I can’t believe it’s been seven years since Nick Carter and Jordan Knight put out The Nick and Knight collaboration album. That means it’s been about a decade since the NKOTBSB collaboration happened. And while I would love to spend this time celebrating that, Nick and Knight deserves a little bit of love too.
In case you don’t remember, Jordan Knight and Nick Carter spent quite a bit of time together on that collaboration that New Kids on the Block did with Backstreet Boys. As the story goes, they met several years before. However, working together on this tour sparked a new motivation to continue the partnership.
Both of the guys have said in interviews that they realize they have a lot of things in common in terms of their working style. We know they have a lot of things in common in terms of their musical style. We’ve all heard their music, both in their groups and individually. They seem to complement each other well and the album we got as a result has some amazing tracks that are hard to forget. This collaboration also spurred a House of Blues tour which included an unforgettable 90s section where both Jordan and Nick brought back some interesting dance moves.
Looking back at this album, there really were a lot of songs that could have been singles. The only actual single off the record was One More Time, a fun mid-tempo track that has a light-hearted yet sexy video that went with it. Nick and Jordan playing photographers at a photo shoot, but getting drawn into the modeling as well. They also released Just The Two of Us as a promotional single. Also a fun mid-tempo danceable track. In fact, most of the songs fit that genre. A couple of other favorites that I think could’ve done well with radio air-play were Switch, written in part by Bruno Mars. This one has me jamming in my car every time I play it and it’s a frequent flyer in my mix.
I also loved If You Want It, co-written by Nick and Jordan, who also penned one other song, Drive My Car, that made it to the album. And another one I have to call out is Paper, a funky slower track with a heavy beat that gives the guys a chance to show off their vocals a little more. Overall, there were a ton of great tracks on this album and I still play it to this day.
The tour was something else and had a ton of add on perks. The majority (if not all) of the shows were done at House of Blues around the US, which are generally pretty intimate venues. We had standing room only seats for one of the shows and managed to get to the front row. Nick and Jordan put on such a great show, singing some of the songs off their album, of course hitting some of the New Kids and BSBs hits, and dabbled in random 90s music also. The show itself was a great time and it was obvious the guys were having a blast doing it. They also did Meet and Greet packages that included pics and autographs with one or both of them.
I was fortunate to be able to do Nick’s Meet and Greet and had just come off the BSB cruise a few weeks before.
On the cruise, I had a chance to meet and chat with all of the guys except Nick. He was always on the other side of the boat than I was and we could never quite get to him! On the cruise, I’d gotten a BSB onesie signed by all the other BSB members, but I missed Nick. At his Nick and Knight Meet and Greet, I was able to get his signature for the complete set for my baby that was due the next year (and therefore, there at the show with me!) and it was so cool that he was willing to do that! He stayed after pictures and chatted with us about video games and the show before heading off to get ready for it. Others who got a different package had the chance to stand side stage and even do a champagne toast with Nick! I imagine watching the show from side stage and hanging out with him before and during was a blast! Maybe one day he will bring that back!
There you have it, a look back at the Nick and Knight era! One to celebrate and appreciate!