Former New Kid isn't dodging his teen pop sensation past - 03/18/05

Jordan Knight fondly looks back on success, incorporates hits in his solo career.

By Alan Sculley / Special to The Detroit News

"I'm not trying to keep the (New Kids') legacy going or

anything , but it's there. So I just embrace it," Jordan Knight .

It hardly seems possible, but a whole generation of fans has grown up since Jordan Knight was making history in New Kids On The Block, a group whose sugary blend of R&B-inflected teen pop generated then-unprecedented success for the group.

Fifteen years ago, Knight and his fellow New Kids -- brother Jonathan, Joe McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood -- released their fourth studio CD, "Step By Step," and continued the momentum that had seen the preceding CD, " Hangin ' Tough," sell 8 million copies and top the album charts.

Knight, who went on to launch a solo career in 1999 with a gold-certified self-titled album that featured the production talents of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, looks back on the New Kids phenomenon with fondness -- something that hasn't always been true of the other former group members.

"We made a big impact on a lot of people, and they haven't forgotten about it, I'll tell you that," says the 34-year-old Knight, who is on a bill with Aaron Carter to perform Wednesday night at Clutch Cargo's in Pontiac .

"I am proud," he says. "I'm not trying to keep the legacy going or anything, but it's there. So I just embrace it."

In fact, Jordan is comfortable enough with his New Kids past that his live set still features some songs the group recorded.

"I am a strict believer in giving people what they want, so I pretty much play everything," Knight says. "I do New Kids; I do stuff from my solo album from '99 and previews of what I'm doing now and what they're going to hear in the future."

The new music has been a long time coming for Knight, who says his second solo CD is on track for release in April or May -- some six years after the "Jordan Knight" CD arrived in stores.

Knight, though, hasn't been idle. In fact, he had a second CD for Interscope Records -- which again featured the production talents of Jam and Lewis (known for their collaborations with Janet Jackson, among others) -- shelved by the label in 2001.

Now Knight sounds eager to prove himself again with the new CD, which, he says, retains his familiar R&B/pop sound.

"Because of Napster and all of that, they went through major, major cutbacks," Knight says, offering his explanation for why the second Interscope CD never got released. "We had a single picked and ready to go. I was ready to film my music video . And they said we're going to cancel the project, along with ( laying off) tons of employees and tons of artists who got pretty much canned. So we were right there ready to go, everything ready, the photography and everything. "Then when I went to a different company, signed a deal (with Trans-Continental), and they wouldn't let me use any of the material I had recorded while I was with Interscope ," he says. "Actually, I was really mad and I was really kind of afraid to part ways with all that material and have to come up with all new material because it's always a challenge to come up with new stuff.

"But I'm happy now that I've done it and I've got a whole new record. I'll get my revenge."

Alan Sculley is a freelance writer . You can reach him at alanlastword@earthlink.net.