"Games" is a song 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 as the first single from their first compilation/remix album, ''

No More Games/The Remix Album ''No More Games: The Remix Album'' is a remix album from pop group New Kids on the Block. It peaked at number 19 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Background and production By early 1991, the ever-shifting status of musical trends had begun to take ...

'' (1990). Employing hip-hop samples with riffs sung by

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 ...

, and defensive rhymes by

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' ...

, the song was a dramatic departure from their previously clean cut sound. It also includes shout-outs to Donnie's brother

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...

and his group

Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch was an American hip-hop group formed in 1991 by Mark Wahlberg (alias Marky Mark), Scott Gee, Hector the Booty Inspector, DJ-T, and Ashey Ace. The group's best known song is " Good Vibrations", which made it to numbe ...

. The song features a chorus section taken from the movie the wizard of Oz, namely the West witch's soldiers chant: oh ee oh, oh oh. The accompanying

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Games" received

heavy rotation In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time. However, they are not completely ...

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly as MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV, a 24-hour music and entertainment TV channel that began broadcasting on August 1, 1987, as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initially, MTV serve ...

. Feeling the name "New Kids on the Block" was too childish for the group, the band shortened their name to "NKOTB" during the time of the single's release. The song received decent airplay from stations nationwide.

Track listings

* 12" maxi - Promo # "Games" (the kids get hard mix) – 5:22 # "What'cha Gonna Do (About It)" (Arthur Baker remix) – 5:51 # "Call It What You Want" (C&C pump it mix) – 5:31 # "My Favorite Girl" (remix) – 5:29 * CD maxiDiscogs.com
/ref> # "Games (the kids get hard mix extended version) – 5:22 # "Games (album version) – 3:27 # "(You've Got It) The Right Stuff" (New Kids in the house mix) – 5:36 # "Treat Me Right" – 4:17 * 7" single # "Games" (the kids get hard mix 7" mix) – 3:58 # "Games" (the album version) – 3:27

Charts

References

1990 songs 1991 singles Columbia Records singles New jack swing songs New Kids on the Block songs Song recordings produced by Maurice Starr Song recordings produced by Robert Clivillés Songs written by Donnie Wahlberg Songs written by Maurice Starr {{1990s-pop-song-stub