I was like every typical 9 or 10 year old in 1990, getting into the New Kids game a little bit later than many of the 11-14 year olds, but loving them wholeheartedly and buying up their merchandise like it was my job. Most of the guys were 11 years older than me, which obviously was a pretty big age difference at the time. So naturally, I fell hard for Joey McIntyre, the youngest of the group. He was my first love, undoubtedly. I had New Kids everything...t-shirts, big & little buttons, slap bracelets, other jewelry, a sleeping bag, a pillow, all 5 action figures and 6 dolls (2 of Joey because he had a concert outfit and a hang out outfit, and let's face it, I had to have both). I watched the cartoon and loved the MGM/Disney "Wildest Dreams" special. I had to have watched it a hundred times. And their concert at Tinley Park (near Chicago) was the first concert I ever attended. My neighborhood made a caravan to the show and my dad wore earplugs, "Not because of the music, but because of all the screaming girls," he said. They were my everything for a few short years, but like every typical 11 or 12 year old when 1992 had rolled around, I had moved onto something else...what, I don't remember. When "Face the Music" came out under the re-named NKOTB, I was like, "Really? Those guys need to know when it's over and just give up." Soon they did just that.
I vaguely remember seeing Jordan & Joey on TRL in 1999 with their solo gigs, but I continued to follow the trends and bought up BSB, N*SYNC & Britney Spears CDs. I was 18 and still into what my fiance would call "Whiny Chick Music", i.e. Sarah McLachlan. Hey, I was 18...teens have angst, right? Anyway, I also re-call Jordan's Surreal Life appearance and seeing Donnie in the Sixth Sense not believing it at first when people told me that it was him. I also remember the attempt at the VH1 reunion, but again, I didn't really give any of it much thought. I was in college or working my first real job, trying to maintain a relationship with the guy I started dating at age 18. I had way more important things to worry about.
I continued to live in a "bubble" up until June of last year. I missed the Today Show reunion, heard about how their first tour's tickets sold in immediately in Chicago but didn't really care...I even missed "The Block" coming out in stores. I had been traveling in Europe that summer (see all my previous blog entries) and was in law school...so I had other stuff on my mind. I did download "Summertime", probably illegally (don't worry, I've since been sure to purchase a legit version) and liked the song, but otherwise I was completely oblivious. That is, until my best friend, Jen, sent me an email that New Kids on the Block were coming to Indianapolis. I ended up buying a 4-pack of lawn seats (since they were about the same price as
2 tickets) and we recruited my law school friend, Nikki, and Jen's roommate at the time, MaryAnn, to go with us. Jen played "Dirty Dancing" for me before the show and I liked it, but again I was convinced we were going purely for nostalgia reasons. I had also bought "Big Girl Now" on iTunes for my workout mix, but I don't think I had actually listened to it at that point.So, we show up at the Verizon
Wireless Center outside of Indianapolis in late June (the 28th, I believe), have a few drinks in the parking lot and roll up just in time to see Jesse McCartney take the stage (we completely missed the Jabbawockies getting our drink on). Jen impulsively convinced us to upgrade our lawn seats, so we were at the very back of the pavilion toward one side. Jesse M did a fantastic job setting the mood that night...Jen & I were both talking about how hot he was and even though we were 28 (me) & 29 (her) we were definitely not too old for him. We were having fun and I was still probably a little buzzed.Then the lights went down and the roar of the crowd began. It took hold of me in a way I can never fully explain. In one quick moment I went from being a buzzed 28-year old attorney (apparently with some cougar-like tendencies) to a squealing 9-year old. The guys hadn't even sung a note or showed up on stage yet. Like magic just seeing their names and faces appearing on the screen awoke something inside of me that had been laying dormant for almost 20 years. I realized Jen and Nikki were squealing too...in fact the entire crowd sounded like something I hadn't heard in ages. The show, of course, was amazing. My camera couldn't come close to doing the guys justice. I didn't even know
half of the songs, but the ones I did know from back in the day, I belted out loudly (probably getting some words wrong...the last time that happened, I can assure you). Jen and I kept commenting on how Jordan looked like he hadn't aged at all and after him performing "Give It To You", I became an instant "Jordan Girl". I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Now the kids were all grown up and I liked the 11 year age difference. 39 looked really good on him.So after the show, I became a woman on a mission. Don't worry, I had the Indiana bar exam to take in a month, but I spent just as much time studying as I did listening to "The Block" which I had bought the first minute I got a chance. I also spent time reading all about the guys on Wikipedia and watching concert clips and videos on YouTube. I watched "Summertime," "Single" and "2 in the Morning" until I unintentionally had all the facial expressions and hand gestures memorized. I was both happy and sad to know that Jordan & Joe were married with babies...selfish, I know. And I read something on Jordan's Wikipedia entry about the cruise. This really intrigued me...a cruise with the New Kids, a month earlier I would have laughed at that, now I wanted to learn everything I could about how to get on that boat. I quickly realized that Twitter was the way to get the most up-to-date info on that stuff, so I joined and began following @NKOTB and Jordan. Soon after I added each of the other guys..and I would share all my newly acquired NK knowledge with Nikki (Donnie girl) and Jen (Joey girl).
Soon the web broadcast was announced...I ate that up with a spoon. In fact, I even had a party at my house to watch it (Adam, my fiance, was able to hook our computer up to our big TV) with Jen, Adam and other friends Gary (Joey "girl"), and Marcia (Donnie girl). We loved the show, although watching it on a TV wasn't the same as seeing it live. After everyone went to bed, I stayed up and watched some of the songs a few times over again, because I knew it would be over too soon. I wasn't ready for it to be over. Listening to "The Block" and some of Jordan's solo stuff got me through studying for the bar exam. Any time I was stressed I would listen to those voices and it forced me to smile...and usually facilitated me enlisting Adam's help for other forms of stress relief.
The cruise was announced and after a LOT of convincing (due to finances) Jen agreed to go with me. I fortunately didn't have a job yet (I had just taken the Bar Exam a week earlier) so I sat at my computer for 3 1/2 hours trying to get a spot. I cursed, cried and pleaded with God that if I could just get onto that cruise, I would sit through another two days of the bar exam. Luckily, I passed the exam AND got cruise tix, but I was willing to go through all the torture again if I could just get on that boat. Priorities, people! It was probably more stressful sitting through getting those tickets than it was taking the bar anyway. So, by early August, I knew I would see the New Kids again, even meet them! Jen and I both thought it would be a once in a lifetime experience. We told a few people and their reaction was priceless...but we would just say, "How often do you get to meet your first celebrity loves?" and people usually bought it...until I started trying to convince every friend to buy "The Block". Luckily, Adam was a pretty good sport about the whole thing, I mean he was getting some benefit to my newly found obsession.
So, life continued on...I kept looking for a job, found out I passed the bar and got admitted in mid-October, and kept listening to the New Kids every single day. By this time, I had bought most of their hits from back in the day (even though I did actually find their old tapes in a box somewhere) and Joey's first solo album to add to the mix. I was also still following the guys on Twitter, so I was apprised of any updates. Which actually leads to my first excursion...
Near the end of October Jordan announced on Twitter that he'd be going to Nashville, TN for a few days to record some songs for a solo album. He then said that while he was recording in Boston, some fans stopped by and sang for him and he got the idea to have other people come sing for him and possibly get to sing on one of his songs. Being a decent singer (choir since 3rd grade, sang in a few weddings, big karaoke fan, etc.) I thought what better thing could I possibly do than sing for THE Jordan Knight. I mentioned the idea to Jen, who was not too thrilled about the idea of me driving 4 hours to Nashville by myself
to hopefully run into him so I could sing. I promised her I would only go if I knew of an exact location and time, which luckily Jordan announced a day or two beforehand. So, off I went to Nashville.I arrived around 3pm and I think things were supposed to start around 4. I expected there to be hundreds of people there, but when I arrived I was able to park in the lot next to the nightclub (which I think might have been a strip club) . I walked inside and saw about 40 other girls there. I happened to walk up to a table that was directly behind one of the long couches facing the stage with three chairs and two girls and asked if I could join them. Each was wearing an NKOTB shirt (one was a Jordan girl, the other a Donnie girl) and were very friendly, so they sort-of adopted me for the evening
. I quickly learned that I wasn't the only one crazy enough to drive 4 hours to be there as Raven (the Donnie girl) and Jolanda (the Jordan girl) were both from Indianapolis. We chatted for a little bit as the club steadily filled with more people.Then suddenly the crowd got quiet...Jordan walked out from backstage and did an interview with a local TV station (with us in the background). I couldn't believe it. He was even more gorgeous in person, which I did not think was possible. He was also so much shorter and thinner than I expected. I'm sure he is at least 5'8" or 5'9" but when your fiance is 6'2"...still I absolutely struck sideways by how attractive he was. While he was doing the pre-interview chatting with the reporter, I whipped out my cell phone to call Jen. The first words out of my mouth were, "You won't believe who is 5 feet away from me right now", which I hope were in an excited whisper and not any louder, but knowing me it was probably loud enough for him to hear.
After the interview he went on stage and announced how things would go. You had to fill out a form and turn it in with a bunch of legal waivers if you wanted to sing. Jordan began MC-ing so each girl who sang got to chat with him on stage (give their name, song they were singing, etc.) and usually got a hug from him afterward. I waited a while, trying to gauge how embarrassed I would be if I sang. After hearing some really fantastic singers (who were there to be discovered, not to meet Jordan) and some absolutely horrible ones (the ones who were really there to see Jordan and get a hug from him), I decided I drove too far to chicken out, so I got in line.
About 6 or so singers before me, Jordan decided to stop MC-ing and let someone else take over. I completely forget who he was (the whole day was kindof a blur) but he was one of the judges. I started to get a little heartbroken because I had gotten up the nerve to do this knowing I'd get to talk to him and get a hug from him and he was going to just sit down and be one of the judges. However, after a few more singers, he decided to sit near the "holding area" for the next singers so I ended up getting to chat with him for a minute or so before taking the stage.
It was a bit of an out-of-body experience because I felt like I was watching myself from above trying to keep me from making an ass of myself. Don't worry, I managed to. The first thing I said after saying hello was "I drove four hours just to meet you." Ummmm, stalker much? Great first impression. I'm sure I wasn't the first or last person to say something like that but really? I'm a lawyer for crying out loud. Anyway, well Jordan's response (while staring into my soul with his gorgeous eyes) was "By yourself?". Yup Jordan, not only am I crazy but I couldn't even get anyone to come be crazy with me. My mumbled response was something like, "Well none of my friends could get off of work". It was a Wednesday and a legitimate excuse bec
ause Jen probably would have come with me if she wasn't in school. Still I'm sure I sounded like a complete idiot. Hopefully I was able to pull together some sort of small talk before I took the stage but I'm pretty sure I blacked out at that point.So, I get up on the stage and about 100 or so girls are all staring me down. Some encouraging, others not so much. Raven & Jolanda were waving and taking pictures so I was spurned on by that. Also, Jordan decided to leave his post by the side of the stage and plopped down on the couch right in front of me. I introduced myself and sang "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", my signature karaoke song, which is MUCH harder acapella, but I managed to do it and thought I didn't sound too bad. All the judges said something after I sang, all positive but I couldn't tell you what any of them said because all I remember is Jordan saying that I had a pretty voice. Having something like that said from him was the ultimate compliment. I couldn't even believe he said that. Damn, I hope someone has that on video.
So, after I sang, more people performed, probably 60 or so in total. Poor Raven got on stage and sang a church hymn shaking like a leaf. I enjoyed watching everyone guessing whether or not any of them had a shot of stardom. Then they decided to film a little bit of footage for a promo for the other locations on the "Jordan Idol" tour. So, Jordan came over his couch (which we were right behind the entire time) and stood in the crowd while we all screamed something about Jordan Idol. He was directly in front of me so he gave me a hug before he went back to the stage.
Then after everyone was done, Jordan went backstage for a while. I hung out chatting with Raven and Jolanda, debating if we wanted to get dinner or a drink or just drive back to Indiana. While debating, Jordan came out and Jason (his manager) made an announcement that he didn't have time for autographs or pictures but he could say goodbye to everyone. So Raven, Jolanda and I hung toward the back of the line and each got our hug. I gave one of the girls my camera to get a picture while we were hugging but they caught me just afterward with a huge grin on my face. In fact, probably the only other time before that where I had such a huge grin was when I got engaged.
After a few more hugs, Jordan walked past us again toward the exit. At that point he touched my arm, locked eyes with me, smiled and gave me a look that showed he knew he had already hugged me but didn't want to walk past without some acknowledgment. I can't properly explain it, but there is something about him
that when he looks at me I melt into a puddle. I was in a complete daze driving home that night. I called a bunch of friends and re-told the story over and over, each time starting to believe that it had really happened. Reflecting on the whole thing I still wonder, how many people do I know that can actually say they did anything that cool? I was so excited and proud of myself for giving into all of my impulses that told me I had to do this. One thing this year has taught me (as you'll read later) continuing to follow those impulses has lead to so many more great experiences.
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