Jordan Knight | |
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Knight in 2014 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Jordan Nathaniel Marcel Knight |
Born | Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. | May 17, 1970
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Years active | 1984–present |
Labels | Interscope Records |
Jordan Nathaniel Marcel Knight (born May 17, 1970) is an American-Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist of the boy band New Kids on the Block (NKOTB), which rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s, using a falsetto style of singing influenced by The Stylistics. After New Kids on the Block split in 1994, he launched a solo career.
Knight's first solo album, released in 1999, and his latest solo album, released in 2011, reached the Top 50 on the U.S. Billboard 200. As of 2011, he released four Top 40 singles, the best known being "Give It to You" in 1999. Knight has released three solo albums, one remix album, and one EP. On May 31, 2011, Knight released the studio album, Unfinished . Knight has sold over 1.5 million records worldwide as a solo artist.
Knight was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the youngest of six children to Canadian parents; his father Allan Knight, an Episcopal priest, is from Meaford, Ontario and his mother Marlene (née Putnam) is from Dunnville, Ontario. [1] [2] Consequently, Knight holds dual US and Canadian citizenship. [3] [4] Before achieving fame, he played in a youth baseball league in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Jordan was almost 14 years old in 1984 when he joined New Kids on the Block, [1] a band assembled in Boston by producer Maurice Starr. His fellow members included his older brother Jonathan, as well as Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. Over the next few years, he began writing songs and teaching himself piano and keyboard instruments. Starr, who wrote much of the New Kids' material, was reluctant to add his work to the band's repertoire. One night while the band was on tour in 1989, Knight noticed Tommy Page playing piano at a hotel one night and approached him, and the two played piano together for a period of time. Knight played Page a verse from what would become "I'll Be Your Everything", a song that he wanted to save for a future solo project. The two later collaborated on finishing the song, and Page asked if he could record it for his upcoming album. Knight agreed and co-produced the track, and fellow band members Wood and Wahlberg contributed, respectively co-writing and co-producing the song. [5] "I'll Be Your Everything" became a hit single for Page upon its release in February 1990, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for a week that April, spending thirteen weeks in the top 40, and eventually being certified gold by the RIAA. [6]
The group originally disbanded in 1994 [7] but reunited in 2008, scoring 2 top 40 hits and embarking on a successful tour. In the fall of 2010, they teamed with the Backstreet Boys (BSB), creating the boy band NKOTBSB, and toured in summer 2011.
New Kids on the Block have sold over 80 million records worldwide, [7] generated hundreds of million of dollars in concert revenues and paved the way for later boy bands like Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC.
Knight made a comeback by releasing his first solo single, "Give It To You", on February 16, 1999. The single, produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 35 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, went gold, and was nominated for the 1999 MTV Video Music Award for Best Dance Video, though it lost to Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca". He was also nominated for Favorite Male Singer at the 2000 Kids' Choice Awards. Knight's self-titled debut album, released on May 25, was certified gold for sales of over 500,000 copies in the US on July 7, 1999. The album peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 and No. 9 on the Top Internet Albums chart, and later won an Aspire Music Award for Best Male Album (Pop).
Knight released a remix album, Jordan Knight Performs New Kids on the Block: The Remix Album , in 2004.
In 2005, Knight released an EP titled The Fix supported by the lead single "Where Is Your Heart Tonight," which reached its peak at No. 12 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. He continued to tour extensively in 2005–2006 promoting the EP.
In September 2006, Knight's next album, Love Songs , was released by Transcontinental Records. The first single was "Say Goodbye," a duet with fellow 1980s pop singer Deborah Gibson, that peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
On May 31, 2011, Knight released his third solo album, Unfinished . The album reached No. 8 on the US Billboard Independent Albums chart, No. 48 on the US Billboard 200 and No. 55 in Canada. He began his Live and Unfinished Tour on December 11, 2011. Knight performed the announced dates with Boston-based band Elevation Theory.
In 2014, Knight teamed up with Nick Carter for the release of the album Nick & Knight , touring throughout the fall of that year to support the album.
Knight was a judge on the American Idol spin-off, American Juniors. He was a third-season cast member on the VH1 reality television series The Surreal Life with other celebrities in 2004, and later appeared in the 2007 spin-off The Surreal Life: Fame Games .
In 2005, Knight appeared on the British show Hit Me Baby One More Time, where he performed "Give It to You," as well as a cover of "Let Me Love You" by Mario.
In September 2005, Knight also starred in a British documentary on Five in the UK called Trust Me – I'm a Holiday Rep. Six celebrities spent 10 days in the role of an Olympic Holidays holiday rep in Ayia Napa, Cyprus.
Knight also appeared on the game show Identity, hosted by Penn Jillette. In September 2011, he featured as a judge on the CBC show Cover Me Canada.
Knight has been married to Evelyn Melendez since 2004. [8] They have two sons, Dante Jordan (born August 25, 1999) and Eric Jacob (born February 21, 2007). [1] [9]
Knight lives in Milton, Massachusetts, [10] where in 2016, he became a partner in a local Italian restaurant called Novara. [11]
Solo albums
Collaborative albums
New Kids on the Block is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block had success in the late 1980s and early 1990s and have sold more than 80 million records worldwide, and are often credited for paving the way for future boy bands such as Take That, Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. They won two American Music Awards in 1990 for Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo, or Group and Favorite Pop/Rock Album. In 1991, they performed the halftime show at Super Bowl XXV, a first for a pop music group.
98 Degrees is a vocal group consisting of brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, Jeff Timmons, and Justin Jeffre. Their first Christmas album, "98 Degrees This Christmas," has sold over two million copies and is widely recognized as one of the most successful holiday albums ever.
Jonathan Rashleigh Knight-Rodriguez is an American-Canadian pop singer. He is best known for being a member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. The band also includes his younger brother Jordan, and members Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, and Danny Wood. He is the oldest member of the band and the first to leave it in 1994 prior to their official split.
"Please Don't Go Girl" is a 1988 song by American boyband New Kids on the Block. The lead vocals were sung by Joey McIntyre, Jordan Knight, and spoken by Danny Wood, but the majority of the lyrics were sung by Joey McIntyre. Written and produced by Maurice Starr, it was the first release from their second album, Hangin' Tough (1988), and also became the group's first commercial hit. "Please Don't Go Girl" first rose from #62 to #46, on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart during the week of July 30, 1988. The single was the first major commercial exposure of the group, resulting in somewhat of a slow, but steady climb. The single eventually peaked at #10 the week of October 8, 1988. In 1997, Aaron Carter covered this song and was featured on his international self-titled debut album.
"You Got It (The Right Stuff)" is a 1988 single from New Kids on the Block. The lead vocals were sung by Jordan Knight and Donnie Wahlberg. The second single from the group's second album Hangin' Tough, it peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart in early 1989, while topping the UK charts in November 1989. On the album, it was simply listed as "The Right Stuff"; the change to the single was probably to avoid confusion with Vanessa Williams' debut hit "The Right Stuff", which charted earlier that year. A Spanish version of the song was made ("Autentica") and peaked at number 11 in Spain.
"This One's for the Children" is a 1989 single by New Kids on the Block. The lead vocals were sung by Jordan Knight and Donnie Wahlberg. Taken from the group's holiday album, Merry, Merry Christmas, the single peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1990, and number 9 on the UK Singles Chart 11 months later.
No More Games: The Remix Album is a remix album from pop group New Kids on the Block. It peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard 200.
Face the Music is the fifth studio album by American boyband New Kids on the Block, released on January 25, 1994. The album debuted at number 37 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, with first-week sales of 27,000 copies. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album had sold 138,000 copies in the US as of 2008.
"If You Go Away" is a song by American pop group New Kids on the Block Released as a stand-alone single on 1992, the only new song on the compilation H.I.T.S., it was later included on their 1994 album Face the Music. Written by John Bettis, Trey Lorenz and Walter Afanasieff, the latter of whom also served as the songs producer. Lead vocals are shared by Jordan Knight and Joey McIntyre, with a spoken word by Danny Wood. It was, at that point, the first song the group put out after having split with longtime manager and producer Maurice Starr.
"Dirty Dawg" is a song by American boyband NKOTB, which became their final single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 until the 2008 single "Summertime". It was featured on their 1994 album Face the Music and released in December 1993 by Columbia Records. The lead vocals were sung by Jordan Knight and Donnie Wahlberg rapped in the song, but he rapped only small bits during the instrumental breaks. There was another rap in the song featured by the former East Coast hip hop duo Nice & Smooth.
"Summertime" is song by New Kids on the Block, and the first single from their album The Block. The single was released on May 13, 2008, and was the first new single released by the group since 1994.
"Never Let You Go" is a single performed by New Kids on the Block from their 1994 album Face the Music. The song features Jordan Knight singing lead vocals and Donnie Wahlberg rapping. It reached number 42 on the UK Singles Chart and number 18 on Canada's The Record chart. The video for the song shows Knight and a young woman disputing during the majority of it as he walks aimlessly through the city reminiscing before Wahlberg reunites them. "Never Let You Go" was the last single New Kids on the Block released before their 2008 reunion.
"Games" is a song by American boyband New Kids on the Block, released as the first single from their first compilation/remix album, No More Games/The Remix Album (1990). Employing hip-hop samples with riffs sung by Jordan Knight, and defensive rhymes by Donnie Wahlberg, the song was a dramatic departure from their previously clean cut sound. It also includes shout-outs to Donnie's brother Mark Wahlberg and his group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. The song features a chorus section taken from the movie the wizard of Oz, namely the West witch's soldiers chant: oh ee oh, oh oh. The accompanying music video for "Games" received heavy rotation on MTV Europe.
"Dirty Dancing" is the third overall single from New Kids on the Block's 2008 album, The Block. It was produced by RedOne. The lead vocals were sung by Jordan Knight and Donnie Wahlberg. A new version of the song featuring South Korea boy band Seventeen was released to coincide the fifteenth anniversary of their album release, The Block.
"Baby, I Believe in You " is the third single from New Kids on the Block's No More Games/The Remix Album. The lead vocals were sung by Jordan Knight. The Maurice Starr-penned tune was released in Germany on October 22, 1991, but did not chart. The song was played again in the 2008 New Kids on the Block reunion tour.
"Don't Turn Out the Lights" is a song by American vocal groups New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys from their collaboration compilation album, NKOTBSB. The song's lead vocals are provided by NKOTB members Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Jordan Knight, and every Backstreet Boys member at the time. The song was written by Jess Cates, Claude Kelly, Emanuel Kiriakou, and produced by Kiriakou.
NKOTBSB was an American pop supergroup consisting of the members of American boy bands New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys. Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys came up with the name, which is a combination of established initialisms of each groups' names, NKOTB and BSB. Together they have released one compilation album, the eponymous NKOTBSB (2011) and one single, "Don't Turn Out the Lights". They toured in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia in 2011 and 2012.
10 is the seventh studio album by American boy band New Kids on the Block. It was released on April 2, 2013. This is the band's first studio album since 2008's The Block, as well as their first album released independently after departing from Interscope Records. The album title refers to it being their tenth album release in the US. The album made its debut on the Billboard 200 at number 6, number 1 on the Top Independent Albums and number 8 on the Canadian albums chart.
The Main Event was a co-headlining concert tour from American boy band New Kids on the Block with special guests TLC, and Nelly. The tour began on May 1, 2015, in Las Vegas, and finished on July 2, 2015, in Buffalo, New York. It included close to fifty dates across North America. It was the thirty-eighth ranked North American tour of 2015, grossing $26.1 million.
Still Kids is the eighth studio album by American boy band New Kids on the Block. It was released on May 17, 2024, by BMG. This is their first studio album since 2013's 10. The album features collaborations with DJ Jazzy Jeff and Taylor Dayne.