As
frequent lead vocalist for New Kids On The Block, Jordan Knight
toured the world’s stages, belting out a pop-R&B rap hybrid
that climbed to the Top 20 ten times in half as many years, sparked
a revolution in merchandising, and endeared five young men to
millions of crazed fans. His fame endures as evidenced by the tens
of thousands of fans that visit his web page (www.jordanknight.com)
every week.
Knight was just shy of 15 when he joined what would become New Kids
On The Block. At 16, he began teaching himself keyboards. By 17,
Knight had begun writing songs. But Maurice Starr, the New Kids’
producer, who also wrote much of the New Kids material, was
reluctant to add the teenager’s work to the band’s repertoire.
Knight offered his composition “I'll Be Your Everything” to a
young singer named Tommy Page. Page’s version of the track, which
Knight produced, went all the way to #1 and spent 13 weeks on the
Billboard charts.
The New Kids On The Block’s fourth album, Step by Step, hit #1 in
the U.S. and the U.K. The New Kids also had merchandise, record
selling dolls, the debut of New Kids cartoon series and milestones
on top of best selling books, video collections and comic strips.
Five of their albums were charting simultaneously on the Billboard
200. At the peak of the band’s popularity, their recorded
telephone message line received 100,000 calls a week. Conservative
estimates of the New Kids’ 1990 income topped $850 million.
As a solo artist, Knight enlisted the help of veteran producers
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. As it turns out, Jam and Lewis were
intrigued by Knight’s concepts for his first solo album and
quickly took the gig. The album turned out to be a success. In
1999/2000, Knight enjoyed Top 10 status in Asia, England and Germany
as well as the rest of Europe with his debut single “Give It To
You.” In America, the single went platinum and the album went
gold.
With his first solo album under his belt, Knight has been in the
studio non stop continually expanding his repertoire and is
currently preparing the next solo project with a scheduled release
in 2005. Knight feels that this project, judging from the countless
letters from fans that subscribe to his website, is being eagerly
awaited. As seen on VH-1’s “The Surreal Life,” Knight is ready
to embark upon the new phase of his already impressive recording
career.
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