Recent reports suggested the group had held secret talks with the pop legends about a collaboration on their comeback album.
Wahlberg was quoted as saying, “It’s very exciting. It’s one big party and everyone wants to join us.”
But the singer insists the quote was made up, posting the following comment on the band’s blog: “We are not recording with Michael Jackson and/or Madonna. We never claimed to be, either. Good fun reading about it though!”
The New Kids on the Block reunited for the first time in 15 years on the Today Show Friday.
Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight and Danny Wood warmly greeted fans.
“There’s no turning back now!” Wahlberg said.
“I’m shocked” Jordan said of seeing the cheering crowds, who braved the rain for a glimpse of the group, which churned out such chart-toppers as “The Right Stuff” and “Hangin’ Tough.”
So what brought them back together?
“We started recording in August,” Wahlberg said. “Music brought us back.”
He insisted, “We still have some moves. We have new material. We’re very excited for everybody to hear about it.”
He said they’ll tour select cities in the fall.
They’ll return to the Today Show to perform on May 16.
Following months of speculation surrounding a rumored Spice Girls-esque reunion tour, ’80s boy band New Kids On The Block has released its first group photo in 15 years, exclusively on Yahoo!: Joey McIntyre, Jonathan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, and Danny Wood disbanded New Kids On The Block in 1994, and have since experienced varying degrees of success in film, music, and reality TV. Until this week, they have coyly denied that an NKTOB reunion was defintiely in the works.
Although no longer “kids,” per se (the youngest member, McIntyre, is now 35), they are expected to make their official New Kids reunion tour announcement this Friday, April 4, on NBC’s The Today Show.
Looks like the Today Show’s got the right stuff: All five original New Kids on the Block members – Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood and brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight – will appear together in the morning show’s courtyard on April 4, a source tells PEOPLE.
After months of speculation, PEOPLE confirmed in January that the band is reuniting – just in time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their mega-hit album Hangin’ Tough. The group also recently updated its Web site, nkotb.com.
The boy band, which made legions of tweens swoon in the early ’90s, selling more than 50 million albums, became a worldwide phenomenon before calling it quits in 1994. Since then, the oldest “Kid,” Jonathan Knight, 39, retreated back to Boston to become a real estate developer. Former members Wahlberg, 38, and McIntyre, 35, have seen acting success, while Wood, 38, has worked as a music producer and Jordan Knight, 37, has continued to record.
