[IMAGE PHOTOGRAPH] Captioned as: "This has happened to me before," says Knight (at home with Shane) of his new hit record. "So there's no need to trip out over it."
As a singing pinup boy in the late '80s, former New Kid on the Block Jordan Knight had all the right moves, making thousands of girls squeal in unison. But after New Kids broke up in 1994, the former teen idol found himself uncharacteristically overcome by stage fright. "I was nervous about suddenly performing by myself," says Knight. In 1997, to overcome that fear, he began singing in a piano bar around the corner from his home in Boston during open-mike nights. "I was under an assumed name, and I wore a baseball hat and glasses," he recalls. The disguise worked: "A couple of people said, `You sound pretty good. You should see what you can do about going in that career path."'
Now, his performance willies a thing of the past, Knight, 28, is back on the block. His debut solo album, Jordan Knight, is due May 11, and its first single, a slice of hip-hop funk called "Give It to You," is already sprinting up Billboard's Hot 100. "I missed entertaining people," he says. "Going onstage in front of 15,000 people and getting a reaction out of them is the best. I'm excited to be back." And not a moment too soon, says his pal Robin Thicke, 22, the son of actor Alan Thicke who helped write and produce the album: "He was not as eager to be seen again as he was eager to be seen in the right way. He was willing to take his time and do it right."
That has meant spending the past five years quietly writing songs, staying out of the spotlight and outgrowing his old Tiger Beat image. Ironically, his comeback coincides with the return of ex-New Kid Joey McIntyre, 26, whose single "Stay the Same" is a Top 10 hit. With New Kids, they sold more than 50 million records while outrunning overzealous girls. "We had this joke," says Knight, "where we'd turn to each other in a real stuck-up way and say, `The Beatles. We're the Beatles!"'
The attention kept their social lives bustling. "We had a button that said, `Seeking meaningful overnight relationship,"' recalls Knight. But life on the tour bus had its bumps. "It was like living in a submarine," he says. "Some went to bed early. Some snored. Some liked to blare music early in the morning to wake themselves up. There were all these differences that we had to deal with."
More objectionable was having their mugs plastered over everything from lunch boxes to pillowcases. "I never liked the way our merchandising went," says Knight. Perhaps, but that didn't stop the multimillionaire from parlaying his share of the profits into lucrative investments. Eventually, though, the group's legion of fans grew weary of them. By 1994 the Kids were reduced to playing 1,000capacity nightclubs. That year they split up, much to Knight's relief. "I thought, `Let's leave feeling good together,"' he says. " `Let's accept that we're moving our separate ways."'
What moved Knight as a boy was music. Growing up in Boston, the youngest of six children of Allan Knight, an Episcopal priest, and Marlene, an avid horse breeder, Jordan made his vocalizing a family fixture. "He'd sing all day long," says brother Jonathan, 30, a former New Kid who is now a prosperous real estate developer. "It would get on everyone's nerves. It was like, `Shut up."'
[IMAGE PHOTOGRAPH] Captioned as: "I'm a little nervous but excitement is taking over," says Knight (at home, being fitted for his U.S. tour by stylist Patrick Petty),
In 1984 the Knights-along with Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood and McIntyre-were recruited by producer Maurice Starr, who wanted to create a white version of New Edition. As New Kids on the Block, they were signed to Columbia Records in 1986. Although their 1987 debut album flopped, they broke out the following year with their second effort, Hangin' Tough, which spawned the hits "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" and "Please Don't Go Girl."
Now that he's famous again, Knight, who never went to college, is playing it cool. He recently moved into a four-bedroom house in Milton, Mass., with his boxer Shane, and for the past five years he has been in a relationship with a woman he has known since he was 12. (He declines to give her name.) As for the 'N Syncs and Backstreet Boys of the pop world, Knight, who remains tight with his old groupmates but has no interest in a reunion, has some advice: "Just enjoy yourself. Make the best of it and have fun with it. Take it seriously." Then, pausing, he adds, "But not too seriously."
[IMAGE PHOTOGRAPH] Captioned as: "It was a wild ride," says Knight of New Kids (onstage in 1990). "But I'm glad I went on it."
