Hangin' Tough

Hangin' Tough
Studio album by New Kids on the Block
Released September 6, 1988 (1988-09-06)
Recorded 1988
Studio
Genre
Length 42:02
Label Columbia
Producer Maurice Starr
New Kids on the Block chronology
New Kids on the Block
(1986)		 Hangin' Tough
(1988)		 Merry, Merry Christmas
(1989)
Singles from Hangin' Tough
  1. "Please Don't Go Girl"
    Released: April 16, 1988
  2. "You Got It (The Right Stuff)"
    Released: November 7, 1988
  3. "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)"
    Released: April 10, 1989
  4. "Hangin' Tough"
    Released: July 3, 1989
  5. "Cover Girl"
    Released: August 22, 1989

Hangin' Tough is the second album by American boy band New Kids on the Block, released on September 6, 1988 by Columbia Records. It is widely regarded as the breakthrough album of the group's career and has been praised by some music critics, gaining positive reviews for their musical transition from bubblegum pop to urban contemporary, blended with popular rock music. Originally the group's label had already planned to end their contract when their first album in 1986 garnered little commercial and critical attention which was nearly led to their failure. However, Maurice Starr, the group's producer, diligently persuaded the label to let them record for a second album.

Hangin' Tough led the group to success due to the emergence of their music to radio airplays and creation of music videos for each released single, showcasing the group's visual appeal. Their popularity was eventually built as they made TV appearances and embarked on promotional tours. By the end of 1989, the album topped on the US Billboard 200 charts, while peaked at number two both on Canadian Albums Chart on the same year and in the UK Albums Chart on the following year. The album also has a home-media video release entitled New Kids on the Block: Hangin' Tough which is a documented musical film about the group's biographical career which it was released in 1989.[1] It also contains a series of music videos, live performances, and exclusive interviews from the group and their fans. The album and the film itself, both were receiving few accolades: two American Music Awards and at least one Grammy Award nomination.

With sales of more than seventeen million copies worldwide to date, Hangin' Tough became the group's best-selling album and it was certified Diamond in Canada by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) with sales of more than one million units, while eight times Platinum in the U.S. by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[2] The album spawned five commercial singles: "Please Don't Go Girl", "You Got It (The Right Stuff)", "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)", "Hangin' Tough", and "Cover Girl". All were top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, making them the first teen act to gain such chart success.

Singles

Five singles were released from Hangin' Tough. The lead single "Please Don't Go Girl" was released in April 1988. The song became a major hit on radio stations nationwide and became their first top-ten single in Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number ten. The second single was "You Got It (The Right Stuff)", a worldwide hit which peaked at number three on the Billboard charts. "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)", a ballad, was the third single released and became their first number-one in Billboard Hot 100. The title track was released next and also reached number one. "Cover Girl" was the fifth released; it peaked at number two.

"My Favorite Girl" was released in January 1990 as a promotional single sent to radio, but was not made commercially available at retail.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Amazon.com[4]
Robert ChristgauC+[5]

The album received positive reviews from music critics. Reviews of Dan Heilman & Bil Carpenter of Allmusic said "Good songs collected by New Kids mastermind Maurice Starr highlight this smash, including I'll Be Loving You (Forever), You Got It (The Right Stuff), Please Don't Go Girl, and the title track. Tight, warm, even soulful harmony on the ballads."

Robert Christgau, gave a grade of C+ to the album. He stated that: "At five million and counting, this isn't the rank offense its demographic tilt would lead you to expect-auteur Maurice Starr has positioned two exceedingly cute up-tempo hits atop two overly balladic sides. Really, why shouldn't a black svengali mastermind the safe white R&B ripoff for once? Funkier than the Osmonds or Milli Vanilli. As hip as New Edition."

Accolades

Hangin' Tough won two American Music Awards in January 1990—the "Favorite Pop/Rock Album" and "Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group", beating up Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl & Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel in Favorite Pop/Rock Album category, and Bon Jovi & Milli Vanilli in Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group category. The Hangin' Tough music film was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Long Form (now called Best Music Film) at the 1990 Grammy Awards, but lost to Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson, beating up Eurythmics's Savage, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, and Pink Floyd's In Concert: Delicate Sound of Thunder.

Track listing

All songs were produced by Maurice Starr.

No. TitleWriter(s)Lead vocals Length
1. "You Got It (The Right Stuff)"  Maurice Starr
 4:13
2. "Please Don't Go Girl"  Starr
 4:31
3. "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)"  StarrJordan Knight 4:28
4. "Cover Girl"  StarrDonnie Wahlberg 4:08
5. "I Need You"  StarrDonnie Wahlberg 3:38
6. "Hangin' Tough"  StarrDonnie Walhberg 4:18
7. "I Remember When"  
  • Starr
  • Eban Kelly
  • Jimmy Randolph
Joey McIntyre 4:13
8. "What'cha Gonna Do (About It)"  Starr
  • Jordan Knight
  • Donnie Wahlberg
  • Danny Wood
  • Joey McIntyre
 3:59
9. "My Favorite Girl"  
  • Starr
  • Jordan Knight
  • Donnie Wahlberg
  • Danny Wood
  • Jordan Knight
  • Danny Wood
 5:33
10. "Hold On"  StarrDanny Wood 3:39

Personnel

Charts and certifications

Chart positions

Chart (1988-1990) Peak
Position
Australian Albums Chart[6] 7
Austrian Albums Chart[7] 8
Canadian Albums Chart[8] 2
Dutch Albums Chart[9] 33
European Albums Chart[10] 7
Finnish Albums Chart[11] 2
French Albums Chart[12] 43
German Albums Chart[13] 4
Japanese Albums Chart[14] 31
New Zealand Albums Chart[15] 3
Norwegian Albums Chart[16] 6
Spanish Albums Chart[17] 27
Swiss Albums Chart[18] 19
UK Albums Chart[19] 2
US Billboard 200[20] 1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[21] 40

Year-end charts

Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[22] 28
Canadian Albums Chart[23] 11
UK Albums Chart[24] 69
US Albums Chart[25] 2
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart[26] 17
French Albums Chart[27] 60
New Zealand Albums Chart[28] 22
Norwegian Albums Chart (Skoleslutt Period)[29] 7
UK Albums Chart[30] 21
US Albums Chart[31] 13

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[32] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[33] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[34] Diamond 1,000,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[35] Gold 37,386[35]
Germany (BVMI)[36] Gold 250,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[37] N/A 27,980^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[38] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[39] 2× Platinum 600,000^
United States (RIAA)[40] 8× Platinum 8,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Certifications
U.S. U.S. R&B U.S. Dance U.S. AC AUS AUT CAN FRA GER IRE NL NOR NZ UK
1988 "Please Don't Go Girl" 10 55 — — — — — — — — — — — —
    "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" 3 28 20 — 1 12 — 17 12 2 32 — 2 1
    1989 "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)" 1 12 — 3 — — — — 31 2 8 — 28 5
    • US: Gold
    "Hangin' Tough" 1 — — — 8 — 4 — 29 1 31 5 7 1
    • US: Platinum
    • CAN: Gold
    "Cover Girl" 2 — — — 22 — — — — 6 — — 17 4
    • US: Gold
    • CAN: Gold

    References

    1. ↑ "New Kids on the Block: Hangin' Tough (1989) - Synopsis - MSN Movies". Movies.msn.com. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    2. ↑ "Which albums had the highest number of worldwide sales?". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    3. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r13961
    4. ↑ "Hangin' Tough: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    5. ↑ "CG: new kids on the block". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    6. ↑ Steffen Hung. "New Kids On The Block - Hangin' Tough". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    7. ↑ Steffen Hung. "New Kids On The Block - Hangin' Tough". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    8. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    9. ↑ Steffen Hung. "New Kids On The Block - Hangin' Tough". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    10. ↑ http://books.google.ca/books?id=bCgEAAAAMBAJ&lr=&rview=1|title=Hits of the World - Eurochart|work=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|date=27 January 1990
    11. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
    12. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tout les Titres par Artiste". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    13. ↑ "charts.de". charts.de. 1988-03-21. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    14. ↑ "「ＮＥＷ ＫＩＤＳ、ストリート・タフ宣言」 ニュー・キッズ・オン・ザ・ブロック│オリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    15. ↑ Steffen Hung. "New Kids On The Block - Hangin' Tough". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    16. ↑ Steffen Hung. "New Kids On The Block - Hangin' Tough". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    17. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
    18. ↑ Steffen Hung. "New Kids On The Block - Hangin' Tough". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    19. ↑ "New Kids On The Block | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    20. ↑ "Billboard 200 : Sep 09, 1989 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard.com. 1989-09-09. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    21. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/312175/new-kids-block/chart
    22. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Albums 1989". Retrieved 13 March 2016.
    23. ↑ Top Albums/CDs - Volume 51, No. 8, December 23 1989 RPM. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
    24. ↑ "Gallup Year End Charts 1989: Albums". Record Mirror. London, England: Spotlight Publications: 37. 23 January 2000.
    25. ↑ "Billboard Charts - End Of Year Charts - Albums 1989". Retrieved 13 March 2016.
    26. ↑ Top Albums/CDs - Volume 53, No. 6, December 22 1990 RPM Retrieved March 13, 2016.
    27. ↑ Les Albums (CD) de 1990 par InfoDisc at the Wayback Machine (archived March 30, 2014). Infodisc.fr.
    28. ↑ "New Zealand - End of Year Charts 1990". Retrieved 13 March 2016.
    29. ↑ "The Top 20 Albums of Skoleslutt 1990". Retrieved 4 February 2015.
    30. ↑ "Gallup Year End Charts 1990: Albums". Record Mirror. London, England: Spotlight Publications: 37. 23 January 2000.
    31. ↑ "Billboard Charts - End Of Year Charts - Albums 1990". Retrieved 13 March 2016.
    32. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1989 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
    33. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – New Kids on the Block – Hangin' Tough" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved July 15, 2012. Enter New Kids on the Block in the field Interpret. Enter Hangin' Tough in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
    34. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – New Kids on the Block – Hangin' Tough". Music Canada. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
    35. 1 2 "New Kids on the Block" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
    36. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (New Kids on the Block; 'Hangin' Tough')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
    37. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – New Kids on the Block – Hangin' Tough" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
    38. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – New Kids on the Block – Hangin' Tough". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
    39. ↑ "British album certifications – New Kids on the Block – Hangin' Tough". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 15, 2012. Enter Hangin' Tough in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
    40. ↑ "American album certifications – New Kids on the Block – Hangin' Tough". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 15, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
    41. ↑ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - January 23, 2014". RIAA. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
    42. ↑ Archived May 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
    Preceded by
    Repeat Offender by Richard Marx    		 Billboard 200 number-one album
    September 9–22, 1989     		Succeeded by
    Girl You Know It's True by Milli Vanilli
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