Amy Ryerson
Audio By Carbonatix
Whether you love or loathe them, teen idols are a crucial force in
pop culture. They exist as a foundation to express one’s
deepest adolescent desires. Yet, behind the posters on the wall, some flesh-and-blood humans have to navigate the experience
of being the biggest things on the planet.
Arguably the
cutest of the New Kids on the Block, Boston native Joey McIntyre
faced this role in the mid-’80s at the tender age of 12 when he was recruited for the
nascent supergroup. What followed was hordes of
screaming fans and hit songs like “You’ve Got It (The Right
Stuff),” “Hangin’ Tough” and “Step by Step,” which still drive up the blood pressure of Gen X-ers and millennials.
The New Kids are
still thriving (the band is gearing up for a The Right Stuff
residency in Las Vegas at Park MGM starting June 20), yet that’s just
a tiny part of McIntyre’s CV. The singer/songwriter has starred on
Broadway, booked multiple film and sitcom roles and released seven
solo albums, the most recent of which, Freedom, dropped in
January.
For McIntyre, freedom isn’t just a good album title; it’s an ethos of
staying true to oneself no matter what the rest of the world wants
you to be.
“Obviously,
freedom is a big word,” he says. “I’ve certainly had the
experience in my life where I think I didn’t have choices, and I gave
my power and my freedom to other people, places and things. It can
feel like turning the Titanic sometimes to do very simple things.
I’ve been with this band for 40 years. They’re a huge part of my
life, but it’s important for me and always has been to carve out my
own autonomy. Even in abundance, I think it’s important to carve that
time out for yourself. For me, it was putting the time into the album
and getting honest about what I was writing about.”
Indeed, Freedom
comes across as an incredibly personal record for the artist, from
soulful songs like “Other Things” and “Is Anybody Out There?”
that seem to recall a failed relationship to the banger of a title
track, which pointedly references the steps of “Step by Step.”
But instead of “Step one, we can have lots of fun,”
McIntyre sings, “Step one, this isn’t any fun.” He believes the themes
he touches on will be universal.
“I think
it’s often said the more personal you get, the more universal you
get, the more people can relate with it; that’s the irony,” he
says. “I feel it’s all whatever the audience says at the end of
the day. I’ve seen people comment about things, and they don’t quite
get [what I’m saying], and they don’t even want to get it. They might
just want Joey McIntyre to sing fun songs, and they get this from
that album. The idea is to get as deep as you want, but keep it
moving, have them feeling in their gut regardless of what I’m talking
about.”
Nothing
illustrates this quite like the video
for the title track. The clip, which is filmed in the
West Hollywood club The Abbey, features McIntyre in a surprisingly
intimate state. He is prepping for a performance by shading his chest muscles with makeup and rehearsing dance moves in the mirror, a
masculine take on body positivity.
“It’s fun, but it’s vulnerable,” he says of the clip. “The owner of [the Abbey] is a producer of a show I did off-Broadway called DRAG:
The Musical, so I asked if we could have a favor. It’s kind of
like a dancing with myself kind of vibe, but when you make something,
you jump in, and the universe helps you creatively. It was a more
conventional woman’s experience. I basically have a girdle on, and
then I put on this makeup, and then I look great! I love my wife
plain and simple, but I know she’s not going to go out that way, and
it was fun to live in that experience.”
Never afraid to
poke fun at himself, McIntyre has mastered the trick of being self-confident and down-to-earth. Having navigated the slings and
arrows of worldwide fame for all of his adult life, he’s managed to
avoid the traps that have felled other boy band stars, most recently
One Direction’s Liam Payne, who died last fall after falling from a balcony in Buenos Aires.
“We were
blessed in a lot of ways,” he says. “Our parents were
working class, up-by-your bootstraps [types] – like have a good
attitude, get a job, go get ’em,” he recalls. “We came from such
hard-scrabble stock. There was a lot of unknowing and ignorance when
we started. We didn’t know what it was going to be. The first [New Kids] album was a flop, so it was all about us performing, doing the next
show and trying to tell the world we were worth it. Our family kept
us in check; we kept each other in check, and the city of Boston kept
us in check. There were tough, tough times when you’d go from the
biggest group in the world to [being] nobody. … It wasn’t easy, but we somehow hung in there.”
As performance
was the driving force behind McIntyre’s life, the 52-year-old is now facing a leveling-up. Admitting he may have spread
himself too thin in his 20s and 30s acting in film, doing theatre and creating music, he’s now secure with what he can create and is
entirely comfortable with his talent. Whether it’s going solo,
performing with the New Kids, or prepping for a sequel for his
fan-favorite 2024 Christmas movie, Jingle Bell Love, McIntyre
knows what he’s got to offer, and he’s secure that both longtime fans
and people just discovering him are going to love it.
“My dad said
that 50 was his favorite year when I was 30, and I was like, “What?”
but now it makes total sense,” he says. “Jerry Bruckheimer
isn’t knocking down my door, but whatever that leveling up is, is
different for everybody. For me, it happens to look like a solo album
and solo tour. I’m about to film the sequel to the Christmas movie;
then, I’m going to Vegas to start the residency with New Kids. It
does feel rich. It feels like I’m a journeyman now. I bring a lot to
the table, and that’s the leveling up-we know what we bring to the
table.”
Joey
McIntyre brings the Freedom:
Phase One Tour to The Studio at the Factory, 2727 Canton St., on April
5 at 7 p.m.
