Fame & Fortune: Jordan Knight

By Larry Getlen • Bankrate.com

At age 35, former New Kids on the Block member Jordan Knight certainly has been around the block.

With New Kids on the Block, Jordan enjoyed incredible success at a very young age. He was barely 16 when the boy band debuted in 1986, and during the following 10 years the New Kids garnered 10 top-20 singles and several No. 1 albums -- at one point even having five albums on the Billboard Top 200 at one time. In 1990, the band earned an astounding $850 million. And Knight's success wasn't limited to the New Kids. He wrote the song "I'll Be Your Everything" that artist Tommy Page took to No. 1.

When the band broke up, Knight embarked on a solo career that went through ups and downs. His self-titled debut album in 1999 produced a platinum single, but the album failed to reach that mark.

Then, last fall, Knight found himself in the spotlight once again on VH1's celebrity reality show, "The Surreal Life." The show was a ratings triumph for VH1, and Knight's participation opened him up to a new generation of fans. Since the show, Knight has been working on his follow-up album -- expected to be released this year.

Bankrate spoke with Knight about how he followed the success of New Kids on the Block with a solo career.

Bankrate : Considering the enormity of the New Kids, were the ultimate sales figures of your record disappointing?

Jordan Knight: No, it was very exciting. We had a top-10 hit that went platinum. The record was gold, but not only here in the U.S. , but around the world . In Southeast Asia alone we had three top-10 hits. And in the UK and South America , I had a great tour -- went out with *NSYNC that year. For me, it was another goal accomplished. And it certainly helped me now with the second solo record. And as for the reason it took so long -- the first solo record came out end of '99 -- I already had a second record ready to come out on Interscope , and then we couldn't come to terms with money. So we had to part ways. Problem was, Interscope held on to the masters, so I had to go back to the studio again and do all new material. So that's why it took so long to get the second record out.

Bankrate : So Interscope held it hostage?

Jordan Knight: Yeah, we couldn't come to terms. It's too bad because we had a great relationship, I liked everybody over there. It just couldn't work. We had the first single picked, the album was done. As I'm sure you know how the music business is, as per the contract, they held the masters, so I had to go back in, do a new deal, and record all over again.

Bankrate : It's amazing that they'll take a work and throw it in the garbage rather than find a way to make it work.

Jordan Knight: It was very disappointing, because the record was something I put a lot of my heart into. I collaborated with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and I was proud that I was writing more, sweating out in the studio -- and then for the politics to get in the way again, but you can't dwell on it. I had to move on, I had to move forward, otherwise I could just sit and do nothing, sit on my couch, but I didn't want to do that. I mean, I'm in a position where I wouldn't have to do music ever again and I would be fine, but the music's inside me, I have to do it. I'm not the type of guy who can just sit on the couch and watch TV all day. I had a great run in the music industry . Music's what I do. It's my life. I enjoy performing, and I enjoy recording, and I'm going to do it as long as the public will let me.

Bankrate : When you look back, what were some of the best lessons you learned from the New Kids days?

Jordan Knight: Probably not to take anything for granted. A ride like that comes along once in a lifetime. I'll never achieve the success again that I did with the New Kids. A fraction of that, I'll be thankful for. It's nice to know that I'm one of the rare few that got to experience a phenomenon like that. It's nice to know now in my 30s that, wow, I really did that. So I guess, not taking anything for granted in life. We were fortunate too. We don't have any horror stories. You see these on "E! True Hollywood Story," how people lost their money, big drug scandals, none of us had that. We had good business managers, strong families and good heads on our shoulders. None of us spent extravagantly. So I think we were blessed that way, too. I think another lesson we learned was to find good management, good business managers, and not get caught up in the Hollywood scene.

Bankrate : New Kids earned almost a billion dollars in 1990. Did you have the presence of mind at the time or the people around you to make sure you were saving or investing wisely?

Jordan Knight: You know what, I'm so glad you brought that up. Absolutely. We had great business managers. And not only that, but we were really involved. We had weekly meetings; we knew exactly where the money was being spent, where the money was being invested. These guys made sure that we were being set up for the rest of our lives. Plus, none of us took these checks and went crazy. We all came from the suburbs of Boston , and we were used to spending money before we were in (the group). We weren't going to go crazy when we got it. And I think that's a good lesson for the new kids coming in to this industry, They have to remember that your career can be short-lived, so what you do with your money now, it's either going to last you for the rest of your life, or it can make it hard for you for the rest of your life. It can go either way.

Bankrate : How did you handle your finances?

Jordan Knight: Diversified. I had a good business manager who made sure I was in the right things, and I let him handle that and put my trust into him, and it all paid off. I have the same company I've had since I started in the business.

Bankrate : When New Kids disbanded, were you set for life?

Jordan Knight: Oh, absolutely. And again, that also goes back to, how was I going to live my life? Was I going to go out there and be crazy, start living crazy again, living extravagantly, or watching what I'm doing and being responsible?

Bankrate : In the years following, was there still a lot of residual New Kids income? Is there still today?

Jordan Knight: Yeah. We just heard some news about that, about what the New Kids was still selling, and I wish I could think of the number. The New Kids still makes money, especially when Joe goes on tour, or I go on tour, or Donny does a new movie or TV; it just keeps rejuvenating interest in New Kids. And of course they go to the stores, pick up the New Kids greatest hits, or they go back. A lot of the girls tell me they update their cassettes and go out and buy the CD. It just keeps going and going.

Bankrate : Do you know about what New Kids generates per year?

Jordan Knight: I wish I could remember the number. I just heard a recent figure; it came from Sony. It was high. It was still almost in gold sales, as far as what we keep selling and selling. And not only did they put out super hits, but they put out the greatest hits record, too, back when Joe and I first put out solo records. They did two greatest hits CDs. Funny thing is, I checked with the (Recording Industry Association of America) and we have 56 gold and platinum records, isn't that amazing? If you total everything up with singles and albums and all that stuff.

Bankrate : At this point, is New Kids residual stuff still your biggest source of income?

Jordan Knight: Probably not, because, even with that stuff, we spent so much money, too, with the label, making videos, doing this and that, that a lot of that stuff goes back to the label to pay them back.

Bankrate : So what is your biggest source of income?

Jordan Knight: Probably touring and my investments. And publishing, because I wrote a couple of the New Kids songs with Maurice Starr, and I wrote a lot of my last solo record. And I wrote 90 percent of this new record.

Bankrate : Do you have any investments that you're particular to?

Jordan Knight: I don't. It goes into a portfolio that's pretty diversified -- a couple of high-income companies he puts me in. When I look over, I can see a few of the companies he puts me in like Wal- Mart, Coca-Cola's another one, AOL.

Bankrate : So you're in the big names. Anything else, like real estate?

Jordan Knight: Yeah, I have a couple of homes, in Florida and Massachusetts .

Bankrate : Do you mean homes you live in or investments?

Jordan Knight: One is outside of Milton , Mass. , and the other ones are investments.

Bankrate : So you're pretty diversified? You don't even care where it goes as long as it's making you money?

Jordan Knight: I just put my faith in the people that do it best, and they've been doing a good job the last 15 years of my life. And just like everybody else, I took a little hit in the market when everyone else did, but I just listened to the advice, took the faith, and it all came back. So I rode it out. My brother's a good example. That's what he does. He's a real estate developer and does investments, and he can speak so intelligently on the topics and makes so much money, and he's so involved in that.

Bankrate : If you could speak to a young kid in a boy or girl band who is in a similar situation to the one you were in with New Kids, what's the most important advice you would give them?

Jordan Knight: Watch where your money's going. Watch what's being spent. Don't let the label just take over and spend money and spend money and by the time you're supposed to see a check, they're supposed to recoup a million dollars. Just be careful what's being spent. Make sure you treat this as a career. I know it's fun, it's a lot of fun, but you have to take this as your career and as your job, and as your career, you're in it to make money, not to lose it.

-- Posted : June 1, 2005