Biography of Jonathan Knight

Jonathan Knight was born in 1968, in Massachusetts, to Marlene and Allan Knight. He grew up with five siblings and many other foster children, who lived with the Knights. His father is an Episcopal priest. Jonathan had a normal childhood. His singing career began, while singing in a choir at the Episcopal church.

With the success of the band New Edition, producer Maurice Starr was hunting for fresh members to form a new band group. Therefore, while auditioning in Boston in 1984, he came across Jordan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre and Danny Wood. He united them to form the New Kids On The Block band. Jonathan's younger brother Jordan, had joined the band before him. As Jonathan possessed a strong singing voice, he too was accepted in the group. The members were very young at that time, the youngest being only 12. Starr was the writer, manager and producer of the band. He wrote most of their songs and also planned tours all over the world.

The New Kids On The Block band shot to fame in the late 80s and early 90s and sold nearly 70 million albums. The band faced failure in their early career. Their debut album New Kids On The Block, failed to captivate audiences. Their first single Be My Girl failed to capture attention of masses outside Boston. However, Starr remained diligent and the band released their second album Hangin' Tough and tasted success with it. By the year 1989, the album's first single Please Don't Go Girl, was among the top 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. They even made opening acts for pop star Tiffany, with whom, Jonathan had a relationship. The band achieved a remarkable feat when, Didn't I, Cover Girl, and This One's For The Children, all the three singles (from different albums) were among top hits at the same time. The band was enjoying consecutive successes. In 1990, Jonathan was the member of the band, when they won two American Music Awards.

In 1993, the group parted ways with Maurice Starr, while writing and co-producing the songs themselves. Now, the band came to be known by its acronym NKOTB. For their album Face The Music, the band themselves wrote all the songs. However, the album failed to live up to the audience's and commercial expectations. They started facing adverse times. In 1994, during a promotional tour of Face The Music, Jonathan Knight suffered from panic attacks and emotional breakdowns. It was impossible for him to perform anymore. Therefore, he decided to depart from the band. Shortly after that, the other band members officially decided to disband.

After the split, the band members started families or other individual ventures. Jonathan maintained a low profile. He sought medical help and was able to overcome his attacks. He started a real estate business in Essex, Massachusetts. He was completely isolated from the entertainment business. He rarely made public appearances or gave interviews.

Several attempts made to reunite the NKOTB band failed. However, in 2008, Donnie Wahlberg confirmed that the band had reunited and would soon release a new album. Jonathan and his fellow band members appeared on the Today Show, to announce their new album and tour. Accordingly, fourteen years after its disbandment, the NKOTB released its album The Block that received worldwide acclaim. It was listed among the top albums. The same year, they made a reunion tour 'New Kids On The Block: Live'. The band also had a reunion Bahamas cruise tour in May 2009, which was a huge hit amongst fans, proving the popularity of the band, 23 years after the release of their first album.

Jonathan Knight has a huge fan following and his voice has captured many hearts worldwide.