The Boston Globe interviewed Jon and Jordan about them being on "Rock the Block" and more. One interesting thing they said is the Vegas Residency will be 2 years and at this time they don't expect to be back on the road until 2027.
How two New Kids wound up ‘rocking the block’ on HGTV
Jonathan and Jordan Knight talk renovating houses, the upcoming NKOTB Vegas residency, and their undying love for Massachusetts: “The best place to live on earth.”
By Lauren Daley
The joy of talking to Jonathan and Jordan Knight is their authentic Boston-ness, their palpable brotherly love.
For two guys who grew up as actual teen idols in New Kids on the Block, they’ve got a down-to-earth, just-guys-in-line-at-Dunkin’ vibe.
With dropped-r accents (brother is “brothah”) they laugh with each other, compliment each other, recall old memories, rhapsodize about Boston, sometimes answer at once, or continue each other’s thoughts.
It’s a homegrown Dorchester chemistry evidently charming HGTV viewers with something akin to Boston Rob’s allure on CBS’s “Survivor.”
“Not only have I not have not left the Boston area — I haven’t left the little small town I’ve lived in for 35 years,” Jon Knight, 56, tells me in our phone interview from his Essex home.
“I had a stint living in Los Angeles, stint in New York, but when I’d visit home, I’d think: ‘What am I doing? This is the best place to live on Earth.’”
“We have season tickets to the Celtics; we have friends here, family here,” adds Jordan, 54, who’s merged into the call from his Milton home. “Boston has just been home forever.”
“Just a magical, magical place,” Jon adds.
Recently, the Boston-loving brothers spent two months living together in Utah to compete on HGTV’s “Rock The Block.”
Hosted by Ty Pennington, “Rock the Block” gives four pairs of renovators six weeks and $250,000 to renovate identical properties. The pair whose home clinches the highest appraised value wins bragging rights — and a street named in their honor. (New Kids with a Block.)
Season 6 premiered on HGTV April 14; past episodes are now streaming on HBO MAX. The next episode is May 5 on HGTV at 9 p.m.
Jon, a life-long renovator, is the HGTV vet here. He’s starred on a slew of the network’s shows: “Farmhouse Fixer: Camp Revamp” saw him fixing his own New Hampshire properties with help from Jordan. Others include New England-set “Farmhouse Fixer,” South Shore-set “Houses with History,” “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge,” and more.
While Jordan helped on “Camp Revamp,” and was a guest judge on “Rock the Block” previously, he’s, well, more of the new kid on the block, renovation-wise.
The Hollywood Reporter declared that the brothers “breathed new life into HGTV.” The trade outlet reported that “Farmhouse Fixer: Camp Revamp,” was among 2024’s top five highest-rated freshman series among adults aged 25-54. House Beautiful proclaimed Jon is “Taking HGTV by storm.”
I called the Dorchester natives, ironically, on New Kids on the Block Day (swear I didn’t plan that) to talk home renovations, working together on stage and off, their upcoming New Kids residency in Vegas starting June 20 — book your flights now, Blockheads — swan faucets and more.
Boston.com: I love that you guys teamed up to renovate a home together. How did this happen?
Jon: I competed [on “Rock the Block”] two seasons ago; me and my brother judged three seasons ago, so it’s a show I’m familiar with. This year they asked me to do it again, and I was like, “Ooooh, let’s switch it up. Let me bring my brother.” We headed out to Utah for eight weeks. We lived in an apartment together, and just had a really fun time.
That’s awesome. Jordan, what was it like joining Jon in renovating?
Jordan: It was a lot of fun. I learned a whole lot. I’m more of an amateur, but I’ve been watching Jon [renovate] for a long time now. I joined him in renovating his cabins up in New Hampshire for “Camp Revamp” and caught the bug —the renovation bug and the TV bug. He asked me if to do this with him. I guess he had enough confidence in me, and I had a blast. Salt Lake City is beautiful. It was just an amazing experience.
So I don’t want to give away spoilers for people who haven’t started streaming, but give me a little tease about what happened in the first episodes.
Jon: The swan!
Jordan: [laughs]
Jon: Yeah, nobody liked our choice of bathroom faucet in the powder room on the first floor. Jordan called it “a swan flanked by two ducks.” I thought it was cute as a conversation piece. We took a chance with it. But people were like, “What’s up with the swan sink?”
[laughs] That’s great.
Jon: But bar that, I thought the rest of the bathroom looked great. I thought we did a good job. We were getting our feet wet together as a team. As the show went on, I think we progressed.
You guys have both now completed and judged — which did you like better?
Jon: Being a judge is hard because you’re critiquing work. On the flip-side, as a competitor, you’re at that house 18 hours a day, trying to make everything perfect, trying to meet deadlines. But I like competing better. Judging was hard — you hurt a lot of people’s feelings. [laughs] That’s not what I like to do.
Jordan: It’s tough judging. All the competitors have different styles and tastes — who are you to say which one is better? It’s a tougher schedule to be a competitor, but I think you get more satisfaction.
I can appreciate that. Jon, you’ve been on a bunch of HGTV shows at this point. How did you first get into renovation?
Jon: My dad is a contractor. When I was ages 10 to 15, I was the one that had to carry the shingles up the ladder, go get the coffee and donuts. [laughs] So, it’s always been in my blood. When New Kids broke up in ’94 I started a company with two partners, and we started buying houses at auction in Boston, renovating them and selling them. That went on to condos in Mission Hill and subdivisions in Dedham. So it’s been a long time that I’ve been doing this.
What do you like about it?
Jon: People don’t think of construction or home designing as art. But it just goes with all the artistry in my blood— whether it’s getting on stage with the New Kids, or picking out a paint color for an exterior, it’s all just real cool artistry.
That’s a great point.
Jon: In ’94 when I started my company, we’d be working on a house, and the neighbors would walk by and thank us: “Oh my goodness, this was the ugliest house on the street. Now, it’s so pretty. You just raised our property values, and we don’t have to look at this eyesore.” It’s very satisfying. Just like making New Kids fans happy when we’re on stage is very satisfying. Overall, I have two great jobs.
That’s true. Jordan, how did you get into it?
Jordan: I haven’t always been into renovation. I’ve been more into music, doing the New Kids on the Block, solo projects, stuff like that. But I’m a partner in restaurants here in Milton — Novara, Abby Park, and a restaurant coming soon, Marbella — so I’ve seen the renovations and transformations of those buildings. And just in watching Jon, it’s cool to see something beautiful come out of nothing, really. It’s something I’ve always wanted to get into, but I’ve always been more on the sidelines. Now I can see why Jon gets a lot of satisfaction from it — you’re creating something that lasts. Every time you look at it, you can say, “Hey, I built that.”
Jon: That’s the beauty of being our age as well. We’re probably each on our fifth home at this point. So just going through home-renovations — Jordan’s done-over a bunch of his houses; he just designed a kitchen for his house in Milton — there’s a lot of life experience.
Jon, I bet you’ve redone your own homes.
Jon: Yes. So I have a problem. [laughs] I collect houses.
[laughs] OK.
Jon: So I have four houses right now, and I’m just working on the last one. It’s a brand new house, which is different for me. I’ve always owned antique houses. We’re building now, but we’re doing our best to bring that old farmhouse feel.
That’s awesome. Where’s the new house?
Jon: All are on my property — a family compound in Essex. As houses went for sale on the block, I just snatched them up.
Wow. So this is the first show that sees you two working as a team, competing. What was it like?
Jon: It was really exciting to share that part of my life with my brother. When we were kids, we shared a bedroom, shared clothes, went on the same school bus. Then New Kids started and we shared a dressing room, stage, tour bus. That I got to do this with my brother was really special.
I love that. Jordan, what about you?
Jordan: I feel the same. Since we were little, we’ve been attached at the hip, going to the same schools, sharing the same bedroom, singing in the church choir, being in the New Kids. It’s just another thing we’ve done together. It was really great to see Jon in his element. In the New Kids, Jon has seen me more in my element, more the lead singer, say. But doing this with Jon, he was the lead in this endeavor. To watch him and to learn from him was really cool.
That’s true. You guys seem to have a special bond. And were you filming at the same time as you were touring with New Kids?
Jordan: No, we’d just finished the tour. I think it was maybe two weeks after the tour that we went to Utah.
Jon: That would have been hell touring and doing this show.
Jordan: We would have dropped.
[laughs]
Jon: Last year on tour, I was finishing up “Farmhouse” — I’d fly home on my days off and film and then go right back to the New Kids. It was a lot of work.
Oh my God, I bet. So the New Kids announced a 35th anniversary reissue of “Step by Step” releasing June 13. What’s up next?
Jordan: We’re going to Vegas!
Jon: We have a two-year residency starting in June. So that’ll keep us out there for two years. Then probably 2027 we’ll go back on the road. I’m so looking forward to being home during the week and just going out there for the weekend. It’s really going to be great for that balance of home life and work life.
Jordan: Plus it’s Vegas!
[laughs] This is the first-ever New Kids residency, at the Dolby Live at Park MGM. You guys must be pumped.
Jon: It’s super cool. It’s gonna be so much fun.
Jordan: We’ve always talked about doing Vegas. We actually joked that when we don’t want to tour anymore we’ll set up shop in Vegas, like the older acts do. It used to be that you go there to retire. But now it’s even better because groups are going there to be cool — Usher, Lady Gaga. It kind of re-energizes their career.
It’s true, Adele, John Legend, Christina Aguilera. And especially with the Sphere — Dead & Co, Phish. Will you do more HGTV shows during the residency?
Jon: We’ll see. That’s all I can say. [laughs] HGTV has been absolutely the best network to work with. It’s one big happy family. So, I’ll definitely be doing some more stuff with them.
There are a few local shows and stars, too. Taniya Nayak is from Milton.
Jordan: Yeah! I see her at the Starbucks all the time.
[laughs] And you were telling me about the New Kids tour last summer. It must feel magical when you’re all on stage together.
Jon: Yeah, you know, there’s so many groups out there [where] everybody hates each other. And it’s so weird that we all met in elementary school and have been great friends ever since. I always remember we were doing a morning talk show. The host walked into the room and all five of us were squished into a loveseat. He goes, “Guys, there’s other chairs in here.”
[laughs]
Jon: We were like, “Nope, we’re good.” He actually said that he’s never seen that before. That was such a compliment to our history and our respect for each other.
[laughs] I love that. Jordan, what about you? Seems like you guys have a natural chemistry.
Jordan: Definitely. It’s funny, we were just talking about groups who tour together but don’t talk to each other. That must be miserable. I think one of the appeals of the New Kids — we’re always trying to figure: what’s the big deal? [laughs] — I think what it is, we have fun together on stage, it’s infectious, that enthusiasm. When you get along and you’re having fun, you’re just more spontaneous and creative. I think it’s infectious.
I can see that. There’s something very authentic about you guys — just the way you interact with each other. So we were talking about your homes in Boston. What keeps you here?
Jordan: Family.
Jon: Definitely family.
Interview has been edited and condensed. Lauren Daley is a freelance culture writer and regular Boston.com contributor.
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