributed to the elimination?
Jonathan: Yea, they didn’t show it on TV but we missed a second flight and that’s what screwed us pretty fast. If we didn’t miss that flight we would have landed two hours earlier we were only about an hour and a half behind initially.
We just got so frustrated and the more you get frustrated the more your mind shuts down and stops working.
CTV.ca: It seemed to me that you guys weren’t just running the race but that you also enjoyed the travelling experience.
Jonathan: Yes! I love travelling. I get bored sitting in the same place for too long.
Harley always tells this story that last winter I was sitting at home and it was cold and I wanted to get out of there. So I said to Harley that I was just going to go for a car ride for the weekend. I was just planning to go to Maine or Vermont or something, so I got in my car and I ended up coming back like a month later.
I ended up going down to Atlanta, Florida, North Carolina and all around just travelling.
And then also like a week before the race started I flew to California for the [NKOTB] Walk of Fame stuff and I ended up driving home from California. I went to see Mount Rushmore and a bunch of cool things on the way home. So I was telling my friend yesterday that I want more unemployed friends because I want to take off now and go somewhere warm and everybody always has to work.
CTV.ca: Was there anything that you could have done differently to avoid elimination?
Jonathan: Getting to the transfer gate, that’s what, screwed us over. I had never experienced a transfer gate in my travels, but I will never miss a plane because of that again.
CTV.ca: How has “The Amazing Race” affected your relationship with Harley?
Jonathan: It’s good and it was good to start. If people have problems with their relationship going into the race then it’s just going to make the problem compound along the way, but yea we were fine and it just proved to me once again what a great guy he is and that we’re able to work under pressure and still be good.
CTV.ca: What is next for you and Harley?
Jonathan: We are living in New York right now and we are thinking about getting out of New York and we just don’t know where to go but we’re talking about maybe kids and who knows right now we’re just taking it one day at a time.
CTV.ca: …and for NKOTB?
Jonathan: Touring. We are touring from May 1st to July 2nd.
CTV.ca: Overall how would you describe your experience on “The Amazing Race?”
Jonathan: It was probably one of the best experiences of my life. I was just so proud going through the auditioning process. There was a week before we left that I was just wide awake and freaking out thinking ‘What am I doing?’ So it was something that was definitely outside of my comfort zone and the fact that I did it makes me feel proud of myself. It was a phenomenal experience and something that will stick with me through the rest of my life.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Watch more bonus clips of Jonathan and Harley on The Amazing Race
Here are a couple more bonus clips of Jonathan and Harley on The Amazing Race.
Update: Videos have been deleted, does anyone have them saved?
Paying it Forward
Voodoo Doll
Team New Kid is eliminated from the race
Jonathan and Harley's Q&A with CBS
Jonathan and Harley answered fans questions on CBS. Below are the questions and their answers:
Jonathan and Harley Let Their Love Shine Even After an Elimination
Find out which major feat took them to new heights
Harley and Jonathan, the third couple eliminated on Season 26, answered your questions about running The Amazing Race.
1. Sandra L. - Too bad they got eliminated. They are my favorite couple. They showed so much love and respect for each other. I hope to see them again in an All Stars Season. My question is, do you guys ever fight? What drives you crazy about the other person?
Harley: Thank you! We’ve never had a big blow up because there’s no reason to fight over petty situations…we also give each other space, which is important to us.
Jonathan: We don't ever fight! We have a very good give-and-take relationship. We also don't have many stressors that most couples have in relationships. Things may change in the future if we involve kids, job challenges, health issues etc.
2. Pam G. - How did you stay so positive during the Race? Everyone else was complaining, but I don't think I ever heard ya'll complain.
Harley: As a team, on the Race and in life, we knew that if we didn’t support each other, no matter how good or bad we were at challenges, we would end up not enjoying our once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Jonathan: I haven't seen the other teams complaining! And, we certainly wouldn't complain. It was such an honor for the producers to pick us to be on the show.
3. Verne H. - Which team do you feel is the frontrunner, and which group races better together – Daters or Blinders?
Harley: I’ve been surprised at how well the Blinders have been dominating, but Rochelle and Mike have been great together! The Daters might have a challenge where it works in favor of their longtime knowledge of each other.
Jonathan: Whenever you think a team is the front runner, things usually go south from there.... The race is so unpredictable. It's going to be fun seeing how the different team dynamic plays out. We are shocked the singles are blowing away the dating couples so far!
4. Janice W.P. - Which challenge on The Amazing Race did you find the most satisfying after you accomplished it and why? You guys were amazing! Totally felt the love. So proud of both of you!!!
Harley: I found the puzzle box so satisfying because I really used my brain instead of brawn…completely still concentration.
Jonathan: Thank you for your compliments. The biggest accomplishment for us was just being chosen to race. There are so many applicants every season to choose from, and they chose us. We enjoyed all the challenges and wish we could have done some more. Wearing high heels was a pretty major accomplishment though. We still don't know how people do it!
5. Linda C. - Sorry you were eliminated! Why did you not choose to dance when you had the chance?
Harley: I know! We didn’t choose the dance challenge because Jon had said ahead of time that since it takes him longer to learn steps, to completely avoid those types of challenges if possible. Haha!
Jonathan: Dancing involves lots of memory. We decided going into the Race to avoid as much mental challenges as possible and stick to more physical challenges. Funny thing is, you never know what will come your way and we ended up dancing together after all in Phuket.
6. Kristen M. - You guys seem like such a sweet and loving couple. What advice would you give to the blind date couples who are looking for love? So sad you got eliminated, love you guys!!
Harley: I always say it’ll happen when you least expect it and when it does, have patience and understanding and out of respect, never try to change each other.
Jonathan: We were not looking for love and love found us. Sometimes you look way to hard and miss what is right under your nose the whole time.
7. Kelli B. - Did you learn anything new about each other during the Race?
Harley: We learned that we understand each other even more through stressful situations and have full support of each other no matter what the outcome.
Jonathan: We learned we are able to function together under extreme pressure. That is an attribute that will come in handy in life over and over.
The Amazing Race airs Fridays at 8/7c.
Jonathan and Harley Let Their Love Shine Even After an Elimination
Find out which major feat took them to new heights
Harley and Jonathan, the third couple eliminated on Season 26, answered your questions about running The Amazing Race.
1. Sandra L. - Too bad they got eliminated. They are my favorite couple. They showed so much love and respect for each other. I hope to see them again in an All Stars Season. My question is, do you guys ever fight? What drives you crazy about the other person?
Harley: Thank you! We’ve never had a big blow up because there’s no reason to fight over petty situations…we also give each other space, which is important to us.
Jonathan: We don't ever fight! We have a very good give-and-take relationship. We also don't have many stressors that most couples have in relationships. Things may change in the future if we involve kids, job challenges, health issues etc.
2. Pam G. - How did you stay so positive during the Race? Everyone else was complaining, but I don't think I ever heard ya'll complain.
Harley: As a team, on the Race and in life, we knew that if we didn’t support each other, no matter how good or bad we were at challenges, we would end up not enjoying our once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Jonathan: I haven't seen the other teams complaining! And, we certainly wouldn't complain. It was such an honor for the producers to pick us to be on the show.
3. Verne H. - Which team do you feel is the frontrunner, and which group races better together – Daters or Blinders?
Harley: I’ve been surprised at how well the Blinders have been dominating, but Rochelle and Mike have been great together! The Daters might have a challenge where it works in favor of their longtime knowledge of each other.
Jonathan: Whenever you think a team is the front runner, things usually go south from there.... The race is so unpredictable. It's going to be fun seeing how the different team dynamic plays out. We are shocked the singles are blowing away the dating couples so far!
4. Janice W.P. - Which challenge on The Amazing Race did you find the most satisfying after you accomplished it and why? You guys were amazing! Totally felt the love. So proud of both of you!!!
Harley: I found the puzzle box so satisfying because I really used my brain instead of brawn…completely still concentration.
Jonathan: Thank you for your compliments. The biggest accomplishment for us was just being chosen to race. There are so many applicants every season to choose from, and they chose us. We enjoyed all the challenges and wish we could have done some more. Wearing high heels was a pretty major accomplishment though. We still don't know how people do it!
5. Linda C. - Sorry you were eliminated! Why did you not choose to dance when you had the chance?
Harley: I know! We didn’t choose the dance challenge because Jon had said ahead of time that since it takes him longer to learn steps, to completely avoid those types of challenges if possible. Haha!
Jonathan: Dancing involves lots of memory. We decided going into the Race to avoid as much mental challenges as possible and stick to more physical challenges. Funny thing is, you never know what will come your way and we ended up dancing together after all in Phuket.
6. Kristen M. - You guys seem like such a sweet and loving couple. What advice would you give to the blind date couples who are looking for love? So sad you got eliminated, love you guys!!
Harley: I always say it’ll happen when you least expect it and when it does, have patience and understanding and out of respect, never try to change each other.
Jonathan: We were not looking for love and love found us. Sometimes you look way to hard and miss what is right under your nose the whole time.
7. Kelli B. - Did you learn anything new about each other during the Race?
Harley: We learned that we understand each other even more through stressful situations and have full support of each other no matter what the outcome.
Jonathan: We learned we are able to function together under extreme pressure. That is an attribute that will come in handy in life over and over.
The Amazing Race airs Fridays at 8/7c.
Joey McIntyre named Caregiver of the Year Award by the Alzheimer's Association
Joey McIntyre was named Caregiver of the Year Award by the Alzheimer's Association. He was at the 23rd annual "A Night at Sardi's" event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel last night in Beverly Hills, CA. Here are some photos from the event!
Click here for more photos!
Click here for more photos!
Monday, March 16, 2015
TV Guide's interview with Jonathan Knight and Harley Rodriguez
TV Guide interviewed Jonathan and Harley about The Amazing Race. Check it out below:
If there is a superfan Amazing Race curse, New Kids on the Block's Jonathan Knight and his longtime boyfriend Harley Rodriguez fell victim to it on Friday. After failing to get earlier plane tickets to Phuket, Thailand, on the previous leg, the couple of seven years made up a little bit of ground in Bangkok, but still didn't see any other teams for the second straight leg. "I think if we had gone to another country, we would've been able to [catch up]," Jonathan tells TVGuide.com. How far behind were they? What was it like meeting Grumpy Cat at Caturday Café? And how did they use the selfie camera to their advantage?
Amazing Race's Phil Keoghan on blind date twist: "Don't worry, it's not a dating show"
As a New Kids and Race fan, I was bummed to see you guys go. How far behind were you?
Jonathan: [Laughs] We were too! I think it was an hour and a half behind.
Harley: Yeah, when we finally caught up, we were only an hour and a half [instead of three].
Did you think you ever had a chance to catch up?
Jonathan: I thought we would've been able to catch up a little bit. You really never know. I think if we had gone to another country, we would've been able to. The whole leg before that, we didn't see anybody. There was no indicator of where we were in the order.
s
You basically didn't see anybody for two legs.
Harley: Yeah, the whole time it was just not knowing if you'll see someone, hoping you'll see someone. But we just kept saying, "Maybe someone's stuck in a challenge." We've seen it happen before on the show when someone came from behind out of nowhere and passes another team. We kept our hopes up.
What happened with the flights last week?
Jonathan: They couldn't show it because it would've taken too long, but we had been in the Tokyo airport and there are two terminals and you had to take a bus to go to each one. So each airline would say, "We don't have any room here," so it was hours and hours of going back and forth between the terminals. And then finally one came up and we said, "Let's take it." And then the connection flight, there was more trouble there. There was more stuff that went on, but it would've taken too long to air. But when we finally got to Thailand, we saw that everyone was starting at a good time and we had an opportunity to catch up. We were going through the challenges really quickly, so that was great. We were zipping through those.
Yeah, you never made a mistake on any challenge.
Jonathan: Maybe two times max we'd have to do a task. Time was not on our side. The airport stuff screwed us obviously. That was our meltdown.
I loved your demeanor throughout the race. Jon, you always acknowledged your phobias and anxiety and your allergy to cats, but you just got on with the task and never complained. What was your approach for the show?
Jonathan: We knew going into it that there'd be stressful situations, but we're not really the type of people who get stressed out about things. A lot of the things on the race are just things that happen in everyday life. You can't really control it. Having a temper tantrum isn't going to change the outcome. You just gotta keep a level head and just keep moving forward.
How long did the Speed Bump take?
Jonathan: It was pretty quick. Half of the grasshopper was already built and we had to add the legs and part of the body, so it wasn't completely from scratch. It seemed like was from scratch, but some of it was built. We just had to make it look exactly like it was. ... I think if we had not done the Speed Bump, we probably could've caught up. For like 15 minutes, we were looking in one of the temples and it wasn't the right one, so we had to go out and look again.
Harley: That does cut into our time and every minute counts. I think if we didn't have to do it, it would've shaved off 30 minutes.
Did you have trouble finding the Pit Stop like other teams did?
Harley: No, we knew exactly where to go. We didn't have too much trouble [getting places] because we'd show the cabbie a picture.
Jonathan: We had asked someone and we borrowed their phone. We looked it up. With our selfie camera, I would take a picture of that and then zoom it in and show our cab driver: "This is where we're going." I was like, "We're not just gonna take selfie pictures. We're gonna take pictures of maps on other people's phones and then show people because we don't speak Thai."
Now future racers will do that.
Harley: [Laughs] It was definitely a smart move and helped us a lot.
I don't think producers were thinking when they gave you those cameras. Or maybe there'll be a rule next season that you can't use them to get directions.
Jonathan: Yeah, who knows? They just tried it this season. It's fun watching the show now because you know what you went through, but to be able to see what the other teams went through is cool. But it was funny seeing how many selfies the other teams took. The whole time, they kept telling us, "Make sure you take selfies!" We were like, "We don't have time for this. We're not gonna stop and snap a picture." But then some of the teams just had so many selfies. It was so funny seeing them. For us, it was race or take selfies. I don't wanna miss the train!
What was it like meeting Grumpy Cat?
Jonathan: Oh, my goodness! The cats in that place were so awesome! I never even knew half those breeds existed. They had some weird ones too with weird legs. It looked like they were inbred a little and I felt bad for them. ... There's one of those cafes here in New York City. Maybe I'll take a couple Benadryl and go in there one day and be prepared!
In the past, some racers haven't liked celebrity racers on the show. What was your relationship like with the other teams?
Jonathan: We all got along really well. When we were all together at the beginning of the race, everybody was nice. I was a little bit like, "When is the tide gonna change and people will pull out their claws?" We had a good time. Who knows, when push comes to shove as the race went on, maybe people would be a little more nasty.
Do you think there's a superfan curse? A lot of superfans get eliminated early on the show.
Harley: [Laughs] Well, that's one thing to blame it on!
Jonathan: I don't know. I'll take it though. It sounds better than missing a plane flight!
Are you gunning for a future all-stars spot?
Harley: That would be nice. I'm still taking it all in. It'd be nice because the stuff we know now that we didn't know then, especially with the airports, we'd be a lot smarter with situations like that.
Jonathan: I think it'd be fun to do all-stars just for those reasons. Those reasons and more, but just to have a second chance and come in with more insight.
What are you up to now? Back on tour?
Jonathan: I'm getting ready to go back on tour. I have like two weeks and then rehearsals start. I'm gonna head up to New Hampshire as well to check out my real estate properties before I head out for rehearsals.
Harley: Right now I'm in California visiting family and then just going back to New York and getting back in the grind. And just watching the rest of the race to see what else they did.
If there is a superfan Amazing Race curse, New Kids on the Block's Jonathan Knight and his longtime boyfriend Harley Rodriguez fell victim to it on Friday. After failing to get earlier plane tickets to Phuket, Thailand, on the previous leg, the couple of seven years made up a little bit of ground in Bangkok, but still didn't see any other teams for the second straight leg. "I think if we had gone to another country, we would've been able to [catch up]," Jonathan tells TVGuide.com. How far behind were they? What was it like meeting Grumpy Cat at Caturday Café? And how did they use the selfie camera to their advantage?
Amazing Race's Phil Keoghan on blind date twist: "Don't worry, it's not a dating show"
As a New Kids and Race fan, I was bummed to see you guys go. How far behind were you?
Jonathan: [Laughs] We were too! I think it was an hour and a half behind.
Harley: Yeah, when we finally caught up, we were only an hour and a half [instead of three].
Did you think you ever had a chance to catch up?
Jonathan: I thought we would've been able to catch up a little bit. You really never know. I think if we had gone to another country, we would've been able to. The whole leg before that, we didn't see anybody. There was no indicator of where we were in the order.
s
You basically didn't see anybody for two legs.
Harley: Yeah, the whole time it was just not knowing if you'll see someone, hoping you'll see someone. But we just kept saying, "Maybe someone's stuck in a challenge." We've seen it happen before on the show when someone came from behind out of nowhere and passes another team. We kept our hopes up.
What happened with the flights last week?
Jonathan: They couldn't show it because it would've taken too long, but we had been in the Tokyo airport and there are two terminals and you had to take a bus to go to each one. So each airline would say, "We don't have any room here," so it was hours and hours of going back and forth between the terminals. And then finally one came up and we said, "Let's take it." And then the connection flight, there was more trouble there. There was more stuff that went on, but it would've taken too long to air. But when we finally got to Thailand, we saw that everyone was starting at a good time and we had an opportunity to catch up. We were going through the challenges really quickly, so that was great. We were zipping through those.
Yeah, you never made a mistake on any challenge.
Jonathan: Maybe two times max we'd have to do a task. Time was not on our side. The airport stuff screwed us obviously. That was our meltdown.
I loved your demeanor throughout the race. Jon, you always acknowledged your phobias and anxiety and your allergy to cats, but you just got on with the task and never complained. What was your approach for the show?
Jonathan: We knew going into it that there'd be stressful situations, but we're not really the type of people who get stressed out about things. A lot of the things on the race are just things that happen in everyday life. You can't really control it. Having a temper tantrum isn't going to change the outcome. You just gotta keep a level head and just keep moving forward.
How long did the Speed Bump take?
Jonathan: It was pretty quick. Half of the grasshopper was already built and we had to add the legs and part of the body, so it wasn't completely from scratch. It seemed like was from scratch, but some of it was built. We just had to make it look exactly like it was. ... I think if we had not done the Speed Bump, we probably could've caught up. For like 15 minutes, we were looking in one of the temples and it wasn't the right one, so we had to go out and look again.
Harley: That does cut into our time and every minute counts. I think if we didn't have to do it, it would've shaved off 30 minutes.
Did you have trouble finding the Pit Stop like other teams did?
Harley: No, we knew exactly where to go. We didn't have too much trouble [getting places] because we'd show the cabbie a picture.
Jonathan: We had asked someone and we borrowed their phone. We looked it up. With our selfie camera, I would take a picture of that and then zoom it in and show our cab driver: "This is where we're going." I was like, "We're not just gonna take selfie pictures. We're gonna take pictures of maps on other people's phones and then show people because we don't speak Thai."
Now future racers will do that.
Harley: [Laughs] It was definitely a smart move and helped us a lot.
I don't think producers were thinking when they gave you those cameras. Or maybe there'll be a rule next season that you can't use them to get directions.
Jonathan: Yeah, who knows? They just tried it this season. It's fun watching the show now because you know what you went through, but to be able to see what the other teams went through is cool. But it was funny seeing how many selfies the other teams took. The whole time, they kept telling us, "Make sure you take selfies!" We were like, "We don't have time for this. We're not gonna stop and snap a picture." But then some of the teams just had so many selfies. It was so funny seeing them. For us, it was race or take selfies. I don't wanna miss the train!
What was it like meeting Grumpy Cat?
Jonathan: Oh, my goodness! The cats in that place were so awesome! I never even knew half those breeds existed. They had some weird ones too with weird legs. It looked like they were inbred a little and I felt bad for them. ... There's one of those cafes here in New York City. Maybe I'll take a couple Benadryl and go in there one day and be prepared!
In the past, some racers haven't liked celebrity racers on the show. What was your relationship like with the other teams?
Jonathan: We all got along really well. When we were all together at the beginning of the race, everybody was nice. I was a little bit like, "When is the tide gonna change and people will pull out their claws?" We had a good time. Who knows, when push comes to shove as the race went on, maybe people would be a little more nasty.
Do you think there's a superfan curse? A lot of superfans get eliminated early on the show.
Harley: [Laughs] Well, that's one thing to blame it on!
Jonathan: I don't know. I'll take it though. It sounds better than missing a plane flight!
Are you gunning for a future all-stars spot?
Harley: That would be nice. I'm still taking it all in. It'd be nice because the stuff we know now that we didn't know then, especially with the airports, we'd be a lot smarter with situations like that.
Jonathan: I think it'd be fun to do all-stars just for those reasons. Those reasons and more, but just to have a second chance and come in with more insight.
What are you up to now? Back on tour?
Jonathan: I'm getting ready to go back on tour. I have like two weeks and then rehearsals start. I'm gonna head up to New Hampshire as well to check out my real estate properties before I head out for rehearsals.
Harley: Right now I'm in California visiting family and then just going back to New York and getting back in the grind. And just watching the rest of the race to see what else they did.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Watch Joey McIntyre's interview with Good Day LA
Joey was interviewed by Good Day LA on KTTV Los Angeles to talk about Night At Sardi's, losing his mother to Alzheimer's, his contest to win a date with him and more.
Joey McIntyre was with us…and we're going to tell you how you can win a date with him to the annual "Night At Sardi's" fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Association.
23rd Annual “A Night at Sardi's”, to benefit the Alzheimer's Association March 18, 2015 at the Beverly Hilton, is an annual gala and musical revue featuring celebrities from television, stage and screen.
The 23rd annual event is themed “Broadway's Best,” featuring legendary tunes from Broadway's most beloved musicals including Wicked, Guys and Dolls, Hairspray, DreamGirls, and Hello Dolly! and more.
New Kids on the Block member Joey McIntyre will receive the Caregiver of the Year Award for opening up about his personal experience with the disease by sharing his mother's battle and contributing his time and talent to the evening's show and the cause.
Laurie Burrows Grad and Peter Grad have co-chaired this annual event for 23 years in honor of Laurie's father, the late Tony and Pulitzer-winning playwright and director, Abe Burrows. As a result of their leadership and passion, the event has contributed more than $25 million in support of the Alzheimer's Association critical Alzheimer's care, support and research programs.
23rd Annual “A Night at Sardi's”, to benefit the Alzheimer's Association March 18, 2015 at the Beverly Hilton, is an annual gala and musical revue featuring celebrities from television, stage and screen.
The 23rd annual event is themed “Broadway's Best,” featuring legendary tunes from Broadway's most beloved musicals including Wicked, Guys and Dolls, Hairspray, DreamGirls, and Hello Dolly! and more.
New Kids on the Block member Joey McIntyre will receive the Caregiver of the Year Award for opening up about his personal experience with the disease by sharing his mother's battle and contributing his time and talent to the evening's show and the cause.
Laurie Burrows Grad and Peter Grad have co-chaired this annual event for 23 years in honor of Laurie's father, the late Tony and Pulitzer-winning playwright and director, Abe Burrows. As a result of their leadership and passion, the event has contributed more than $25 million in support of the Alzheimer's Association critical Alzheimer's care, support and research programs.
NKOTB at Delaware State Fair on July 26
According to Delaware Online, the New Kids on the Block are scheduled to perform at Delaware State Fair on July 26!
Bryan Adams, NKOTB to play Delaware State Fair
Former boy band New Kids on the Block, rocker Bryan Adams, and country's Josh Turner and Little Big Town are all part of this year's roster of talent set for the Delaware State Fair, the fair announced late Tuesday.
This year's Delaware State Fair runs from July 23-Aug. 1 at the state fairgrounds in Harrington.
The state fair released the first scheduled act for this year's concert series, contemporary Christian rock band Casting Crowns, in late November. One more concert announcement is yet to come.
So far, the entertainment for the M&T Bank Grandstand is as follows:
July 23 – Delaware Volunteer Firefighter's Pro Rodeo Roundup at 7 p.m., $16;
July 24 – Manlove Auto Parts' Demolition Derby at 7 p.m., $16 - $18;
July 25 – Casting Crowns, with special Guest for King and Country at 7:30 p.m., $33-$63;
July 26 – New Kids On The Block at 7:30 p.m., $59 - $125;
July 28 – Bryan Adams at 7:30 p.m.. $39-$85;
July 29 – Josh Turner and guests Dustin Lynch and "The Voice" winner Craig Wayne Boyd at 7:30 p.m., $37-$80; and
July 31 – Little Big Town with special guests David Nail and Ashley Monroe at 7:30 p.m., $43 - $75.
Tickets for Little Big Town, Bryan Adams and New Kids on the Block go on sale Friday, March 20, at 10 a.m.
Tickets for Josh Turner, Pro Rodeo Roundup and the Demolition Derby go on sale Friday, March 27, at 10 a.m.
Tickets will be available at www.delawarestatefair.com.
Bryan Adams, NKOTB to play Delaware State Fair
Former boy band New Kids on the Block, rocker Bryan Adams, and country's Josh Turner and Little Big Town are all part of this year's roster of talent set for the Delaware State Fair, the fair announced late Tuesday.
This year's Delaware State Fair runs from July 23-Aug. 1 at the state fairgrounds in Harrington.
The state fair released the first scheduled act for this year's concert series, contemporary Christian rock band Casting Crowns, in late November. One more concert announcement is yet to come.
So far, the entertainment for the M&T Bank Grandstand is as follows:
July 23 – Delaware Volunteer Firefighter's Pro Rodeo Roundup at 7 p.m., $16;
July 24 – Manlove Auto Parts' Demolition Derby at 7 p.m., $16 - $18;
July 25 – Casting Crowns, with special Guest for King and Country at 7:30 p.m., $33-$63;
July 26 – New Kids On The Block at 7:30 p.m., $59 - $125;
July 28 – Bryan Adams at 7:30 p.m.. $39-$85;
July 29 – Josh Turner and guests Dustin Lynch and "The Voice" winner Craig Wayne Boyd at 7:30 p.m., $37-$80; and
July 31 – Little Big Town with special guests David Nail and Ashley Monroe at 7:30 p.m., $43 - $75.
Tickets for Little Big Town, Bryan Adams and New Kids on the Block go on sale Friday, March 20, at 10 a.m.
Tickets for Josh Turner, Pro Rodeo Roundup and the Demolition Derby go on sale Friday, March 27, at 10 a.m.
Tickets will be available at www.delawarestatefair.com.
Friday, March 6, 2015
NKOTB's interview with ABC News
ABC News interviewed the New Kids on the Block recently to talk about their upcoming tour and more!
New Kids on the Block: How Touring Is Different 30 Years Later
The New Kids on the Block now date back more than three decades -- and they say in that time a lot has changed, with new digital bridges linking them to their fans.
On the other hand, now that they're back together, it also feels like old times.
After rocking stadiums in the '80s and '90s, the group -- Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood -- each went their separate ways. Wahlberg appeared on the big screen, while other members of the band such as Jonathan Knight launched solo careers.
The original boy band got back together in 2008 and have been doing their thing ever since.
"The whole thing when we got back together was to just have fun," said Wahlberg, 45. "Our fans have fun, so every tour we do, we just try to have an even better time than last time. We are all lucky to be doing this again after all these years."
ABC News sat down with the boys at Gramercy Theatre in New York ahead of their "The Main Event" tour, which starts May 1, to see how life on the road has changed in the past 30 years.
Joey McIntyre, 42 - "We get to do what we love to do. There's so many life lessons you can get from it, to get better as a person, as a performer when you perform for more than 10,000 people a night. You just want to give them the time of their life. It can be a grind but, again, we keep getting opportunities to see how this can be different for us and that's how we want it to feel for the fans. The minute it gets old, we are not going to do it anymore."
Donnie Wahlberg - "Everything is different, the greatest thing about all of this is, in many ways, it's the same. But it's different because we are now doing it again with what we know now. ... The fans are just as awesome, they are just as loud. We showed up again after all these years with all these life lessons, and it's been magical, such a gift to do it differently the second time around. When you get older, things slow down. It slows down and it doesn't whiz by. You are able to appreciate each moment a lot more. We know to stop and smell the roses. Walking into a sold out arena will never get old."
Danny Wood, 45 - "During the 15 years we were apart, I never thought my kids would get to see me on stage again. Since 2008, they've been along for the ride, too. That's been another gift that I thought would never happen. They get to come and see me up on stage and these are like their uncles. It's family."
Jonathan Knight, 46 - "When we first came on the scene, it was just a whirlwind, almost out of our control. That's how I felt. Now I feel so much more grateful, and now I am able to slow down and enjoy the fans. I can look at people's faces and see their smiles, soak that in instead of thinking of the next thing or how we look. All that negative stuff is gone now. The whole fan experience now, just being in digital age, we can be sitting here right now and tweet and get a reaction. There's so much feedback and I love that part. There's the connection with fans. I'll be lying in bed at 2 a.m. and I'll just turn on Twitter, and I know who's on when I'm up. I love that aspect of it now -- the connection right on your phone."
Wahlberg - "Which is saying a lot because Jon was probably the most away from the fans -- him and Jordan in some ways, too, it was a lot for them. For Jon to be saying that all these years later says a lot about him and his journey, but also how much of an impact the digital space has had on us. It's created opportunities for us to connect in different ways. Some of us are the type to go out and hang with the audience and take pics after the show. Some of us are more reserved. But now with Twitter, it's given us a chance to connect in that way."
Wood - "And the bonus to that: I have a connection to these guys when I'm away from them. Jon was filming 'The Amazing Race,' Jordan was on his solo tour, Joe with his sitcom, Donnie with "Blue Bloods." With social media, you get bits about them every day."
McIntyre - "This tour, I want to show up, have the same amazing experience, but learn to let it go more."
Wahlberg - "It only turns into a grind when you lose gratitude. As long as you are grateful, it will just be a wonderful journey."
New Kids are teaming up with Cottonelle for a campaign called “Go Cottonelle, Go Commando" before their big tour this summer.
According to a news release on the partnership, this campaign is "a larger effort by the toilet paper brand to let people know that only Cottonelle has CleanRipple texture to get you clean, giving you the confidence to go commando."
"These wipes will save the Earth," Wahlberg said. "Because when you use these, you don't use as much water."
"The Main Event" tour kicks off on Friday, May 1, 2015, in Las Vegas and ends in Buffalo, New York, in July.
New Kids on the Block: How Touring Is Different 30 Years Later
The New Kids on the Block now date back more than three decades -- and they say in that time a lot has changed, with new digital bridges linking them to their fans.
On the other hand, now that they're back together, it also feels like old times.
After rocking stadiums in the '80s and '90s, the group -- Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood -- each went their separate ways. Wahlberg appeared on the big screen, while other members of the band such as Jonathan Knight launched solo careers.
The original boy band got back together in 2008 and have been doing their thing ever since.
"The whole thing when we got back together was to just have fun," said Wahlberg, 45. "Our fans have fun, so every tour we do, we just try to have an even better time than last time. We are all lucky to be doing this again after all these years."
ABC News sat down with the boys at Gramercy Theatre in New York ahead of their "The Main Event" tour, which starts May 1, to see how life on the road has changed in the past 30 years.
Joey McIntyre, 42 - "We get to do what we love to do. There's so many life lessons you can get from it, to get better as a person, as a performer when you perform for more than 10,000 people a night. You just want to give them the time of their life. It can be a grind but, again, we keep getting opportunities to see how this can be different for us and that's how we want it to feel for the fans. The minute it gets old, we are not going to do it anymore."
Donnie Wahlberg - "Everything is different, the greatest thing about all of this is, in many ways, it's the same. But it's different because we are now doing it again with what we know now. ... The fans are just as awesome, they are just as loud. We showed up again after all these years with all these life lessons, and it's been magical, such a gift to do it differently the second time around. When you get older, things slow down. It slows down and it doesn't whiz by. You are able to appreciate each moment a lot more. We know to stop and smell the roses. Walking into a sold out arena will never get old."
Danny Wood, 45 - "During the 15 years we were apart, I never thought my kids would get to see me on stage again. Since 2008, they've been along for the ride, too. That's been another gift that I thought would never happen. They get to come and see me up on stage and these are like their uncles. It's family."
Jonathan Knight, 46 - "When we first came on the scene, it was just a whirlwind, almost out of our control. That's how I felt. Now I feel so much more grateful, and now I am able to slow down and enjoy the fans. I can look at people's faces and see their smiles, soak that in instead of thinking of the next thing or how we look. All that negative stuff is gone now. The whole fan experience now, just being in digital age, we can be sitting here right now and tweet and get a reaction. There's so much feedback and I love that part. There's the connection with fans. I'll be lying in bed at 2 a.m. and I'll just turn on Twitter, and I know who's on when I'm up. I love that aspect of it now -- the connection right on your phone."
Wahlberg - "Which is saying a lot because Jon was probably the most away from the fans -- him and Jordan in some ways, too, it was a lot for them. For Jon to be saying that all these years later says a lot about him and his journey, but also how much of an impact the digital space has had on us. It's created opportunities for us to connect in different ways. Some of us are the type to go out and hang with the audience and take pics after the show. Some of us are more reserved. But now with Twitter, it's given us a chance to connect in that way."
Wood - "And the bonus to that: I have a connection to these guys when I'm away from them. Jon was filming 'The Amazing Race,' Jordan was on his solo tour, Joe with his sitcom, Donnie with "Blue Bloods." With social media, you get bits about them every day."
McIntyre - "This tour, I want to show up, have the same amazing experience, but learn to let it go more."
Wahlberg - "It only turns into a grind when you lose gratitude. As long as you are grateful, it will just be a wonderful journey."
New Kids are teaming up with Cottonelle for a campaign called “Go Cottonelle, Go Commando" before their big tour this summer.
According to a news release on the partnership, this campaign is "a larger effort by the toilet paper brand to let people know that only Cottonelle has CleanRipple texture to get you clean, giving you the confidence to go commando."
"These wipes will save the Earth," Wahlberg said. "Because when you use these, you don't use as much water."
"The Main Event" tour kicks off on Friday, May 1, 2015, in Las Vegas and ends in Buffalo, New York, in July.
New Kids on the Block interview with Parade Magazine
Parade Magazine interviewed NKOTB about their upcoming The Main Event tour, their Cottonelle sponsorship and more.
Command Performance: New Kids on the Block Get Ready to Reclaim the Road
Command Performance: New Kids on the Block Get Ready to Reclaim the Road
They’ve been performing together—off and on—for over 30 years, but Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood, the five guys known as New Kids on the Block, want to prove that the boy band that sold over 80 million records worldwide still has the power to whip their fans into a frenzy.
Enter The Main Event, their upcoming 30-city North American concert tour kicking off May 1 in Las Vegas with special guests TLC and Nelly.
Parade talked to four of the five band members—minus Donnie Wahlberg, who was filming his TV show, Bluebloods—about the tour, their longtime fans and going commando. (You read that correctly.)
Are you guys looking forward to sharing the stage with TLC?
Jordan: What’s not to look forward to? They have so many songs. Just them being on stage is going to be amazing.
Jonathan: From the moment they came out on the scene, they changed the game with their look and their attitude. They were sexy and strong. Girls loved them; guys loved them. We were huge fans of theirs from the get-go. So the fact that they’ve come back the last couple of years, the timing is perfect.
People ask how did we pick them [to tour with]. Well, we just started at the top. It’s just the perfect match for us and for our fans.
And Nelly, he’s probably a little outside the box for us but then again, not really. We’re lucky to have him as part of a great night. Our fans are going to be out of their seats from the beginning.
You’ve toured all over the world and seen a lot of things over the years. Does anything surprise you after all you’ve accomplished?
Joey: It surprises me that we can play Madison Square Garden! (Laughs). I mean, we work hard. We’ve been back together for 7 years and we want to give people a great show. We’ve kind of earned our keep as far as transcending the whole boy band thing. We’re entertainers. We want to put on a great show. But every time we put a tour together, you kind of hope for the best, and our fans keep showing up. We’re doing another 50 dates. We teamed up with TLC and Nelly, those are obviously great acts that have great hit records. So, you’re looking at a non-stop evening of entertainment. We’re very very lucky to be doing what we love to do on the biggest stages around. It’s a humbling experience but it’s also a gift and we’re looking forward to taking it to another level.
Any venue or city you’re really looking forward to playing on this tour?
Jonathan: Madison Square Garden is pretty special, but we’re Boston guys so any shows we can play at the Boston Garden makes our hearts grow another size.
You’re about to hit the road again this summer. Are your fans the same people who have been following you all along or are they new fans?
Jonathan: I think it’s a combination. We have some new fans for sure. When we collaborated with the Backstreet Boys a couple years ago we won over some of their fans. But, basically we have the same fans we had back in the day. They’re just all grown up now.
Do your fans behave differently now than they did when they were in their teens or twenties?
Jordan: No!
Danny: No.
Joey: No differently.
Jonathan: Not really, ha! We get to be rock stars and they get to behave like they’re 12 years old again.
Joey: We’re lucky to still be doing what we love to do. Our fans are moms and they have careers and lives, so we’re like a getaway for them. And we want to give them a great night out, the time of their lives and something special every time we get together.
Are your fans the sort of people who throw their underwear on stage during your shows?
Everybody: No! (Laughing). Absolutely not.
What about back in the day?
Joey: Every once in a while there’s the occasional bra thrown on stage. Usually, fans will toss something like panties, not really underwear. Kind of a joke, you know?
Is it something you’re discouraging now? What’s the connection with your sponsor, Cottonelle, and encouraging people to go commando?
Joey: People might think we’re asking the fans to go commando. But we’re talking about us going commando because we want to feel like rock stars and go commando and let it all hang out.
Jonathan: There’s nothing more rock & roll than going commando.
Jordan: It’s not literal.
Joey: It’s about confidence. If you’re clean, you’re confident.
How important is it to buy good toilet paper?
Joey: There are certain things you don’t skimp on. Maybe paper plates, you might short a little bit on those. But not TP. You’ve got to go for the good stuff.
OK, subject change. Do you guys still have fun together?
(Simultaneously, two guys answer, Yes! Two guys answer, No! Everybody laughs.)
Danny: I’m not having any fun right now with these dudes.
Jonathan: Hey! Danny is the grouch. He’s strong but very sensitive on the inside. Seriously, we get along better than we ever have. And we enjoy each other’s company.
Danny: I want it known that I love these guys.
Joey: He tells us that every night. Before every show.
Jonathan: And we don’t roll our eyes anymore.
Joey: And nobody says I love you back.
Danny: Everyone just looks at me—there’s silence.
They don’t say, “Me too?” or even, “ditto?”
Danny: No!
Joey: Someone will say, “Cool…”
Jonathan: It’s like in relationships when a girl or guy says, ‘I love you’ and the other person says ‘thank you.’
What is different for you now than when you started out? Are you more comfortable on stage now? Is it easier?
Jonathan: We are way more efficient. We’re like a new model of a car. We’re more aerodynamic; we don’t waste energy.
Joey: The engineering is amazing. The software is getting better and better.
Jonathan: We came back into this with mature eyes and that helped out a lot.
Visit nkotb.com for additional information about The Main Event tour and the band that back in the ‘90s inspired a nation of young women to purchase lunchboxes, sheets and pajamas bearing their image.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Watch bonus clips of Jonathan and Harley on The Amazing Race
Here are some more bonus clips of Jonathan and Harley on The Amazing Race:
Update: Videos have been deleted, does anyone have them saved?
Harley describes to Jonathan how he got the puzzle box open - before their taxi gets passed by Bergen and Kurt's.
Everyone reveals their ages after the greeter discovers Jonathan's pop star identity.
And here is a preview for next week's show:
Tension rise in Thailand as one team forgets their fanny pack, putting them behind, and one Racer celebrates the end of the leg when they pop a very special question, on The Amazing Race, Friday, March 6 at 8/7c.
Donnie Wahlberg talks to Entrepreneur Magazine
Entrepreneur interviewed Donnie recently about his family life growing up, Wahlburgers, and more.
Donnie Wahlberg's Unlikely Ascent From Boy Band Heartthrob to Entrepreneurial Powerhouse
The odds were stacked against Donnie Wahlberg from the start.
The eighth of nine children, he came up hard and poor on the streets of Dorchester, a gritty, working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Boston. Alcoholism and a bent for self-destruction plagued his tight-knit family. They scraped by on food stamps and the leftover milk and cereal Wahlberg’s Teamster trucker father delivered daily to Boston public schools. When they got sick, they sucked it up. Doctor visits were a luxury they couldn’t often afford.
Fast forward to today and the New Kids founder has come a hell of a long way from the block.
Donnie’s long, unlikely rise to success, spanning three decades now, is hard to miss. He’s gone from '80s boy-band bad boy to surprise breakout TV and film actor, to Emmy-nominated producer to restaurateur and back again -- full circle to New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) frontman, only older and wiser at 45. Along the way, the busy father of two and stepfather to one has amassed a fortune topping $20 million. Not bad for a roughneck kid who could’ve easily ended up hooked on drugs or in jail, as he puts it.
Today Donnie’s chatting with us from the backseat of a van en route to the New York City set of the cop drama Blue Bloods. It’s just one of four shows he currently headlines. He’s also on A&E’s Donnie Loves Jenny, opposite his new wife and former Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy. Then there’s Pop TV’s Rock This Boat: New Kids on the Block, a show in which Donnie and his four fellow NKOTB bandmates set sail aboard a cruise to Bermuda with die-hard “Blockheads,” their biggest fans. Perhaps the most popular in the bunch right now is A&E’s Walhburgers, a rollicking, unscripted inside look at Donnie’s eponymous restaurant franchise with his brothers, Paul, 50, and Mark, 43. Not surprisingly, the chronic overachiever executive produces them all.
Heap on the recent launch of D&J Productions with McCarthy and prepping for NKOTB’s upcoming 40-plus-city reunion tour with TLC and Nelly, and its a wonder Donnie even sleeps. “I sleep, like, one hour a month,” he recently joked.
Yet the prankster celebrity entrepreneur still regularly squeezes in time to do his part for Wahlburgers, the family’s second successful restaurant business in Paul’s current hometown of Hingham, Mass., following the launch of Alma Nove, a fine-dining establishment named for their mother, Alma. And not just by throwing money at it or flexing his star power in the press. He puts his money where his mouth is.
“Before we launched I was taking the train from New York to Boston pretty much every other day to help design the interior of the restaurant, to design the menus, to craft the mission statement, to do taste-testing,” he says. “I probably gained 20 pounds in two months tasting all of the food every other day. It was a LOT, like every milkshake, every burger.”
Temporarily sacrificing his trademark abs isn’t the only way Donnie pitches in at the burger franchise, which he describes as a “cross between Umami Burger and Shake Shack.” Just as he says he did after his parents divorced when he was 13, Donnie also acts as the glue that holds his co-owner brothers together -- and who stops them from wringing each others' necks at times.
“After the divorce, I became sort of the dad of the family,” he says. “Somehow I became the kid who planned when Christmas was gonna be at Mom’s house or at Dad’s. I made a plan and called all the siblings. I became that kid and I still am somehow. Now, me and Mark and Paul are like a three-headed monster, all working together at the same time with me as the perfect middle guy.”
Indeed Donnie acts as the often mischievous, not always “perfect,” go-between between Paul, the lead Wahlburgers chef and the fifth sibling in the Wahlberg clan, and Mark, the mega movie star baby of the brood. Paul, the only Wahlberg sibling to graduate from high school other than Donnie, inspired Donnie and Mark to better themselves. Donnie still brings both together, despite their insane work schedules and competing priorities.
“Paul handles the food aspects and I’m more of the creative hand in it, dealing with the nuts and bolts with Paul, connecting our family history to it. Mark connects Wahlburgers to Hollywood to market the show even more and he literally runs around the world trying to open franchises in every country.”
So far, Mark’s aggressive expansion efforts are paying off. The brothers and their beloved 71-year-old sparkplug of a mother opened their first Wahlburgers in 2011 and expanded to a second eatery in Toronto last year, with all four showing up for the star-studded debuts. Two more locations are slated for the Greater Boston area this year, with 60 more currently in the works, according to Donnie.
“Mark is just like, ‘Hey, let’s put [a Wahlburgers] here on top of this giant building.’ Then I have to translate that language into Paul-speak and say, ‘Okay, Paul, that’s not realistic, but what is realistic is this...and go from there.’”
Talking Paul into things is something Donnie’s done all his life, and, judging by Wahlburgers episodes, he’s still pretty darn skilled at it. As patient but high-strung Paul says during the show’s opening credits, his mission in life was “always to open my own restaurant, but being in business with my brothers was never the plan.” That is not until Donnie essentially sold him on the idea.
“Paul’s concept was to open a great burger joint in Hingham with our last name on it,” says Donnie. “I said, ‘Paul, you know you can’t put that name on the sign and not expect Mark and I to want to take it to a different place.’ More importantly, you can’t put Wahlburgers on the sign and not have it have something to do with our family and have a connection to what that means. It’s about growing up in Dorchester with nine kids, you know. That’s where it had to start. For our love of food, our love of family and good times. For everything we’ve been through and where we are today.”
For the Wahlberg kids, good times centered around a lively family dinner every night at 5 o’clock, “the one time of day that we knew we’d all be together,” Donnie says. Alma scratched together savory, home-cooked meals with limited “welfare food” and Donnie’s late father Donald, who he’s named after, fried burger patties and topped them with surprisingly delicious government cheese. That same cheese, the taste of home to Donnie and still his favorite to this day, graces all of Wahlburgers’s signature House burgers.
The Thanksgiving Day burger is another brothers Wahlberg down-home homage to the food they grew up on. The menu is full of them, right down to “dad’s buttermilk dressing” and “mom’s creamy mayo dressing.”
“We share foods that connect to the tastes that made sense to us, from our family’s sensibilities, like the Thanksgiving burger. We didn’t like Thanksgiving dinner. We liked Thanksgiving leftovers on a sandwich after dinner. That was our experience. We didn’t care about the turkey being carved. There was no emotional tie to that. What was an emotional tie was us eating a turkey sandwich six hours after dinner when the tryptophan wore off the first time. So that was really tying family in.”
Staying tethered to family and home -- and true to the Wahlberg clan's humble Boston roots -- are the heart and soul of Wahlburgers, not just another “celebrity vanity project.”
No matter how far and wide their individual ambitions take them -- Donnie in New York and New Jersey and around the globe on tour, Mark in Los Angeles and on sets throughout the world, and Paul holding it down back in Beantown -- going home brings them back together as business partners and, more importantly, as brothers.
“Going home has always served me well,” Donnie says. “I can reach out to all different parts of the world to try to do different things and be successful in different ways, but it seems that my greatest connection is to home, whether that’s family or Boston, that’s home. Launching Wahlburgers together has allowed us to get back to being brothers. We didn’t want someone else, some other entrepreneur being in charge of our destiny. I wanted us to be in charge of our destiny and we are.”
Donnie Wahlberg's Unlikely Ascent From Boy Band Heartthrob to Entrepreneurial Powerhouse
The odds were stacked against Donnie Wahlberg from the start.
The eighth of nine children, he came up hard and poor on the streets of Dorchester, a gritty, working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Boston. Alcoholism and a bent for self-destruction plagued his tight-knit family. They scraped by on food stamps and the leftover milk and cereal Wahlberg’s Teamster trucker father delivered daily to Boston public schools. When they got sick, they sucked it up. Doctor visits were a luxury they couldn’t often afford.
Fast forward to today and the New Kids founder has come a hell of a long way from the block.
Donnie’s long, unlikely rise to success, spanning three decades now, is hard to miss. He’s gone from '80s boy-band bad boy to surprise breakout TV and film actor, to Emmy-nominated producer to restaurateur and back again -- full circle to New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) frontman, only older and wiser at 45. Along the way, the busy father of two and stepfather to one has amassed a fortune topping $20 million. Not bad for a roughneck kid who could’ve easily ended up hooked on drugs or in jail, as he puts it.
Today Donnie’s chatting with us from the backseat of a van en route to the New York City set of the cop drama Blue Bloods. It’s just one of four shows he currently headlines. He’s also on A&E’s Donnie Loves Jenny, opposite his new wife and former Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy. Then there’s Pop TV’s Rock This Boat: New Kids on the Block, a show in which Donnie and his four fellow NKOTB bandmates set sail aboard a cruise to Bermuda with die-hard “Blockheads,” their biggest fans. Perhaps the most popular in the bunch right now is A&E’s Walhburgers, a rollicking, unscripted inside look at Donnie’s eponymous restaurant franchise with his brothers, Paul, 50, and Mark, 43. Not surprisingly, the chronic overachiever executive produces them all.
Heap on the recent launch of D&J Productions with McCarthy and prepping for NKOTB’s upcoming 40-plus-city reunion tour with TLC and Nelly, and its a wonder Donnie even sleeps. “I sleep, like, one hour a month,” he recently joked.
Yet the prankster celebrity entrepreneur still regularly squeezes in time to do his part for Wahlburgers, the family’s second successful restaurant business in Paul’s current hometown of Hingham, Mass., following the launch of Alma Nove, a fine-dining establishment named for their mother, Alma. And not just by throwing money at it or flexing his star power in the press. He puts his money where his mouth is.
“Before we launched I was taking the train from New York to Boston pretty much every other day to help design the interior of the restaurant, to design the menus, to craft the mission statement, to do taste-testing,” he says. “I probably gained 20 pounds in two months tasting all of the food every other day. It was a LOT, like every milkshake, every burger.”
Temporarily sacrificing his trademark abs isn’t the only way Donnie pitches in at the burger franchise, which he describes as a “cross between Umami Burger and Shake Shack.” Just as he says he did after his parents divorced when he was 13, Donnie also acts as the glue that holds his co-owner brothers together -- and who stops them from wringing each others' necks at times.
“After the divorce, I became sort of the dad of the family,” he says. “Somehow I became the kid who planned when Christmas was gonna be at Mom’s house or at Dad’s. I made a plan and called all the siblings. I became that kid and I still am somehow. Now, me and Mark and Paul are like a three-headed monster, all working together at the same time with me as the perfect middle guy.”
Indeed Donnie acts as the often mischievous, not always “perfect,” go-between between Paul, the lead Wahlburgers chef and the fifth sibling in the Wahlberg clan, and Mark, the mega movie star baby of the brood. Paul, the only Wahlberg sibling to graduate from high school other than Donnie, inspired Donnie and Mark to better themselves. Donnie still brings both together, despite their insane work schedules and competing priorities.
“Paul handles the food aspects and I’m more of the creative hand in it, dealing with the nuts and bolts with Paul, connecting our family history to it. Mark connects Wahlburgers to Hollywood to market the show even more and he literally runs around the world trying to open franchises in every country.”
So far, Mark’s aggressive expansion efforts are paying off. The brothers and their beloved 71-year-old sparkplug of a mother opened their first Wahlburgers in 2011 and expanded to a second eatery in Toronto last year, with all four showing up for the star-studded debuts. Two more locations are slated for the Greater Boston area this year, with 60 more currently in the works, according to Donnie.
“Mark is just like, ‘Hey, let’s put [a Wahlburgers] here on top of this giant building.’ Then I have to translate that language into Paul-speak and say, ‘Okay, Paul, that’s not realistic, but what is realistic is this...and go from there.’”
Talking Paul into things is something Donnie’s done all his life, and, judging by Wahlburgers episodes, he’s still pretty darn skilled at it. As patient but high-strung Paul says during the show’s opening credits, his mission in life was “always to open my own restaurant, but being in business with my brothers was never the plan.” That is not until Donnie essentially sold him on the idea.
“Paul’s concept was to open a great burger joint in Hingham with our last name on it,” says Donnie. “I said, ‘Paul, you know you can’t put that name on the sign and not expect Mark and I to want to take it to a different place.’ More importantly, you can’t put Wahlburgers on the sign and not have it have something to do with our family and have a connection to what that means. It’s about growing up in Dorchester with nine kids, you know. That’s where it had to start. For our love of food, our love of family and good times. For everything we’ve been through and where we are today.”
For the Wahlberg kids, good times centered around a lively family dinner every night at 5 o’clock, “the one time of day that we knew we’d all be together,” Donnie says. Alma scratched together savory, home-cooked meals with limited “welfare food” and Donnie’s late father Donald, who he’s named after, fried burger patties and topped them with surprisingly delicious government cheese. That same cheese, the taste of home to Donnie and still his favorite to this day, graces all of Wahlburgers’s signature House burgers.
The Thanksgiving Day burger is another brothers Wahlberg down-home homage to the food they grew up on. The menu is full of them, right down to “dad’s buttermilk dressing” and “mom’s creamy mayo dressing.”
“We share foods that connect to the tastes that made sense to us, from our family’s sensibilities, like the Thanksgiving burger. We didn’t like Thanksgiving dinner. We liked Thanksgiving leftovers on a sandwich after dinner. That was our experience. We didn’t care about the turkey being carved. There was no emotional tie to that. What was an emotional tie was us eating a turkey sandwich six hours after dinner when the tryptophan wore off the first time. So that was really tying family in.”
Staying tethered to family and home -- and true to the Wahlberg clan's humble Boston roots -- are the heart and soul of Wahlburgers, not just another “celebrity vanity project.”
No matter how far and wide their individual ambitions take them -- Donnie in New York and New Jersey and around the globe on tour, Mark in Los Angeles and on sets throughout the world, and Paul holding it down back in Beantown -- going home brings them back together as business partners and, more importantly, as brothers.
“Going home has always served me well,” Donnie says. “I can reach out to all different parts of the world to try to do different things and be successful in different ways, but it seems that my greatest connection is to home, whether that’s family or Boston, that’s home. Launching Wahlburgers together has allowed us to get back to being brothers. We didn’t want someone else, some other entrepreneur being in charge of our destiny. I wanted us to be in charge of our destiny and we are.”
Jonathan Knight interviewed by Entertainment Tonight
Jonathan was interviewed by Entertainment Tonight about being gay and in the entertainment industry back with the New Kids first started and more.
Jonathan Knight and Harley Rodriguez interviewed by Gossip Girl
Jonathan and Harley recently interviewed by Gossip Girl about The Amazing Race, are there plans to get married and more:
“I don’t know, we’ll see,” the infamous heartthrob tells me. “I think I’m going to start watching Survivor this season and see if I can get into that.”
For now, Jonathan is competing along with his partner of seven years, Harley Rodriguez, on the new season ofTAR. Rodriguez is a fitness trainer for my beloved Barry’s Bootcamp, but 90s TV lovers may also recognize him as Manny Lopez from the teen hit Sweet Valley High.
Despite that TV background, HR insists auditioning to run around the world sans a personal driver (pass!) was all Jonathan’s idea. Although that one million bucks prize does sound tempting. Imagine the damage you could do at Barney’s
“Jon was the really die-hard fan, and he had tried to get on it for, like, four seasons, but because of tour scheduling, he never could.” Rodriguez said.
Until now…
Gossip Girl: Should you win, do you think you’ll spend some of that money on a wedding in the, ahem, near future?
Jonathan: Ah, weddings, the old wedding question. I don’t know, we’ve been together seven years. Put it this way, if we get married, our wedding would probably cost about $100, and it would consist of us going in the closet, grabbing a suit and heading down to the courthouse. And then maybe, maybe dinner afterward at a burger joint. And then we’ll just send out notes to everybody, we are now married.
Jonathan: Ah, weddings, the old wedding question. I don’t know, we’ve been together seven years. Put it this way, if we get married, our wedding would probably cost about $100, and it would consist of us going in the closet, grabbing a suit and heading down to the courthouse. And then maybe, maybe dinner afterward at a burger joint. And then we’ll just send out notes to everybody, we are now married.
Gossip Girl: Jonathan, what did the other New Kids say when you told them you were going to be on The Amazing Race?
Jonathan: They thought I was crazy. They were like, ‘Why are you doing this?’ Then it became worry. They were like, ‘Well, what’s going to happen if you get hurt or something happens. You’re on the other side of the world.’ Then it became excitement.
Jonathan: They thought I was crazy. They were like, ‘Why are you doing this?’ Then it became worry. They were like, ‘Well, what’s going to happen if you get hurt or something happens. You’re on the other side of the world.’ Then it became excitement.
Gossip Girl: There have been a few famous faces on The Amazing Race over the years, but you’re probably the most widely known. Was everyone freaking out when you showed up at the starting line?
Jonathan: No, everybody was contained. We all ended up in the airport somewhere going to our first country, and we had a lot of downtime. That was when we kind of got to do all the introductions. I’m so humble, I never thought anybody would know or anything, but it turned out there were a few of the girls who were like, ‘Oh my God! I went to your concert with the Backstreet Boys like five years ago.’ There was another girl that went to the show a long time ago. It was pretty cool. They were excited, but I think I was as excited to meet all of them as they were to meet me.
Jonathan: No, everybody was contained. We all ended up in the airport somewhere going to our first country, and we had a lot of downtime. That was when we kind of got to do all the introductions. I’m so humble, I never thought anybody would know or anything, but it turned out there were a few of the girls who were like, ‘Oh my God! I went to your concert with the Backstreet Boys like five years ago.’ There was another girl that went to the show a long time ago. It was pretty cool. They were excited, but I think I was as excited to meet all of them as they were to meet me.
Gossip Girl: Screaming girls all across America want to know: Harley, what is it like to date pop music royalty?
Harley: The funny part is — and I think that’s why we’ve lasted — he’s just Jon…When I met him, I didn’t know who he was. I mean, everyone knew who the band was and knew his songs. But when I met him, he was this down-to-earth, humble, awesome guy, and then later on, when I find out, it was like, ‘Oh my God!’ If he was any different than that, we would not be together.
Harley: The funny part is — and I think that’s why we’ve lasted — he’s just Jon…When I met him, I didn’t know who he was. I mean, everyone knew who the band was and knew his songs. But when I met him, he was this down-to-earth, humble, awesome guy, and then later on, when I find out, it was like, ‘Oh my God!’ If he was any different than that, we would not be together.
Gossip Girl: Harley, do you think being a fitness trainer gave you guys an advantage?
Harley: It helped as far as just being stable physically — you’re running a lot, carrying stuff. But you just never know because there’s some things that happen that you just don’t expect. You prepare so much for everything, but you just don’t know what happens.
Harley: It helped as far as just being stable physically — you’re running a lot, carrying stuff. But you just never know because there’s some things that happen that you just don’t expect. You prepare so much for everything, but you just don’t know what happens.
Gossip Girl: You’ve been together a long time. Was there anything new you learned about each other while racing?
Jonathan: No, no. It was just seeing the same kind of person in a different situation. We already knew how we would react, and so nothing was out of the ordinary. It was just the situations were out of the ordinary. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we definitely were fortune to go into the race knowing that with the twist this season, with the couples that just met — ya know, they’re going into it, they’ve got learn everything on the fly … I give the singles so much props for doing that.
Jonathan: No, no. It was just seeing the same kind of person in a different situation. We already knew how we would react, and so nothing was out of the ordinary. It was just the situations were out of the ordinary. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we definitely were fortune to go into the race knowing that with the twist this season, with the couples that just met — ya know, they’re going into it, they’ve got learn everything on the fly … I give the singles so much props for doing that.
Jordan Knight to convert his gym into a Retro Fitness
Jordan plans on converting his Cranston, RI gym "Fit World" into a Retro Fitness this spring. Here are some press releases:
Cranston Patch: NKOTB's Jordan Knight to Convert his Cranston Gym into a Retro Fitness
Cranston Patch: NKOTB's Jordan Knight to Convert his Cranston Gym into a Retro Fitness
Believe it or not, the 1980s was actually quite a while ago, so things that were cool back then can be classified as "retro."Which brings us to this new business deal in which a company with "Retro" in its name might have just found the perfect new franchisee to carry its brand — New Kids On the Block Frontman and businessman Jordan Knight.Knight, a 1980s heartthrob and poster boy for teens and tweens with huge Aqua-Net bangs, is now a father of two boys, a husband and a gym owner in Cranston since 1995. In 2008, he rebranded his gym to Fit World and moved it to 30 Kenney Drive. And now, he's converting Fit World once again after signing a franchise agreement with fast-growing fitness chain Retro Fitness."I wanted to revitalize my club with a fresh, new vibe, but knew I couldn't do it on my own. I needed the backing of a franchise with a wealth of industry experience to support my plans for Fit World," Knight said. "Retro Fitness has the expertise and proven business model I'm looking for to take my gym the next level. Their concept aligns with the vision I had in mind for Fit World's future, and the passion driving the brand's growth is incredible."Retro Fitness offers a fixed low price of $19 or $29 (if you want tanning, group classes and access to the children's playroom). And by signing on with the franchise, Knight's gym will get brand amenities like the Retro Theater, which swaps the seats with cardio equipment and the Retro Blends Smoothie Bar.Renovations will begin soon, according to a company release, and the gym will be rebranded to the franchise's signature red and yellow scheme. Work should be completed by this spring."Our franchise system is made up of an eclectic group of people, from Wall Street investors and professional athletes to those simply looking for a new direction in their careers, but an award winning, singer and performer is a first for our brand," stated Retro Fitness CEO and founder Eric Casaburi. "We're super pumped to have Jordan join our team. His drive and commitment to his gym and musical career are proof that he has what it takes to be successful in our franchise. He's got a great foundation with Fit World, and we're confident that bringing Retro Fitness into the club will considerably increase the value for him and members alike."Knight said that he plans to continue growing the Retro Fitness brand with new locations in Massachusetts. The company has indicated that it plans to open 200 gyms over the next two years in major markets in the U.S. It currently has 120 gyms in 15 states.When he's not managing his fitness business, Knight can often be found getting in a solid workout at his gym. He needs to stay in shape since NKOTB reunited in 2008 and began touring and releasing new albums in addition to his solo work and appearances, including his 2014 teaming up with Nick Carter, performing as Nick & Knight.
COLTS NECK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For Retro Fitness, membership rates aren’t the only thing that’s “retro.” The leading national low-cost, high-value fitness chain announced today that New Kids On The Block front man Jordan Knight has signed a franchise agreement to convert his existing Cranston, R.I. gym, Fit World, into a Retro Fitness.Knight opened his first health club in 1995 in Cranston and moved the facility in 2008, rebranding it as Fit World. Converting the facility into a Retro Fitness allows Knight to bring a whole new energy into the club and increase value for members. After the transformation is completed, he plans to continue growing the Retro Fitness brand with new locations in Massachusetts.“I wanted to revitalize my club with a fresh, new vibe, but knew I couldn’t do it on my own. I needed the backing of a franchise with a wealth of industry experience to support my plans for Fit World,” Knight said. “Retro Fitness has the expertise and proven business model I’m looking for to take my gym the next level. Their concept aligns with the vision I had in mind for Fit World’s future, and the passion driving the brand’s growth is incredible.”With the conversion into a Retro Fitness, members can expect new amenities like the brand’s popular Retro Theater that houses a variety of cardio equipment instead of seats and plays movies on a large screen throughout the day. Knight also plans to add a functional training area and Retro Blends Smoothie Bar, in addition to enhancing the personal training program. The gym will soon undergo renovations to accommodate the new features and will be rebranded to the franchise’s signature red and yellow color scheme. All told, Knight expects the full conversion to be completed by spring 2015.Other amenities that will still be available to members include group fitness classes, full-service locker rooms, a supervised children’s playroom and the latest in tanning technology. Beyond physical changes at the location, Knight will be changing the membership rates to align with the franchise’s standard offering – all current members’ rates will become a flat rate of $19.99 per month with the option of upgrading to the $29.99 per month package, which includes unlimited access to tanning, group fitness classes and the children’s playroom.“Our franchise system is made up of an eclectic group of people, from Wall Street investors and professional athletes to those simply looking for a new direction in their careers, but an award winning, singer and performer is a first for our brand,” stated Retro Fitness CEO and founder Eric Casaburi. “We’re super pumped to have Jordan join our team. His drive and commitment to his gym and musical career are proof that he has what it takes to be successful in our franchise. He’s got a great foundation with Fit World, and we’re confident that bringing Retro Fitness into the club will considerably increase the value for him and members alike.”The Cranston gym is located at 30 Kenney Drive and can be reached at (401) 464-4055.
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