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My pick for best celebrity comeback for 2008 is the New Kids on the Block.

The New Kids were discovered by Maurice Starr, the famed manager of teen sensation New Edition in the early 80's. Starr wanted to recreate his success with another group of boys. It was then he found Donnie Wahlberg, who introduced him to Danny Wood. The group came together quickly after that and began performing as Nynuk. After a much needed name change and the release of their second album titled Hangin' Tough in 1988, the New Kids on the Block were on their way to super stardom.

Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood, Joey McIntyre and brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight couldn't have had even one inkling as to what lay ahead of them. By the end of 1989, according to Wikipedia, Hangin' Tough had become the #1 album in the US with 5 of the singles reaching the top 5 (two went to #1). The album went 8x platinum and sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Not bad for five teens from Boston! The guys earned two American Music awards in 1990. Their faces were plastered on everything imaginable: lunch boxes, pillow cases, trading cards. Every girl between the ages of ten and twenty wanted a piece of them!

More than fifteen years have passed since "The Kids" walked away from fame and fortune. They'd had enough of the spotlight, they wanted to pursue other ideas and after six years of constant touring, they were just plain tired.

Over the years, there had been several attempts to get the guys back together. VH1 tried, MTV tried, but nothing was quite right. Everyone was out for their own agendas and that wasn't gonna fly with The New Kids.

Then in early 2008, NKOTB.com was up and running and rumors started to fly. By the time the official announcement was made, it was already all over the Internet. The New Kids on the Block were BACK! And from their performance on the Today show in May of 08, a mix of old hits and new tunes, they were better than ever!

The New Kids on the Block are now dads and husbands and the oldest member, Jon, turned forty the end of 2008. Why in the world would they decide to do this now? "For the fans" is the simple reason that has been given out numerous times.

With the announcement of a new album came the subsequent announcement of a tour. Once I had my concert ticket, I anxiously awaited the album release. Finally on September 2nd, the new album The Block was released. If there would have been retailers selling it at precisely twelve midnight that day, I would have been there. The songs were mature and sexy and made my adult heart melt upon hearing their voices once again. Sultry R&B tunes and collaborations with performers such as Lady Gaga, Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls and New Edition round out a fantastic album. The guys sound better than they did in their teens and I listened to that CD every day leading up to the concert, learning every word to every song.

As 2008 came to an end, a blog post on NKOTB.com told fans to mark their calenders for May 15-18 2009. On January 13, 2009, the New Kids on the Block cruise was announced- a 3-night/4-day trip to the Bahamas with on-board meet n' greets, performances, dance parties and more. On the 14th tickets went on sale, causing the site to crash twice throughout the day and by the 16th, they were completely sold out. A few days later the guys announced more North American tour dates for the spring, with tickets going on sale very soon after. You know where I'll be that day!

The New Kids on the Block are back, they're sexier than ever and vocally, they're the strongest they've ever been. They already talk of a next album and along with millions of other women worldwide, I'll be waiting with open arms!

Learn more about this author, Stephanie Haefner.
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