Joey's interview with Rolling Stone

Joey was interviewed by Rolling Stone to talk about his Holiday Shows and more!

Joey McIntyre Talks New Holiday Show, Retirement Rumors and Why NKOTB Won’t Be Doing a Sphere Residency Anytime Soon

Moira Ward/Zak Cassar

Joey McIntyre is heading to Hollywood for Christmas as the star of a new concert event that celebrates some of the biggest holiday songs and soundtracks of all time.

The New Kids on the Block singer will headline the world-premiere production of “TINSELCOLOR: Holiday Soundtracks LIVE,” a concert experience that features McIntyre, plus 20 other performers and an eight-piece band performing holiday songs in front of a live audience. The show will include hits from more than 25 classic holiday soundtracks, including Home Alone and Elf, Love Actually, The Polar Express, White Christmas and more.

The festive event transforms L.A.’s new venue, CineVita, dubbed the “world’s largest Belgian Spiegeltent” (think: a cross between a circus tent and snowglobe, with stained glass and 3,000 beveled mirrors creating a dazzling, Christmas-y effect). According to producers, audiences can expect an evening “overflowing with nostalgia, energy, and festive spirit, complete with themed cocktails, seasonal treats, and the kind of live performances that make CineVita pulse with life.”

For McIntyre, “TINSELCOLOR” will be a chance for him to perform some of his favorite nostalgic songs, while bringing friends and family together. “I’ve done my share of holiday shows and Christmas albums and it’s important to take the time to feed our soul in that way,” the singer and Jingle Bell Love actor tells Rolling Stone. “It gives us license to dream and be hopeful, and Lord knows we need that nowadays.”

Rolling Stone caught up with McIntyre to talk about his holiday traditions, the NKOTB residency in Las Vegas, and why 40 years into his career, he’s still “Hangin’ Tough” with new projects and new inspiration.

The holidays are probably a busy time for you and your family — what made you want to sign on for this show?

I need the holidays, like any good cynic does. And I think the holidays lets us be a kid again and forget about our day-to-day and all the projects we have, or all the stuff we have to do, and just let go. This is the season for that and this show lets you do that. We all have the visual of being with your family and cuddling up on the couch and watching these great movies and knowing every word of each scene and song, and this show puts that on its feet and makes it an interactive celebration.

Do you have any holiday traditions with your family?

Well last year I was decoupaging match boxes, so I think I checked the box as far as that. I was taking recycled wrapping paper and making them as gifts, and I was so tickled with myself (laughs). I do like taking walks around the neighborhood and seeing the Christmas lights — I’m always asking my kids, ‘Can we take a quick walk?’ I have three teenagers and they’re like, ‘Okay, dad,’ and we’ll walk around the neighborhood. And my wife and her family are great cooks around the holidays. I never knew Thanksgiving could be so good until I married a Jewish woman!

In addition to “TINSELCOLOR,” you’re heading back to Vegas with New Kids on the Block for your “The Right Stuff” residency. How have you been enjoying that?

Mostly the Vegas shows that we’ve done [in the past] have just been tour dates, and this is a legit residency, and we built a huge show that we’re very proud of and excited by. And it’s something that we hadn’t done before in our wonderful history; we hadn’t sat down and built a show like this. So we’re going to do eight shows every three or four months. It kicked off in June, we’re there in November, we’re there in February. I think we’re going to have a few more dates after that. It’s got all the bells and whistles and we get to see our amazing fans who are just like family to us now. We’re still having a good time — we haven’t messed it up yet.

You guys famously toured with the Backstreet Boys in 2011 and now they’re playing at the Sphere. Have you had a chance to see their show? Would New Kids ever consider a Sphere residency?

I think the Sphere is a different experience. I haven’t been there, but I know, for one, my ego would not want to deal with that pulling focus. I mean, I’ve never seen focus pulled more — I need more attention (laughs). But I think the New Kids bread and butter is literally going into the audience and touching and feeling them, and that’s an example of how we made our trade; it’s that touch and feel. And I don’t know if the Sphere is the right spot for that.

It’s clearly a perfect match for the Backstreet Boys with their generation and what they do and their brand. And their look and feel very much fits that. So I celebrate that they’re killing it there. I think we overlap with the Backstreet Boys in February, so I think I’m going to try to catch a show. It will be nice to see them.

You’ve been performing for more than 40 years — what keeps you motivated to take on new projects and keep doing this?

I’m the youngest of nine, so I was gonna call one of my sisters who is kind of at retirement age, and I thought of texting her and saying, ‘Why don’t we retire together? I’ll just be a little early.’

It’s funny, because in some ways, I was shot out of a canon at 13 and I’ve been catching up ever since. And the good news is, I have my health, I’m in good shape and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say I’ve never been better, as far as singing and performing. So I am, for me, very much in my prime. I can’t pull the plug now, after all the work I did. I like to be challenged, and I don’t like to do the same thing over and over again. I think that the New Kids, we really stress trying to keep it fresh for ourselves and for our fans. And so we’ve been able to do that.

Performances for “TINSELCOLOR: Holiday Soundtracks LIVE” begin December 2 and run through December 30, with tickets on sale at feverup.com. Prices range from $19 for standing room tickets to $349 for private booths.