New Kids on Block, 98 Degrees , Boyz2Men

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After his success with New Edition, producer Maurice Starr decided to replicate the singing group by substituting suburban white kids for the young black teenagers. The result was New Kids on the Block, a pioneering boy band that eclipsed the popularity of Starr's previous group while laying the groundwork for the teen pop boom of the late-'90s. During the New Kids' heyday, the group reportedly earned over one million dollars per week, and their string of hit singles -- the bulk of which reinterpreted R&B-styled street music for a young female audience -- made them one of the era's most successful acts. Following a botched attempt to rough up their clean-cut image with 1994's Face the Music, however, the boys disbanded, only to reconvene 14 years later for a comeback album and supporting tour.

In 1985, Maurice Starr launched a citywide talent search in Boston, where he hoped to assemble an adolescent vocal group. Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, Jon Knight, Danny Wood, and Joe McIntyre were soon recruited to join, with Starr presiding over the young teenagers as manager, choreographer, songwriter and producer. A contract with Columbia Records followed, and New Kids on the Block made an awkward, enthusiastic debut with their self-titled album in 1986. At the time, the group's oldest members were barely 16 years old, while McIntyre was only 12.

For their next album, 1988's Hangin' Tough, New Kids on the Block bolstered their neo-bubblegum beginnings with slick, radio-ready pop songs. From the saccharine ballad "I'll Be Loving You Forever" to the title track's stab at funk, the album spun off a seemingly endless streak of hits in 1988 and 1989. Five songs entered the Top Ten, and even the group's Christmas album (released during the height of New Kids mania in late 1989) went double platinum, effectively riding the coattails of Hangin' Tough up the Billboard charts. In another savvy marketing move, Columbia Records released a single from the group's previous album, which became a Top Ten hit in 1989 despite being three years old. It helped jump-start sales for the middling debut record, and both Hangin' Tough and New Kids on the Block climbed to multi-platinum status before the decade's end.

New Kids mania continued in 1990 with Step by Step, whose title track became the group's biggest single to date. The album sold three million copies in America -- a far cry from Hangin' Tough's eight million copies, perhaps, but a remarkable feat nevertheless -- and also fared well internationally, moving an additional 16 million units in other parts of the world.