Joey McIntyre discusses his legendary career a solo artist, fronting New Kids on the Block, or appearing as an actor on stage and screen ahead of appearing at Nashville’s Cannery Hall.
Conversing with Joey McIntyre in 2025 doesn’t necessarily feel like four decades have passed since the native of Needham, Massachusetts, now 52, assumed the position as the lead singer for New Kids on the Block.
He’s discussing his latest album, “Freedom,” and an April 15 headlining date at Nashville’s Cannery Hall, part of a tour with nearly two-dozen dates supporting the album.
The album and tour have rekindled his fire as an artist when not working with brothers Johnathan and Jordan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood and performing hits with them like “Hangin’ Tough” and “Step By Step.”
“It’s fun to serve my creative vision,” McIntyre says about the album, which a press statement notes “explores his upbringing and path to pop stardom and what freedom means to him.”
“I’m thankful that, at this point in my career, I can commit to making a full-length album that allows the chip on my shoulder that (comes from people misunderstanding his professional journey) to be removed. The fact that I have (solo aspirations) no longer has to be held secret away from (his larger goals) as a member of New Kids on the Block. Finally, achieving the autonomy to carve my path means that I can be part of an amazing group and put out an album and tour as a solo artist.”
‘Working a full-time job that never feels like one’
The year 2025 finds McIntyre splitting his creative homes between eight solo albums and three New Kids on the Block releases over the past two decades.
The quintet, responsible for as many albums sold as teenage girls screaming and crying in crowds worldwide during the height of their popularity in the early 1990s, reunited in 2008 after a decade-plus apart. That has spurred non-stop touring for 15 years, including appearances with a dozen fellow ’90s favorites, including Boyz II Men, shopping mall touring icons Debbie Gibson and Tiffany, rap favorites Salt-N-Pepa, plus a now superfan beloved NKOTBSB tour with the Backstreet Boys from 2011-2012.
“Taking care of myself allows me to show up better for others,” McIntyre says about why he continued to release solo albums following 1999’s gold-selling “Stay the Same.”
He notes that operating in balance with his living legacy allows for the work on either side of his career to feel less like a “grind” and more akin to “working a full-time job that never feels like one.”
He has also made hundreds of appearances as an actor on stage and screen, developing an impressive television and off-Broadway resume. And he recently celebrated 20-plus years of marriage to former real estate agent Barrett Williams, with whom he’s had three children.
‘People having their hearts and emotions grabbed’
For “Freedom,” working as a solo artist found him not chasing trends but instead writing “challenging” songs that push past the carefree, down-the-middle pop for which he’s otherwise renowned.
On “Other Things,” he’s a piano-driven balladeer diving into his musical theater work. The album’s title track is a synth-pop dance jam, evolving his teenage exploits for the modern day.
Reviving New Kids on the Block’s 1991 pop anthem “Step By Step,” he sings, “Step one, this isn’t any fun / I’m two steps from the door / Close your eyes and count to three / Open up, you won’t see me now / Step four, I cannot give you more / If I’m ever gonna make it out alive / The time has finally arrived.”
“As a solo artist, I like to keep things fresh and new — I don’t like to feel like I’m repeating myself,” McIntyre says, true to form.
When asked what about the catalog of hundreds of songs he regularly performs as a solo act or in a group that has attracted thousands to watch him perform for 40 years, McIntyre pauses, then thoughtfully responds:
“People are always amazed to watch passionate, talented working-class kids filled with desire, with the help of crazy, magical music, create what it feels like to capture lightning in a bottle. It’s pretty spectacular to watch people experience people wanting to feel something, having their hearts and emotions grabbed.”
‘Mix hard work and talent to deliver excellence’
McIntyre has reached a fascinating place in his career where he’s nearing achieving multiple generations of fans directly inspired by what — when you add together his years as a solo and group artist plus time spent in front of television and film cameras, plus time on stage — feels like he’s lived three separate lifetimes as a performer.
For the creator, he feels that the timelessness attached to his craft makes him perpetually viable.
He recalls spending nights on the road for the Magic Summer tour with Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff and watching 12- and 13-year-old fans “freaking out and losing their minds” while wholly unaware of what their parents experienced on a tour that bore the same name in 1990.
“On our best nights, the music we make and how we deliver it will forever mix hard work and talent to deliver excellence,” says McIntyre.
What, after 40 years, he would tell the 12-year-old preparing to embark on a road tour that now feels like it’ll never end as a performer with a hand in millions of records sold and life-changing memories made?
“You’re a song and dance man and theater kid and about to get caught up in a boy band. Hang in there, and here’s to hoping you can do your best,” he says, chuckling.
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