LAS VEGAS — While New Kids on the Block might seem like a perfect fit for Las Vegas, the veteran boy band had somehow never found themselves with a Sin City residency — until Friday night (June 20).
The Right Stuff residency kicked off night 1 at Dolby Live at Park MGM, with NKOTB gracing a stage previously headlined by Usher, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey and more superstars. But when the Boston boys were getting started 40 years ago, they had a different perception of Vegas than the entertainment destination it’s become.
“When you’re young, you think you’re really cool,” Jordan Knight told Billboard on Friday ahead of the residency kick-off. “And if somebody said, ‘You guys are going to be doing Vegas in your 50s,’ my thought probably back then would be like, ‘Oh no, no. That’s so corny. … That’s where acts just retire.’ But us doing this right now, I feel like we’re being true to ourselves, really. I don’t think we’re selling out to commercialism or Vegas or whatever it may be. I think we’re just being really true to ourselves. Yes, we have some bells and whistles, but I think we’re just using it really tastefully.”
There were definitely bells and whistles — like the high-flying moment that saw all five members hoisted up among the rafters in individual telephone booths to get as close as possible to every fan in the 5,000-capacity venue — but at its core, this was the New Kids show that their Blockhead superfans have come to expect. That is, the once-teenybopper pop stars (now ranging in age from 52 to 56) left every drop of energy, enthusiasm and love they had on the stage to put on a fun, escapist show in their new home of Vegas, with dates through February. That included the megahits, of course — “Step by Step,” “Hangin’ Tough” and the residency’s namesake “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” — but it also included gems from every one of the band’s seven non-Christmas studio albums, all the way back to their 1986 self-titled debut.
For his part, Jonathan Knight is finding that he’s able to enjoy things at this stage of the band’s career more than those chaotic early days. “When we started, we were just kids,” Jonathan told Billboard just before the show. “I think when we look back at that, nobody prepares you for this. I mean, I would never think at 56 years old, I would be in Vegas, when I was 20. Just being able to, for me personally, just being here, being in the moment, I mean back then, it was just such a blur.”
To keep Friday night’s show from becoming a blur, Billboard has rounded up the five best moments from New Kids’ nonstop fun opening night.
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Using Every Inch of the Stage — And Beyond
Between the massive main stage that opened with a life-size replica of a Boston train atop a grand staircase and a shortcut through the pit of fans to a catwalk lined with barstools of concertgoers, there was a lot of ground to cover for the New Kids — and they made sure to use every square inch. There was also a Jamiroquai-evoking conveyor belt at the middle of the staircase that made for some eye-popping choreography and even a functioning convertible that drove the quintet out for “Kids.” Each member never stopped moving throughout the show to make sure they were reaching all angles of the venue, including when they all made their way into the crowd for Hangin’ Tough‘s “Tonight,” with Joey McIntyre even plopping down in one lucky fan’s lap. All these touches made it clear this was a special concert.
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Taking to the Skies
Image Credit: Billboard Oh yeah, they weren’t always contained to the stage or the crowd either. The night’s first aerial moment came when Jordan Knight performed his Billboard Hot 100 top 10 solo hit “Give It to You” and, inspired by the song’s carnival-themed music video, he buckled himself into a Ferris wheel gondola that floated high across the stage. All the guys got in on the action for “The Whisper,” from 2013’s 10 album, they each stepped into individual telephone-booth-like pods and were lifted above the crowd. At first, it looked like they were only going to make it above the 100 and 200 sections — but then they kept elevating until they were eye to eye with the ecstatic fans in the balcony.
The precarious nature of the flying pods was not lost on the guys, as they all embraced once they were back on the stage and signed, “We made it!”
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A Quickie Vegas Wedding for the Fans
When the instrumental of Bruno Mars’ “Marry You” started playing and the words “NKOTB Chapel” flashed on the big screen, Donnie Wahlberg asked the crowd who among them thought they might marry a member of New Kids on the Block one day. After a string of screams, the screen shared social media posts from the countless fans who were under the impression they would be Mrs. McIntyre, Knight, Wood or Wahlberg someday. (Though Wahlberg pointed out that his wife Jenny McCarthy was not among the posts: “She thought she would marry one of the Mötley Crüe,” he laughed.) So the boy band did the next best thing and married all their fans at once on Friday night.
“Do you, New Kids, take these Blockheads to be your forever fans, so long as we both shall live?” Wahlberg asked his bandmates, to which they all responded: “I do.”
“Do you, Blockheads, take these New Kids to be your forever boy band, forsaking all other boy bands — that means *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, O-Town, One Direction, all of them — so long as we both shall live?” Wahlberg cheekily asked the screaming crowd, who apparently had no trouble abandoning all those other groups to commit to New Kids on the Block once and for all.
In addition to the quickie wedding, some other Vegas-specific touches included the boys’ Rat Pack-inspired second act, with coordinated suits and a classic New Kids on the Block casino sign, plus a mash-up of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” with Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas” during their infamous quick change backstage camera segment.
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Donnie Gets Choked Up Thanking Fans
Speaking of those fans, they were front and center quite a few times throughout the concert. (As McIntyre told us ahead of the show: “We’re gonna take care of our high rollers, you know what I’m saying? We gotta take care of our die-hards first.”) And nowhere was that love clearer than when Wahlberg got choked up reflecting on the four decades this fandom has stuck by their sides. “It’s been forty years [as a band], 37 since we all found each other on various radio stations and MTV,” Wahlberg said, wiping away tears. “And you never cease to amaze us. Wow. Thank you. We love you. We appreciate you, we respect you, and we thank you.”
The fans showed that appreciation right back, especially when they screamed and applauded for two straight minutes after the boys finished “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” as the unexpectedly early eighth song of an eventual 27-song set.
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40 More Years?
A lot was made throughout the night of the boy band’s longevity, and it doesn’t seem like they have any plans to slow down soon.
“We’ve been hanging tough for 40 years,” Wahlberg said before the final performance of (you guessed it) “Hangin’ Tough,” the Hot 100-topping title track from their 1988 breakthrough album. “Can we hang tough for 40 more?”
Judging by the opening night crowd’s enthusiasm, that shouldn’t be a problem.
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‘The Right Stuff’ Night 1 Setlist
Twisted
Block Party
Single
My Favorite Girl
Summertime
Cover Girl
Magic
You Got It (The Right Stuff)
Remix (I Like The)
Click Click Click
Full Service
The Boys in the Band (Boy Band Anthem)
Never Let You Go
Dirty Dancing
Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind)
Valentine Girl
If You Go Away
Please Don’t Go Girl
Games
Pop
Give It to You (Jordan Knight solo)
Tonight
The Whisper
I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)
Step by Step
Kids
Hangin’ Tough -
‘The Right Stuff’ Residency Dates
2025 Performances
June 20, 21, 25, 27, 28
July 2, 3, 5
November 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 152026 Performances
February 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, 25, 27, & 28