''Hangin' Tough'' is the second studio album by American

boy band A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...

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 had ...

, released on August 12, 1988, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. It is widely regarded as the group's breakthrough album, gaining positive reviews for their musical transition from

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a more specific rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States in the late 1960s, th ...

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

, blended with popular rock music. The group's label had planned to end their contract when their 1986 debut garnered little commercial and critical attention, which nearly led to their breakup. However,

Maurice Starr Larry Curtis Johnson (born November 19, 1953), better known by his stage name Maurice Starr, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his production work for boy bands New Edition and New Kids on the Block. H ...

, the group's producer, diligently persuaded the label to let them record a second album. ''Hangin' Tough'' led the group to success due to the emergence of their music to

radio airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

and creation of

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

s for each released single, showcasing the group's visual appeal. Their popularity was eventually built as they made TV appearances and embarked on promotional tours. By the end of 1989, the album topped the US ''Billboard'' 200 charts, while it peaked at number two on the

Canadian Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...

that year and the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

the following year. The record has a home-media video release entitled ''New Kids on the Block: Hangin' Tough'', which is a documentary musical film about the group's biographical career, released in 1989. It also contains a series of music videos, live performances, and exclusive interviews from the group and their fans. The album and film received accolades: two

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

and at least one

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nomination. With sales of more than fifteen million copies worldwide, ''Hangin' Tough'' became the group's best-selling album and was

certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

Diamond in Canada by the

Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to some of Canada's leadin ...

(CRIA), with sales of more than one million units, and 8× Platinum in the U.S. by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), making it the country's second-best-selling album of 1989, behind

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

Don't Be Cruel "Don't Be Cruel" is a song that was recorded by Elvis Presley and written by Otis Blackwell in 1956.Victor (2008), ''The Elvis Encyclopedia'', p.115-116 It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, it was ranked No. 197 in ' ...

. The record spawned five commercial singles: "

Please Don't Go Girl "Please Don't Go Girl" is a 1988 song by American boyband New Kids on the Block. The lead vocals were sung by Joey McIntyre, Jordan Knight, and spoken by Danny Wood, but the majority of the lyrics were sung by Joey McIntyre. Written and produce ...

", " You Got It (The Right Stuff)", "

I'll Be Loving You (Forever) "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)" is a 1989 ballad song from New Kids on the Block, released as the third single from the group's second album, ''Hangin' Tough''. The lead vocals were sung by Jordan Knight. It was the group's first single to reach n ...

", "

Hangin' Tough ''Hangin' Tough'' is the second studio album by American boy band New Kids on the Block, released on August 12, 1988, by Columbia Records. It is widely regarded as the group's breakthrough album, gaining positive reviews for their musical tran ...

", and "

Cover Girl A cover girl is a woman whose photograph is used for the front cover of magazines. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a person making a single, casual appearance on the cover of a magaz ...

". All were top-ten hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, making NKOTB the first teen act to gain such chart success. An album titled ''More Hangin' Tough'', which included remixed and instrumental versions of the original songs, was issued in Japan. Following the 2019 release of the 30th Anniversary Edition of the album, which contains remixes of previous singles plus three newly recorded songs, the record re-entered the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart at number 18.

Singles

Five singles were released from ''Hangin' Tough'', starting with "Please Don't Go Girl", which came out in April 1988. The song was a major hit on radio stations nationwide and became the group's first top-ten single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number ten. The second single was "You Got It (The Right Stuff)", a worldwide hit that peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' charts. "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)", a ballad, was the third single and became NKOTB's first number-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The title track was released next and also reached number one. "Cover Girl" was the fifth released; it peaked at number two. "My Favorite Girl" was issued in January 1990 as a promotional single sent to radio but was not made commercially available at retail.

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews from music critics. Dan Heilman and Bil Carpenter of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote, "Good songs collected by New Kids mastermind Maurice Starr highlight this smash, including 'I'll Be Loving You (Forever)', 'You Got It (The Right Stuff)', 'Please Don't Go Girl', and the title track. Tight, warm, even soulful harmony on the ballads." Robert Christgau gave the album a C+ grade. He stated that:

Accolades

''Hangin' Tough'' won two

in January 1990 for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group, beating Paula Abdul's '' Forever Your Girl'' and

's ''

'' in the Favorite Pop/Rock Album category, and

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

and Milli Vanilli in the Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group category. The ''Hangin' Tough'' music film was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Long Form (now called ''Best Music Film'') at the 1990 Grammy Awards but lost to '' Rhythm Nation 1814'' by

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

, beating

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...

's '' Savage'',

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's ''

Moonwalker ''Moonwalker'' is a 1988 American experimental film, experimental anthology film, anthology musical film starring Michael Jackson. Rather than featuring one continuous narrative, the film expresses the influence of fandom and innocence through ...

'', and

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

's ''

Delicate Sound of Thunder ''Delicate Sound of Thunder'' is a live album by the English band Pink Floyd. It was recorded over five nights at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, in August 1988, during their A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour, and mixed at Abbey Ro ...

''.

Track listing

All songs written and produced by

, except where noted.

Personnel

New Kids on the Block * Jonathan Knight – lead and backing vocals * Jordan Knight – lead and backing vocals, associate producer *

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 boy band New Kids on the Block. He has sold over one million records worldwide as a solo artist and work ...

– lead and backing vocals *

Donnie Wahlberg Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, actor and producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside music, he has starred in the TV drama series ''Blue Bloods (TV series), Blue Bloo ...

– lead and backing vocals, associate producer * Danny Wood – lead and backing vocals, programming, associate producer, recording, mixing, engineer Additional personnel * Cecil Holmes –

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

– arranger, producer, recording, mixing, engineer, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, electric bass, drum programming * Phil Greene – recording, mixing, engineer * Richard Mendelson – recording, mixing, engineer * Hediki Sunada – recording, mixing, engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control 1988 albums New Kids on the Block albums Albums produced by Maurice Starr Columbia Records albums