''Face the Music'' is the fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American boyband

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...

, released on January 25, 1994. The album debuted at number 37 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in the United States, with first-week sales of 27,000 copies. According to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

, the album had sold 138,000 copies in the US as of 2008.

Background

In 1993, after about two years out of the limelight, the New Kids went back into the studio and began recording their fifth studio album, before splitting up a year later. By this point, due to a strong backlash and allegations of

lip-synching Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...

, the group pushed for a more mature image and focused on recording songs that would appeal to their aging fans. In addition, they had outgrown the "New Kids" name:

Joey McIntyre Joseph Mulrey McIntyre (born December 31, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He is best known as the youngest member of the pioneering boy band, New Kids on the Block. He has sold over one million records worldwide as a solo a ...

was 21,

Jordan Knight Jordan Nathaniel Marcel Knight (born May 17, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He is a singer in the boy band New Kids on the Block (NKOTB), who rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s, using a falsetto style of singing influenced by ...

was 23,

Donnie Wahlberg Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, record producer, and film producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside music, he has had roles in the ''Saw ...

and

Danny Wood Daniel William Wood (born May 14, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and occasional actor. He is a member of the American boy band New Kids on the Block and also served as a choreographer for the band in late 80s and 90s ...

were 24, and

Jonathan Knight Jonathan Rashleigh Knight-Rodriguez (born November 29, 1968) is an American singer. He is best known for being a member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. It also includes Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood and his younger brother Jo ...

was 25 years old. Jordan Knight, Wahlberg, and Wood fought for creative input and control, as most of their material was previously rejected by producer

Maurice Starr Larry Curtis Johnson (born July 14, 1953), better known by his stage name Maurice Starr, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work creating songs and albums with boy bands New Edition and New Kids on ...

in favor of his own compositions. Having been long been dogged with an "uncool" stigma, the boys decided to sever their ties with Starr, who had been instrumental in their early success. At the request of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, they shortened their name to the more mature-sounding NKOTB. Instead of the bubblegum and

teen pop Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements o ...

songs that established the New Kids in the music industry, ''Face the Music'' was built around a more up to date R&B and

New jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...

sound. The album also included the track "Keep on Smilin" the group previously recorded for the film ''

Free Willy ''Free Willy'' is a 1993 American family drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by Walker and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures ...

'', and it was also one of their first recordings since undergoing the name change. "Dirty Dawg" did fairly well on the charts, but a Canadian station (

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...

) banned the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

due to its suggested violence and misogynistic themes. Although not a major commercial success, the critical reception was positive, and a cross-country tour was in the works. However, NKOTB quickly found that they could only get bookings at nightclubs and theatres, a far cry from the arenas and stadiums they had been accustomed to playing in while in their peak years. During the tour, Jonathan Knight dropped out of the band due to increased

panic attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...

s and anxiety. Faced with the fact that their fanbase had grown up and moved on to

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

and

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...

, the rest of the group decided to cease touring and NKOTB went on hiatus until 2008.

Singles

If You Go Away "If You Go Away" is an adaptation of the 1959 Jacques Brel song "Ne me quitte pas" with English lyrics by Rod McKuen. Created as part of a larger project to translate Brel's work, "If You Go Away" is considered a pop standard and has been recor ...

" - December 14, 1991 (First released on greatest hits album ''H.I.T.S.'') *"

Dirty Dawg "Dirty Dawg" is a song by American boyband NKOTB (formerly New Kids on the Block), which became their final single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 until the 2008 single "Summertime (New Kids on the Block song), Summerti ...

" - December 21, 1993 *" Never Let You Go" - January 11, 1994

Track listing

Sample credits *"Intro: Face the Music" contains samples from "360 Degrees" by Grand Puba. It also embodies portions of "DWYCK" by

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 20 ...

featuring Nice & Smooth, and of "Take It Personal" by Gang Starr. *"Dirty Dawg" contains a sample of "Papa Don't Take No Mess" by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

. *"Girls" contains a sample of "Girls, Girls, Girls" by Moments &

Whatnauts The Whatnauts were an American soul group from Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (U ...

. *"Let's Play House" contains a sample of "Around The Way Girl" by

L.L. Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

. *"I'll Be Waitin'" contains a sample of "Eric B Is President" by Eric B. & Rakim. Notes * signifies a remixer * signifies an associate producer * signifies a co-producer

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes. "Intro: Face the Music" *Lead vocals by Donnie Wahlberg "You Got the Flavor" *Lead vocals by Jordan Knight *Rap by Donnie Wahlberg *Live instrumentals by Teddy Riley "Dirty Dawg" *Lead vocals by Jordan Knight *Rap by

Nice & Smooth Nice & Smooth is an East Coast hip hop duo from New York City that consists of Gregory O. "Greg Nice" Mays (born May 30, 1967) and Darryl O. "Smooth B" Barnes (born August 3, 1967) plus their deejay Tedd "DJ Teddy Tedd" Whiting. The duo released f ...

*Live instrumentals and background vocals by Larry Thomas "Girls" *Lead vocals by Jordan Knight *Rap by Donnie Wahlberg *Live instrumentals by Teddy Riley "

" *Lead vocals by Jordan Knight and Joe McIntyre *Ad libs by Danny Wood "Keep on Smilin'" *Lead vocals by Jordan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood, and Joe McIntyre "Never Let You Go" *Lead vocals by Jordan Knight *Rap by Donnie Wahlberg *Live instrumentals by Teddy Riley "Keepin' My Fingers Crossed" *Lead vocals by Jordan Knight *Rap by Donnie Wahlberg *Guitar and keyboards by Richard Wolf *Drums and programming by Greg Lawson and

Darryl Swann Darryl Swann (born October 25, 1965) is an American record producer, songwriter, educator and musician. Triple platinum award winner. He has worked with prominent artists including, John Frusciante, Macy Gray, The Black Eyed Peas, Greg Hetson, Mos ...

"Mrs. Right" *Lead vocals by Joe McIntyre *Live instrumentals by Donnie Wahlberg and Larry Thomas *Scratches by Jeff Gamere "Since You Walked into My Life" *Lead vocals by Jordan Knight and Joe McIntyre *Spoken by Danny Wood "Let's Play House" *Lead vocals by Jordan Knight *Rap by Donnie Wahlberg "I Can't Believe It's Over" *Lead vocals by Jordan Knight "I'll Still Be Loving You" *Lead vocals by Joe McIntyre "I'll Be Waitin'" *Lead vocals by Danny Wood and Joe McIntyre *Live instrumentals by Dow Brain, Brad Young, and Danny Wood

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums New Kids on the Block albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Teddy Riley