Female Fans Began Harassing Tiffany After New Kids on the Block Eclipsed Her Fame While Opening for Her on Tour
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11/15/2024 12:43 PM
Donnie Wahlberg and Tiffany recall the shifting dynamic in the documentary 'Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands'
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New Kids on the Block and Tiffany in 1989New Kids on the Block was initially surprised by their success.
The group's eponymous first album hadn't reached the heights they hoped, but that all changed when they hit the road with singer Tiffany in 1989. It was right around the release of "You Got It (The Right Stuff," which changed the group's trajectory.
"We were very fortunate that Tiffany, herself personally, advocated for us to be her opening act. Suddenly, we walked out and they saw us. Nobody knew what was going to happen. Nobody knew," Donnie Wahlberg explains in Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands.
Suddenly, the boy band — which also included Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre and Danny Wood — found its audience in screaming, devoted teenage girls.
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Tiffany in January 1988Related: How CNCO Honors New Kids on the Block in New Song: 'They Were Super Iconic'
"I started hanging out with Jonathan but it produced a little bit of a riff because a lot of my female fans wanted to be with him," Tiffany, who also appears in the documentary, shares.
It wasn't long before the New Kids on the Block fans were booing the "I Think We're Alone Now" singer at her own shows, while also eclipsing her crowd in numbers.
"When we would be on tour, the fans are screaming and yelling at me, calling me names, pull my hair. I was shocked. The girls were very tough," the 53-year-old recalls.
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Danny Wood, Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre and Jonathan Knight of New Kids on the Block in 1990Part of the way through the tour, the band became the main act with Tiffany opening for them. It was also a shock for the band, who felt conflicted about their sudden success.
"We questioned if we really deserved this level of success. They're comparing us to the Beatles? We're just a boy band," Wahlberg, 55, shares.
Find out more about New Kids on the Block's rise to fame and continued success, alongside the stories of other boy bands, in Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands, now streaming on Paramount+.
