Best known as the youngest member of New Kids on the Block, singer Joey McIntyre also enjoyed success as a solo artist and actor. As NKOTB fever cooled down in the mid-'90s, he branched out for the first time on his own, scoring a gold-certified hit with his 1999 debut solo effort, Stay the Same. In the decades that followed, he expanded his acting resumé (notably joining the Broadway casts of Wicked and Waitress), while occasionally dipping back into solo endeavors. Beginning in 2008, he also rejoined his New Kids bandmates for a series of highly successful reunion tours that introduced them to a new generation. Born in Needham, Massachusetts, on December 31, 1972, McIntyre was just 13 years old when he joined the New Kids in 1985. By the time he was old enough to obtain a driver's license, the boys had topped the pop charts with their second album, Hangin' Tough, and by 1991 they had also topped Forbes magazine's list of highest-paid entertainers. Following the release of 1994's Face the Music (credited to NKOTB), the quintet disbanded. After taking his first steps into the acting world, McIntyre returned to music and began composing his own material. His debut solo album, Stay the Same, appeared on Columbia in 1999. The record was certified gold, aided in part by the title track (a Top 40 hit) and the unprecedented popularity of teen pop during the late '90s. Later that year, he contributed "Remember Me" to New Kids bandmate Donnie Wahlberg's film Southie. His sophomore album, Meet Joe Mac, arrived in 2001, with the self-released 8:09 landing in 2004. That same year, he made his Broadway debut as the male lead in Wicked, which carried him into 2005. Jumping from the stage to the television screen, McIntyre joined the cast of the first season of Dancing with the Stars, finishing in third place with partner Ashly DelGrosso. In 2006, McIntyre and the Dancing cast embarked on a national tour, which coincided with the release of his fifth solo effort, Talk to Me, a set of covers featuring his takes on standards by the likes of Cole Porter and Frank Sinatra. In 2008, New Kids on the Block reunited, marking their return with the single "Summertime." Later that year, they released their comeback album, The Block, which rose to number two on the Billboard 200. In the midst of the highly publicized reunion, McIntyre managed to record another solo album, 2009's Here We Go Again, before resuming duties with his bandmates. NKOTB embarked on a series of world tours, including a stint with the Backstreet Boys in 2011 that yielded a collaborative album credited to NKOTBSB. Outside of NKOTBSB, McIntyre released a 2011 holiday collection, Come Home for Christmas. Back in the world of acting, he appeared in the 2013 comedy movie The Heat; featured on multiple episodes of the 2016 season of the television series Fuller House; and joined the 2019 cast of another Broadway hit, Waitress. Kicking off the 2020s, McIntyre returned to his solo music, teaming with producer Emanuel Kiriakou (Selena Gomez, Jason Derulo) for the single "Own This Town." ~ Neil Z. Yeung