Celebrities
EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan Knight on NKOTB’s ‘Fuller House’ cameo
At the turn of the ’90s, New Kids on the Block ruled the airwaves, Full House ruled the small screen — and both ruled the covers of teen magazines. As their paths collided at a Christmas party, what started as a teen crush would develop into lifetime friendships… And culminate in a cameo by the group on the TV hit’s Netflix reboot, “Fuller House” (Dec. 9).
“It’s funny, because in the ’80s we’d be on the cover of the magazines and you’d also see the ‘Full House’ kids, Neil Patrick Harris, Fred Savage and so on,” Jonathan Knight told us.
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“It was like we knew them, because they were always right there on the cover with us! Then one year ‘Big Bopper’ magazine hosted a Christmas party, to get all the teen stars together — and that’s where the Joe [McIntyre] crush happened. Candace [Cameron Bure] was a big fan of Joe’s and I just remember Joe being so smitten with her that night.”
The cute pair were snapped dancing together at the bash in an adorable pic, which they recently recreated.
Knight later met Andrea Barber (Kimmy Gibbler) at a NKOTB Town Hall fan event in Los Angeles in 2012.
“Somebody told me Andrea Barber was there and I was like, ‘Who’s Andrea Barber?’ They said ‘Kimmy Gibbler’ and I was like, ‘Oh!’ She was the sweetest person and it was such a pleasure meeting her. She’s been on a couple of our cruises since then. I never really knew what big fans they were! It wasn’t until we got back together that I started seeing them at our shows and went, ‘Wow, we really were a big part of their childhood!’”
Barber has since run marathons alongside McIntyre, and attended NKOTB concerts with Bure. Following the actresses’ hilarious choreographed performance of “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” in the show’s February premiere, Barber and Bure pushed for the “Remix” singers to make a guest appearance on the series.
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Knight says Donnie Wahlberg’s filming commitments for his CBS series, “Blue Bloods,” forced the boy band to cancel three times last year. Rescheduling for Season 2, Wahlberg was once again held up by filming at the last minute — but this time Knight, brother Jordan, McIntyre and Danny Wood went ahead with the cameo, which involves D.J.’s birthday party.
“It was really cool, because they would come to our shows and were on our turf and we always made them feel comfortable and were excited about them being there,” says Knight. “And then we went to set and were on their turf, and they reciprocated that love and welcoming spirit. It was so great seeing them in their element and the excitement that we were finally there. Candace, Jodie [Sweetin] and Andrea are amazing, funny ladies and killed it, take after take.”
“I should hang out with them more. Candace is always inviting me to her winery in Napa and Andrea texted me yesterday. They’re both so down-to-earth and unaffected by being child stars and stars in general. Candace left us each a bottle of wine from her winery and that’s just cool because I love that whole romantic notion of owning a winery and sitting on your porch drinking wine — and that’s her life!”
Speaking of romance, the singer recently got engaged to long-time love Harley Rodriguez. The couple have been together since 2008 and Knight proposed during their recent African vacation.
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“For so long we talked about it and it had just gotten to a point where it was like, ‘Oh my God, I gotta do it,’” he says. “It’s just the next step in moving closer to marriage.”
While the pair haven’t set a date, Knight has plenty besides wedding planning to keep him busy in coming months. As well as playing the iHeart80s Party in San Jose next month, the singer confirms that NKOTB are currently working on new songs for their upcoming Total Package Tour, with Paula Abdul and Boyz II Men. The tracks will mark the first new music from the group since their 2013 record “10.”
“We’re working on some songs right now,” shares Knight, who expects to see the ‘Fuller House’ girls at their upcoming shows. “Not a full-length album, but just a few songs to bring something fresh to the show.”
“Fuller House” Season 2 is available now on Netflix.