NKOTB

It was fifth grade; the year was 1986/1987 when I heard New Kids On The Block for the first time. All I knew at that moment was I liked what I heard. I had no idea at the time that a year or so later when the album Hangin’ Tough was released, I would turn into those girls you see on old television footage of the Beatles crying their eyes out over a boy band.

I was in sixth grade and was apart of click you could say. There were four of us and had been friends since first grade. Even our mothers had grown up together. We thought we were the shiz, especially since we were sixth graders and the oldest. We ruled the elementary school. But our friendship would be tested thanks to NKOTB (New Kids On The Block).

We all loved the band and we couldn’t like the same guy. A disagreement occurred over who could have Jordan, as if he was a product or service. April and Melissa fought over it for a good week and I just knew I would have to choose sides. I’m team April all the way, but luckily it never came to that. Mine was easy because I have always liked the “bad boys.” Haha. Donnie Wahlberg was my man. My friend April settled for Joey, Laurel’s pick was Jonathan and Melissa won the battle over Jordan.

We would spend every day at school talking about them and writing their names on our notebooks. We would sing their songs at recess. I would go home at night and play their cassette over and over. My favorite song was “I’ll Be Loving You Forever.”

I’m not that kind of guy who can take a broken heart

So don’t ever leave

I don’t want to see us apart

The very thought of losing you means

That everything

Would go down under

Those words pieced my soul. I would lie in bed; look at my walls covered in NKOTB and Donnie Wahlberg posters and dream of the day we would get married. #soembarrassing I knew his favorite things, but only can recall Teen Beat or one of those magazines at the time, said his favorite car was a SAAB. I was so ridiculous, with a pinch of fatal attraction.

My friends were the same way. For her birthday, our friend Melissa got the VHS of their concert. We were so excited to watch it. I remember riding the bus to her house and all of sitting in her living room with anticipation. It is crazy how much a young girl can like a guy that she will never meet, but the hope is so real you can almost taste it.

We sat there watching every song, every dance move, over and over. We drooled over “Please Don’t Go Girl.”

Please don’t go girl

You would ruin my whole world

Tell me you’ll stay

Never ever go away

We laughed. We cried. We were sharing a moment in time that would carry us to the most embarrassing thing, looking back on it now, or maybe the most awesome experience our eleven-year-old selves had had up until then.

Our school had bi annual assemblies with an overall theme, and each grade would participate by memorizing things to say and music to sing that would go with the theme. I cant for the life of me remember the theme when I was in sixth grade but for some reason, I got it into my head that performing NKOTB’s dance moves to “Hangin’ Tough” would be awesome.

My friends and I would practice at my house since I lived the closest to the school. We would be in the dining room, music blaring, fake microphones in hand dancing and singing at the top of our lungs…

Everybody’s always talkin’ ‘bout who’s on top

Don’t cross our path ‘cause you’re gonna get stomped

We ain’t gonna give anybody any slack

And if you try to keep us down we’re gonna come right back

And you know we’re hangin’ tough

 Assembly night came and we were dressed to the nines in 80s attire and we killed it. The kids went crazy for the song and our dance moves. NKOTB was awesome…until they weren’t anymore.

I think it was the summer I finished sixth grade, NKOTB performed in Jackson Mississippi. My mom surprised me with tickets to see them, to see my dream man. I mean, I had t-shirts, buttons, posters, cassette tapes, etc. Of course my mom was like, “Oh, Shauna would love this. I’m gonna take her to the concert.” Guess what happened?

Just as quickly as I fell in love, I fell out of love. I outgrew them. I was a maturing 12 year old now and gave up childish things. Let’s be honest, I was an ungrateful brat and told my mom I didn’t like them anymore and I refused to go to the concert. She wasn’t one to feed into my bullshit and she sold the tickets, and then had my friends tell me what a great time they had because they all went too.

That was a decision I still regret to this day.