Who would have thought that after 14 years the New Kids on the Block would really be making a comeback! When I first heard about the “reunion” I was excited, then quickly my excitement turned to disappointment because I just knew in my heart Jonathan would not be a part of this. BOY WAS I WRONG!
Seeing him on the Today Show in May looking like he was having the time of his life got me really excited to see them perform live again. It had been so long since I’d seen Jon up on the stage!
Krystal and I were a little skeptical about the concert in San Jose. We only bought tickets to this show because one, we were afraid it might suck, and two, we had a trip planned the very next week after the show. We would later kick our own butts regretting not getting more tickets for other shows! And we knew nothing about 5* and would also kick our own butts over not getting to do that.
We ended up getting third row seats and as October drew near, I got more and more excited, while Krystal didn’t show much enthusiasm at all.
October 10th rolled around and for the first time I could actually see that Krystal was excited about this. I took the day off work and camped out outside of the entrance gates to the San Jose Arena with a friend. Not too much happened, but we did see both Donnie and Danny drive in.
Once Krystal got off work, we met up with a few friends from back in the day. We had dinner together and reminisced about the old days and talked about the show we were about to see!
One of our friends had front row seats that night directly in front of ours, so when the lights went down we decided we were going to move up to the front.
We got down to the floor and to our seats and who is about 10 feet away from us checking out Natasha Beddingfield??? JONATHAN! Like the total dork that I am, I screamed his name! He looked at me and proceeded to take off. I AM AN IDIOT! Just like in the past, I freaked out at the sight of him!
So the lights finally go down and the retrospective video begins and I feel tears coming to my eyes. I can’t actually wrap my head around the fact that this is indeed happening. Krystal and I hold hands and get ready! The boys appear on an elevated lift type thing and the tears begin flowing. This isn’t a dream, it is real and there is Jonathan R. Knight on the stage singing, dancing, and having the time of his life.
The show was incredible! You would never have guessed these guys hadn’t performed together in 14 years. When Jordan did Baby I Believe In You, you could have sworn it was Magic Summer Tour 1990 all over again. Hearing them sing their big hits as well as their new stuff was amazing. They all looked so good and seemed to be having the time of their lives! The excitement in the building was amazing. The show was amazing!
And as soon as it ended, Krystal and I realized we were so stupid for not getting tickets to more shows. We were sad, but had a cruise to get ready for. Who knew that that one regret would fuel us on to become crazy, in the lost our minds kind of way, fans in the months / years to come!!!
It was really hard to chose just ten and even harder to put them in order, so with the exception of #1, the rest are in no particular order:
10. The Today Show performance May 2008
The last time I saw NKOTB perform was Spring of 1994 and it was without Jon. I went to 4 shows and The Arsenio Hall Show on the Face The Music Tour and I couldn’t tell ya a darn thing about any of them! Once Jon left the group, I kind of checked out myself. When I heard rumblings of a comeback, my initial reaction was NO WAY IN HELL WILL JON BE A PART OF THIS! So I was very excited to be seeing them again after so long, and with Jon! I set the DVR cause darn work gets in the way, and had to wait until 5pm to see it. I think I sped home faster than ever that day. I ran in, threw my stuff down and hit the couch! I turned on The Today Show and fast forwarded to the spot. I had butterflies in my stomach! As the music started, the tears welled up in my eyes. I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing! The boys looked great and sounded better than ever! Was this really happening??? They looked like they were having so much fun and the crowd was amazing! Seeing the smiles on their faces made me tear up even more. Something magical was happening here and I didn’t know it then, but it would turn out to be one of the most magical times of my life!!!
9. Seeing the guys perform live for the first time in San Jose, CA October 2008
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would actually see NKOTB again live, never! When the tour was announced, we only bought tickets to one show (we would later kick our own butts for doing that). They were coming to our area just a week before I was going on a cruise. The timing of the show worked out perfectly, but the ability to pay for a bunch of shows did not! We ended up getting third row tickets, which was exciting, and a friend of ours got first row! She was right in front of us, so we ended up moving up there when the lights went down.
So when the lights finally go down and the retrospective video begin I feel tears coming to my eyes. I can’t actually wrap my head around the fact that this is indeed happening. Krystal and I hold hands and get ready! The boys appear on an elevated lift type thing and the tears begin flowing. This isn’t a dream, it is real and there is Jonathan Knight on the stage singing, dancing, and having the time of his life.
The show was incredible! You would never have guessed these guys hadn’t performed together in 14 years. When Jordan did Baby I Believe In You, you could have sworn it was Magic Summer Tour 1990 all over again. The excitement in the building was amazing. The show was amazing!
8. Going to London and being at the Hammersmith show January 2009
It all started with 5 little words… DO YOU HAVE A PASSPORT? That’s what Krystal asked me one day out of the blue. We had been kind of joking about going to Canada to get a 5*, but nothing serious. She had been looking at the UK dates and decided we should try and do it. It was the best idea that BFF of mine has ever had! We got to go to the O2 show, which was amazing, so many people in that building! We were part of the crowd at Hammersmith, where the guys were on fire and Jon dropped his pants! And we got to see a show in a little town a few hours outside of London, that was awesome since it was only half of an arena and seemed more intimate! Oh yea and we had a little adventure with Jon Knight! Going to the UK was something I never thought I would do and it ended up being a trip of a lifetime!
7. Meeting all of my new NKOTB friends and reconnecting with the old ones
Where do I even begin with this??? So many amazing people have come into my life because of these 5 boys! Their comeback helped me re-connect with old friends, meet many many new friends and also get closer to my BFF!
The NKOTB message boards and twitter turned out to be such an awesome way to connect with people from all over the world! So many people have touched my life in the last two years, I can’t even list them all, but you know who you are. You have brought so much joy to my life, it was a pleasure sharing all of these crazy adventures with you all!!! You are all very special and important to me and I know that our friendships will last a lifetime! I thank NKOTB everyday for bringing us all together!!
6. Jon hugs!
Ahhhhhh, the most amazing hugs ever! Jon hugs people with such sincerity; you can feel it from your head to your toes! You know that he genuinely is happy to see you when you get one of his hugs!
My first Jon hug came in London in the 5* at Hammersmith. It was just the greatest hug ever! I had been reading and hearing about everyone’s experiences with him and couldn’t wait for my own! It was so worth the wait! One of my best Jon hugs was the next day on the streets of London, when I was loading the car and he was walking down the street! He saw me and came over and I got the biggest hug I think I’ve ever got from someone in my life! You can just feel the love from him!
I’ve had many Jon hugs over the past two years and each one has been awesome! Hugging Jon is like hugging a long lost friend!!!
5. Jon knowing my name, who I am, and ‘talking’ to him on twitter
Ok, so 20 years ago Jon was impossible to get close too! My friends and I met all the other guys on multiple occasions but never met the elusive Jon Knight! Who would have thought that in 2009-2010 I would not only meet the man, but he would know my name, know stuff about me, and “talk” to me on twitter! WHOA!
Funniest thing ever was the first time I got a DM from Jon! He had just joined twitter and he responded to something I said. I saw the notification on my phone and I screamed and threw the phone across the room! LOL! Luckily I didn’t break my phone. Jon says some funny stuff on DM’s that’s for sure!
My two favorite DM’s are the one he sent wishing me and hubby a happy anniversary and my happy birthday DM!!!
4. HOB - Boston December 2009
Back in the day, one thing I always regretted was not ever hearing them sing some of their Christmas stuff live. They were never in California at that time of the year. When HOB was announced, I just knew they would do some of the Christmas stuff so I knew we had to be there!
That night was so magical! The setting, the feeling, the anticipation from the fans, everything just felt special! When the guys sang Coming Home and did Christmas songs, it was just perfect!!! Seeing each guy have a moment with a fan (or family member in Danny’s case) was awesome! I will never forget how sweet Jordan was with Andrea (imnangl)! Seeing the guys sing on stage with members of New Edition was an epic moment as well!
The whole night felt special and I was so glad to be there to be a part of it! Gotta give my man props for limping around that stage on his recovering foot! Go Jon!
3. Jones Beach / Holmdel weekend
We had a lot of good weekends/trips on our journey, but this weekend in June 2009 was definitely one of the best as far as 5*’s and Jon interaction go!!! (Jordan interaction for Krystal!!)
For months I had been bugging Jon on twitter about saying my name! In the spring every time I saw him he said Hey You and it was driving me nuts! So I pestered! At the 5* in Jones Beach I walked in and he yelled HEY MISS TINAH! I almost fainted! One, he looked hot, and two he said it finally! LOL! We had a nice chat and I went to give him a kiss on the cheek. He is way taller than me so he turned his head before I hit the cheek and I ended up planting one on his neck! HAHAHAHAHA! Krystal also had a good 5* as Jordan finally asked her what her name was and when he repeated it to her, I thought she might faint! It was a fun 5*.
After our meet and greet we were hanging out by the water just chilling when I heard someone yelling my name. I turned around and Jon was standing up on the side of a van yelling for me. I was like, what???? He made binocular motions (binocular boy was born in Fresno, more on that when I post about that show) at us and laughed and waved! It was hysterical! Later that night we made binocular motions at him, which made him laugh!
Holmdel was also a great night. It was raining and miserable and Jon seemed a little off in 5*, but he did touch Krystal’s boob at one point (hahahaha she had embroidery on her track jacket) and he teased us about spending money (yet again)! On stage that night we were second row center and Krystal had lots and lots of stage sex with Jordan! Jon pointed at me during Favorite Girl, which made me giddy! LOL! It was a great weekend!
2. The KISS - Las Vegas July 2009
Ever have something so unexpected and unbelievable happen to you? Ever felt weak in the knees and like you were going to pass out? Ever feel like you are having an out of body experience? That would be me on Saturday July 11, 2009 in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas was my last 5* and Jon knew it. He had to go and mention it and make me cry (see pic)! He promised me there would be more, but I wasn’t convinced. He was funny when I was leaving the area, he said go back to your husband now! LOL
The concert that night was amazing. I think the guys might have been drunk! They were on FIYAH (as Rupi would say)!!
Jon usually tries to find me and wave at the end of a show he knows I’m at, but because I am so short and was in the second row, he really couldn’t see me. At the end of Hanging Tough he was searching the crowd. I was trying to wave, but again being short doesn’t help! He finally did see me and I was so excited (it’s the little things people!!!). I figured a wave, wink, something like that was coming. All of a sudden he is walking towards the stage and he starts to climb onto the railing! He asks the girls in front of me to move over and the next thing I know I am moving up a bit, he bends down and then plants a kiss on me! HOLY CRAP! He jumps back up to the stage and all of a sudden I get dizzy and literally feel like I am gonna fall over. I couldn’t breathe either. WTF had just happened???? Why me (not that I am complaining it was just so out of the norm for him)? I turned to my friend standing right behind me and said “did you see that”? She laughed at me! I was in total shock.
It was so out of the ordinary for him, but I thank the lord every day that he did what he did! That man is amazing and knows how to make everyone feel special!
1. Meeting Jon for the first time
It’s almost too weird to write down and talk about, the way we met him! It was an adventure I will never forget! The whole story will be blogged later, but riding the Tube with Jon and meeting him for the very first time will forever be the number one moment in any and all of my New Kids adventures!!!
Hi everyone,After some thought, I have decided to write a blog about my many adventures over the last two years with NKOTB. I never could have imagined two years ago that so many wonderful things would have happened to me, that I would meet so many amazing people, that I would travel all over the world to see these 5 boys that I love so much, and that I would finally meet and get to know my favorite guy of all, Jonathan Knight!I hope you enjoy my posts and that somehow my adventures will make you smile and feel the same excitement that I have been feeling since May of 2008!First up will be my top 10 moments! Will post soon!Tina
