History YMMV / NewKidsOnTheBlock

* [[Narm/{{Music}} Narm]]:
** "Hangin' Tough" is one of the ''ultimate'' narm classics of music. The song is all about them projecting an image as tough guys who'll take on anyone trying to cross them, but at the time of its release, their style of music and boy band image clashed ''hard'' with the message.
** "Dirty Dawg." Joey noted that their rapper friends ''refused to speak to them'' for a while after that one.
** ''The Block'' can be summed up as "Hey, we're all adults now, we can actually sing about having sex without burying it in subtext!" However, the most openly risque songs are so over the top that they scream "trying way too hard". "Twisted" is an ode to girls who are into pain but is undone, among other things, by Joey singing "Where does it hurt? Tell me where to kiss it" in the chorus. "Lights, Camera, Action" is all about making a home sex tape, but the movie metaphors are overdone like crazy and "one take is all we get" in the prechorus can be taken as a letdown. The worst offender is "Sexify My Love", which is cringey at best thanks to its silly title and embarrassingly blunt and awkward lyrics, like Jordan singing about trying "every position we can dream of" and Joey singing in the bridge about having public sex.
** Jordan's solo song "The Fix", with its frequently goofy lyrics, Doug E. Fresh's over-the-top hype man routine, and a PG-13-rated rap verse from Music/SlickRick, of all people, is very hard to take seriously.

* FaceOfTheBand: As noted in that trope page, {{Boy Band}}s tend to avert this. That said, Creator/{{Donnie|Wahlberg}} tends to be the most out-in-front in terms of on-stage banter and crowd interaction.

* DorkAge: ''Face the Music'', the final album from the original run, featuring "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOFZ9y4WLVc Dirty Dawg]]", a DarkerAndEdgier out-of-nowhere GenreShift. Recorded after they parted with Maurice Starr, the album's hip hop stylings were more reflective of the music they grew up on, but it didn't go over nearly as well as their previous material.

* UnfortunateImplications: A Canadian radio and music station banned the music video for "Dirty Dawg" from appearing on its schedule, due to the suggested violence and misogynistic themes.

** "Hangin' Tough" is one of the ''ultimate'' narm classics of music. The song is all about them projecting an image as tough guys who'll take on anyone trying to cross them, but their style of music and boy band image clashes ''hard'' with the message.

* EpicRiff: Five "oh"s, to two different rhythms[[note]]"You Got It (The Right Stuff)" and "Hangin' Tough"[[/note]], are two of the most iconic vocal riffs in pop music.

** "Hangin' Tough" is one of the ''ultimate'' narm classics of music. The song is all about them projecting an image as tough guys who'll take on anyone trying to cross them, but anyone who only knew them from their music and wasn't familiar with the rough neighborhoods they grew up in would likely just think "Are you kidding me?!"

* TheWoobie: Jon. So very, very much.

** "Hangin' Tough" is one of the ''ultimate'' narm classics of music.

** Some of the most openly risque songs on ''The Block'' shoot past "sexy" into "trying way too hard" territory, especially "Twisted"[[note]]apparently an ode to girls who are into pain but is undone, among other things, by Joey singing "Where does it hurt? Tell me where to kiss it" in the chorus[[/note]], "Lights, Camera, Action"[[note]]all about making a home sex tape, but the movie metaphors are overdone like crazy[[/note]] and '''especially''' "Sexify My Love", which is cringey at best[[note]]if the title wasn't bad enough, Jordan bluntly singing about trying "every position we can dream of" and Joey singing in the bridge about having public sex seals the deal[[/note]].

** When the press said that Jon was dating Tiffany, [[YokoOhNo the fangirls screeched]]. Several years later Jon and Tiffany said ''yet again'' that they only were friends... but why is this different, huh? Because Tiffany added "I and Jon never dated... because Jon is StraightGay, you know". Guess the fangirls were screwed either way, huh.

* YokoOhNo: Poor Tiffany!

* DorkAge: ''Face the Music'', the final album from the original run, featuring "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOFZ9y4WLVc Dirty Dawg]]", a DarkerAndEdgier out-of-nowhere GenreShift.

* TearJerker: Their intervention in the ''Series/UnsolvedMysteries'' show turned out to be this. [[spoiler:A ''Missing Person'' case featured a missing girl who was supposedly caught on tape in one of their videos, so both Jon and Jordan showed up on the show asking for info about her whereabouts. According to an update, however, the girl on tape was an IdenticalStranger... and the actual one [[DownerEnding had been murdered the same day she disappeared]]. The only good thing is that the poor girl's killer was found and brought to justice.]]

* ReplacementScrappy: Joey when he first joined NKOTB, as he replaced a kid who was already good friends with the rest of the guys prior to the group's forming.

** Some of the most openly risque songs on ''The Block'' shoot past "sexy" into "trying way too hard" territory, especially "Twisted"[[note]]apparently an ode to girls who are into pain but is undone, among other things, by Joey singing "Where does it hurt? Tell me where to kiss it" in the chorus[[/note]], "Lights, Camera, Action"[[note]]all about making a home sex tape, but the movie metaphors are overdone like crazy[[/note]] and '''especially''' "Sexify My Love", which is cringey at best[[note]]if the title wasn't bad enough, Jordan bluntly singing about trying "every position we can dream of" and Joey singing about having public sex in the bridge seals the deal[[/note]].

** Some of the most openly risque songs on ''The Block'' shoot past "sexy" into "trying way too hard" territory, especially "Twisted" and "Lights, Camera, Action" and '''especially''' "Sexify My Love", which is cringey at best.
** Jordan's solo song "The Fix", with its frequently goofy lyrics, Doug E. Fresh's over-the-top hype man routine, and Music/SlickRick's PG-13-rated rap verse, is very hard to take seriously.

* CoveredUp: "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)".

** "Dirty Dawg." Joey noted that their rapper friends ''refused to speak to them'' for a while after that one.
** "Hangin' Tough" is one of the ''ultimate'' narm classics of music.

* FaceOfTheBand: As noted in that trope page, {{Boy Band}}s tend to avert this. That said, Donnie tends to be the most out-in-front in terms of on-stage banter and crowd interaction.

* GrowingTheBeard: The group's evolution from their debut through ''Step By Step'' (coupled with some literal beard-growing), as well as their more modern sound on ''The Block'' and ''10''.
* HarsherInHindsight: Jon leaving the group was the final straw that led to their breakup. Years later, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=277Q8dsArhI&feature=PlayList&p=4862AF83F72BDE0E&index=0&playnext=1 Jon revealed]] on ''[[Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow Oprah]]'' that [[ShrinkingViolet he suffered from panic attacks pretty much the entire time he was in the group]], and that by the time he quit, they had gotten so bad that he could barely function in everyday life, much less on stage. Jordan was in the same episode with Jon, and revealed that he also suffers panic attacks, but to a much lesser extent. While he's largely been able to keep them in check since they reunited, Jon still struggles with panic issues. During a live, televised performance for iHeartRadio in 2013, Jon couldn't sing his solo part in "Survive You", left the stage, and didn't return for the rest of the show.

* [[Narm/{{Music}} Narm]]/NarmCharm:
** "Sexify My Love" and "Twisted", the most openly risque songs on ''The Block''. Try and argue it.

* HarsherInHindsight: Jon leaving the group was the final straw that led to their breakup. Years later, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=277Q8dsArhI&feature=PlayList&p=4862AF83F72BDE0E&index=0&playnext=1 Jon revealed]] on ''[[TheOprahWinfreyShow Oprah]]'' that [[ShrinkingViolet he suffered from panic attacks pretty much the entire time he was in the group]], and that by the time he quit, they had gotten so bad that he could barely function in everyday life, much less on stage. Jordan was in the same episode with Jon, and revealed that he also suffers panic attacks, but to a much lesser extent. While he's largely been able to keep them in check since they reunited, Jon still struggles with panic issues. During a live, televised performance for iHeartRadio in 2013, Jon couldn't sing his solo part in "Survive You", left the stage, and didn't return for the rest of the show.

** In the early-to-mid 2000s, Creator/{{VH1}} aired a series called ''Bands Reunited.'' The premise is simple enough; they find bands that split up under less than amicable circumstances, hunt down the members, and ask if they would be willing to perform a short concert for charity. They tried this with New Kids, and it ended up being one of the most tense episodes of the series: a couple of the guys said they'd only do it if everybody else agreed to do it, and at least one flat-out refused to even be seen on camera (needless to say, the concert didn't happen and the show was essentially Killed Mid-Episode.) Fast forward a few years, and they did reunite, not just for a one-off, but producing new material, and doing very well at it, to boot.

* TearJerker: Their intervention in the ''Series/UnsolvedMysteries'' show turned out to be this. [[spoiler: A ''Missing Person'' case featured a missing girl who was supposedly caught on tape in one of their videos, so both Jon and Jordan showed up on the show asking for info about her whereabouts. According to an update, however, the girl on tape was an IdenticalStranger... and the actual one [[DownerEnding had been murdered the same day she disappeared]]. The only good thing is that the poor girl's killer was found and brought to justice.]]

* TearJerker: Their intervention in the ''Series/UnsolvedMysteries'' show turned out to be this. [[spoiler: A ''Missing Person'' case featured a missing girl who was supposedly caught on tape in one of their videos, so both Jon and Jordan showed up on the show asking for info about her whereabouts. It turned out the girl on tape was an IdenticalStranger, and the actual one [[DownerEnding had been murdered the same day she disappeared]]. The only good thing is that the poor girl's killer was found and brought to justice.]]