There's no shame in being a teen phenom. Some of pop's finest have bopped down that path. Unfortunately, so have many of pop's worst. Former New Kid On The Block Joey McIntyre may not rank among the most odious examples of adolescent fodder, but unlike such heartthrobs as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, or even Fabian (who has achieved a kind of retro-kitsch cool in recent years), it's a safe bet McIntyre won't be inspiring any next-generation fans.

At 25 McIntyre's boyish good looks are still practically pristine, and he can certainly swivel and yearn with the best of them, but the music he makes is hopelessly skin-deep. Without the face, the moves, and the bod, the songs are for the most part tepid, syrupy dance drivel -- they slosh around pleasantly but that have no real kick. In fact, even with McIntyre's hunky stage presence in full force, the vast majority of his set at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles played out like a torrent of New Kids backwash. Of course musical prowess wasn't a primary concern for the hormonally-piqued fans who turned out to see him. (Though not exactly in droves -- about a quarter of the seats were empty when he took the stage.) Intermittent group chants of "Joey We Love You" exploded in the breaks between songs and his carefully deployed gyrations set off gales of ecstatic shrieks.

Amusing as the demonstration of condition-response was, McIntyre was most entertaining when tackling cover tunes -- Wild Cherry's "Play that Funky Music," Sinatra's "When Somebody Loves You" (prefaced by a rambling story about his quest to see Sinatra at the Greek several years ago), the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." McIntyre's renditions weren't even in the same ball park as the originals, but the material was such an improvement over his own that it made his performance seem stronger. Ultimately, it was an evening of harmless ephemeral pop that (thankfully) came and went without leaving much lingering effect -- aside from the afterglow of the departing concert-goers.

Also on the bill was Mdo, the Puerto Rican outfit formerly known as Menudo, and the ruthlessly perky Christine Aguilera. The former Mouseketeer who is on her way to usurping Britney Spears as queen of cute actually packs a decent set of pipes, though any singing prowess she demonstrated live was buried under the syrupy sweet artifice of her stage shtick. Aguilera bopped around in peppy choreographed routines set to unabashedly canned music accompanied by a retinue of male dancers -- a kind of Chippendale's act for the PG-13 crowd -- who looked like a quartet of chino-clad refugees from a Gap ad. At times Aguilera seemed to be scampering in Madonna's footsteps, but despite her blonde ambition, she can't hold a candle to the savvy and smarts that made the Material Girl.

-- Sandy Masuo


Review from Mtv.Com.