Step by Step (New Kids on the Block song) explained

Step by Step
Cover:Step by Step single cover.jpg
Caption:Single cover
Type:single
Artist:New Kids on the Block
Album:Step by Step
B-Side:Valentine Girl
Released:May 10, 1990
Recorded:1989
Genre:Dance-pop, R&B
Length:4:29
Label:Columbia
Producer:Maurice Starr
Prev Title:This One's for the Children
Prev Year:1989
Next Title:Valentine Girl
Next Year:1990

"Step by Step" is a song by American boyband New Kids on the Block, released on May 10, 1990 as the first single from the album of the same name (1990). It is the group's biggest-selling hit single. The lead vocals were sung by Jordan Knight. Danny Wood sang "Step 1", Donnie Wahlberg sang "Step 2", Jordan Knight sang "Step 3", Joey McIntyre sang "Step 4", and Jonathan Knight sang "Step 5".

"Step by Step" was initially recorded by one of Maurice Starr's other groups, The Superiors. It was released as a single in 1987 on Motown Records but it was not successful. The New Kids cover of the song on the other hand was a huge worldwide hit, becoming one of the biggest selling singles of 1990. The New Kids on the Block's cover spent three weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was eventually certified platinum; it also spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart, in total "Step by Step" spent five weeks at No. 1 in the North American charts. It also peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and was also a top 10 hit in the Australian, French, West German, Irish and Norwegian charts.

Critical reception

Bill Coleman from Billboard wrote, "Unstoppable teen idols preview upcoming album of the same name with a perky pop/dance confection rife with disco-era string fills. The phenomenon continues."[1] Greg Sandow from Entertainment Weekly praised "Step by Step" as "a wonderfully ingratiating morsel of pop. It’s nourished by a chugging beat and (for dessert, so to speak) offers perky disco strings and a brief flash of silver falsetto from New Kid Jordan Knight."[2] Ben Thompson from NME commented, "The New Kids can be forgiven a certain caution as to where they are putting their feet, given their recent run-in with a malevolent cuddly toy. Excepting some nice Saturday Night Fever fake strings, all potential points of interest have been relentlessly expunged from this record."[3] In their review of the album, People Magazine found that the music "is in fact better in spots than on their previous effort", noting that the song is "funkier".[4] Rolling Stone described it as "a peppy reintroduction to the group that breaks up its generalized pledges of devotion with quick spots from each member, one-liners coyly called "ad libs" on the lyric sheet, although they're faithfully printed. (Nothing but nothing on this record happens by chance.)"[5]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Step by Step" was directed by American director Larry Jordan.[6] Donnie Wahlberg's brother Mark Wahlberg also appears in the video.

Impact and legacy

"Step by Step" was voted #4 in a Smash Hits poll of "Best Boyband songs...Ever" and also made the list of the top 30 Guilty Pleasures on About.com's music site.[7]

The song was voted #7 in a viewer poll of the greatest boy band/girl band songs on New Zealand show UChoose40.[8] It was also voted #1 in a viewer poll of the greatest Guilty Pleasures on the same show.

In August 2007, it was confirmed that "Step by Step" would be part of a 30-song track list in the new edition of the SingStar series titled SingStar 90s, a karaoke style game on classic '90s songs.[9]

Furthermore, it was chosen as part of a 32-track dance game in November 2009 for the Wii, called Just Dance.

In January 2015, Heat magazine's TV Channel placed it at #17 in their "Greatest Boyband Anthems" countdown.

Track listings

  1. "Step by Step" - 4:27
  2. "Valentine Girl" - 3:57
  1. "Step by Step" - 4:27
  2. "Valentine Girl" - 3:57
  1. "Step by Step" (Radio Edit) - 3:59
  2. "Step by Step" (LP Version) - 4:27
  3. "Step by Step" (12" Club Remix) - 5:25

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1990)Peak
position[12]
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[13] 5
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] 7
France (SNEP)10
Greece (IFPI)[15] 2
Spain (Top 40 Radio)[16] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 13
Zimbabwe (ZIMA)[18] 10

Year-end charts

Chart (1990)Position
Australia (ARIA)[19] 33
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[20] 17
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[21] 33
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 22
US Billboard Hot 100[23] 33

Decade-end charts

External links

Notes and References

  1. Bill . Coleman . Single Reviews . . May 19, 1990 . 77 . October 28, 2020 . August 8, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200808074404/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1990/BB1990.pdf . live .
  2. [Greg Sandow|Sandow, Greg]
  3. Ben. Thompson. NME. Singles. June 9, 1990. February 24, 2023.
  4. Picks and Pans Review: Step by Step . . July 16, 1990 . November 13, 2020 . November 16, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201116110352/https://people.com/archive/picks-and-pans-review-step-by-step-vol-34-no-2/ . live .
  5. "The kids are just alright. Rolling Stone. August 9, 1990. Issue 584.
  6. Web site: New Kids on the Block: Step by Step. IMDb. June 15, 2022.
  7. Web site: Guilty Pleasures: A Month of Pop Music Guilty Pleasures . 2007-08-22 . 2013-05-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130509092823/http://top40.about.com/od/guiltypleasures/Guilty_Pleasures.htm . live .
  8. Web site: Home - TV - FOUR . C4tv.co.nz . 2014-06-05 . 2008-08-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080802174342/http://www.c4tv.co.nz/LineUp/UChoose40/UChoose40Results/tabid/177/Default.aspx . live .
  9. Web site: SingStar '90s - Solus (PS2) : Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games . Amazon UK . 2017-09-15 . 2021-10-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211029075551/https://www.amazon.co.uk/rd/uedata?ld&v=0.219733.0&id=DGDCTTCRPQ7K3141ZVE5&sw=1600&sh=1000&vw=1114&vh=70015&m=1&sc=DGDCTTCRPQ7K3141ZVE5&ue=5&bb=230&ns=305&x1=687&cf=1280&be=1345&fp=321&fcp=321&pc=2465&tc=-361&na_=-361&ul_=-1635494148342&_ul=-1635494148342&rd_=-1635494148342&_rd=-1635494148342&fe_=-357&lk_=-357&_lk=-357&co_=-354&_co=-344&sc_=-353&rq_=-344&rs_=-46&_rs=1065&dl_=-29&di_=1437&de_=1438&_de=1438&_dc=2465&ld_=2465&_ld=-1635494148342&ntd=0&ty=0&rc=0&hob=3&hoe=6&ld=2467&t=1635494150809&ctb=1&rt=cf:13-0-0-7-1-1-1__ld:15-0-0-8-2-2-1&ec=18&ecf=0&csmtags=aui%7Caui:aui_build_date:3.21.7-2021-10-25%7Cewc:unpersist%7Cewc:unpersist:emptycartewc:bviewewcewc:unrecewc:cartsize:0ewc:auinavbarfls-eu-amazon-co-ukadblk_no&viz=visible:5&pty=Detail&spty=Glance&pti=B000T55QSW&tid=DGDCTTCRPQ7K3141ZVE5&aftb=1 . live .
  10. Step By Step. New Kids on the Block. 1990. US 7-inch Single liner notes. Columbia. 38-73343.
  11. Step By Step. New Kids on the Block. 1990. Canadian 7-inch Single liner notes. Columbia. 38-73343.
  12. Web site: New Kids On The Block - Step By Step . ultratop.be . 2014-06-05 . 2021-10-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211029075551/https://www.ultratop.be/nl/song/855/New-Kids-On-The-Block-Step-By-Step . live .
  13. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. June 23, 1990. June 19, 2021. Music & Media. June 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210628131306/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1990/MM-1990-06-23.pdf. live.
  14. Book: Pennanen, Timo . 2006 . Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 . 1st . Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava . Helsinki. 978-951-1-21053-5 . 263 . Finnish .
  15. Web site: Top 3 Greece. Music & Media. August 11, 1990. March 22, 2018.
  16. Book: Fernando Salaverri. Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002. 1st. September 2005. Fundación Autor-SGAE. Spain. 84-8048-639-2.
  17. Web site: "Step by Step" on Swedish Charts . 2010-03-17 . 2012-10-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121024114651/http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=New+Kids+On+The+Block&titel=Step+By+Step&cat=s . live .
    • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  19. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Singles for 1990. ARIA. September 8, 2023.
  20. Web site: Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990. RPM. November 26, 2017. September 21, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110921133044/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.9139&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=4dp17sl7hp9qmhhj3vmcenr836. live.
  21. Eurochart Hot 100 of 1990. Music & Media. 7. 51. 22 December 1990. 60. 29800226. 15 January 2020. American Radio History. 26 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210926190110/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1990/MM-1990-12-22.pdf. live.
  22. Web site: End of Year Charts 1990. Recorded Music NZ. December 3, 2017. December 4, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171204061255/https://nztop40.co.nz/index.php/chart/?chart=3879. live.
  23. December 22, 1990 . 1990 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles . YE-14 . Billboard . 102 . 51.
  24. Web site: Top 100 singles of the 1990s. Lwin. Nanda. Jam!. https://web.archive.org/web/20000829070927/http://www.jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicCharts/100_1990.html. August 29, 2000. March 26, 2022.

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