The New Kids on the Block were on every kind of merchandise you could possibly imagine: Posters, bedspreads, T-shirts, PJs, lunchboxes, watches, backpacks, books, magazines and, of course, dolls.

In my youth, I had the Jordan Knight-approved Ken doll, complete with rat tail and microphone for when you wanted to have him sing to you while listening to a cassette of some of the most choice NKOTB songs. (In case you're wondering, "Tonight," "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)" and "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" are all primo tunes.)

Anyway, as it turns out there were also rag dolls of the guys. I wasn't too familiar with them, so I played along. But it seems that Jordan doesn't really care for those dolls. In fact, he thinks they are kind of strange.

"The weirdest thing? Well there's these dolls that don’t even look like us. They were supposedly us. Mine had a rat tail. They were rag dolls," he said before clarifying that he's not talking about my Ken doll. That Ken doll was cool!

"No, the Ken doll was cool," he explained, much to my relief. "We had the Raggedy Ann kind of dolls out too and they looked nothing like us. [Yeah the other doll] kind of [looked like me]. It's a Ken doll."

Fair enough. Either way, Jordan, you're still a doll!

Jordan Knight is currently touring the country in order to record an album. And while he's doing that, he's holding "Jordan Idol" events in various cities trying to find the best up-and-coming talent this great land has to offer, with the winner getting a personal boost into the industry from Knight himself. So, when I heard he was in New York City working on some new music and that I could have a chance to talk to him about his new music and "Jordan Idol," I literally jumped at the chance.

Back in the day, I kind of had the biggest crush on him ever. So imagine my surprise when he came in and I actually got the chance to meet the cutest of the New Kids on the Block. So, while he started talking about this weekend's "Jordan Idol" (which is being held this Saturday night at Le Poisson Rouge club in NYC), he decided to stump for me to get my big shot at fame.

But instead of giving my less-than-impressive singing voice a chance at superstardom (no, I didn't embarrass myself and sing for him), he decided I might be better suited to do something I actually have some skill doing: Interviewing celebrities. Except with me on camera with them. I'm not saying he's onto something here, but hey, stranger things have happened. And he's not the first singing star to suggest that I should have my own show — Brandy has already given me her support!

So watch Jordan make his case for me and let me know what you think!

By Nicole Guanlao

We walked into a hole-in-the-wall warehouse on Thursday to sneak a peek at New Kids on the Block and the Jabbawockeez rehearsing for their surprise joint performance on the "Today Show" — and let me tell you, it was quite the experience.

We were in a small studio space watching them perform and goof around, and there's no doubt that these guys are talented. After several years, the members of New Kids on the Block still look as dreamy as ever and can still bust a move or two. If they came out as a new group in 2009 — having never been NKOTB — I firmly believe they would still hit it big and make the girls swoon. As for the Jabbawockeez, I was in awe over their dancing skills. In fact, I was so jealous of their moves that I asked them to teach me a thing or two. Needless say, I don't think I'm going to be a Jabbawockee any time soon.

We have video of my little dance lesson, but for my own morale, I'd rather lock it away in a vault. Read more...

We here at MTV News are a pretty diverse bunch, so the views expressed by some in our more official-type year-end lists (like James Montgomery's Top 25 Albums and Best Songs, and the Mixtape Monday Awards) are not necessarily shared by the rest of the newsroom. So, this week we gave everyone else a chance to chime in with their own lists and explain (or defend) their choices. You'll find the staff faves of 2008 all together here.

By Jocelyn Vena, Writer

Let's face it, 2008 was the year of the pop artist. And, since I am the resident pop expert around these parts, I decided to make my top 10 list all about the greatest pop albums to hit the charts in the last 12 months.

10. Pink, Funhouse: Her tough-girl attitude paid off with this album. She performed her single, "So What," at the VMAs and soon after, it was everywhere. Read more...

There’s a moment at the beginning of the NKOTB’s reunion single “Summertime” where Joe McIntyre utters the words “Jones Beach, 1988.” Weird. That is almost exactly the time and place that I first met New Kids on the Block. They were one of the earliest interviews I ever did for MTV News, and there were plenty of interviews, news pieces, and even a half-hour show after that. But now, 15 years after they went their separate ways -- branching off into acting (Donnie), solo careers (Jordan, Joe, Danny), real estate (Jon), and families with “new kids” of their own (several of them) -- I think the last thing I ever expected was to be talking to them again, as a group.

But never say never. Saturday evening, in a backstage dressing room at New Jersey’s Izod Center, there they were, the New 30-Something Men on the Block, getting ready to take the stage as part of radio station Z-100’s annual teen scream extravaganza, Zootopia. We were all a good bit older than the last time I sat down with them, and it was a surreal moment -- but good surreal.

The New Kids on their upcoming tour, the reason for reuniting now, and latest teen phenom the Jonas Brothers, after the jump. Read more...

There are some things that we don’t understand about our intern Rya. To wit: how is it possible that someone obsessed with “Gossip Girl” can also be a Blockhead? Yes, that’s right -- our "GG" expert is also a huge fan of New Kids on the Block, which explains why she woke up at the crack of dawn this morning:

This morning, Manhattan’s renowned Rockefeller Center became Block-efeller center -- a strip of city blocks packed with grown women who came from all ends of the Earth to witness an event a decade-and-a-half in the making: the triumphant return of the hottest pop group of yesteryear, New Kids on the Block. A month after an older, sleeker incarnation of the five men from Boston was unveiled, another curtain dropped – this time, a banner with the band’s new logo. The band performed a medley of their greatest hits and their newest cut as a part of the “Today” Summer Concert Series.

Naturally, yours truly was on the scene. I was there for the very same reason many other women were in the audience: to see a band that they were far too young to see in concert during their heyday. Quite frankly, I felt all too much like my four-year-old self as I scrambled for a better view (or for that matter, any view), got pushed around my much older fans wearing NKOTB shirts (some threadbare, presumably from being worn in heavy rotation two decades ago), yearned for face time with Joey, and sang along far too loudly to songs I didn’t realize I still knew by heart… Read more...

OMG, have you heard the new NKOTB song online?? You know the Blockheads are so totes freaking about it! Also, they're going to sing the song live on the "Today" show in their first performance in 15 years -- stop it, you're killing us!

We bet that’s the song Joey, Mark Wahlberg’s brother, Whoever, and Whoever are getting ready to shoot a new music video for! Hurry up -- submissions are due tomorrow, and the audition’s this Wednesday! (Enough exclamation points, people?)

Full ad after the jump. Read more...

· New Kids on the Block have just added a slew of new North American dates. Joey!!!

· Portland, Oregon, officials have banned shaving lines into your eyebrows -- as inspired by the always (read: never) classy Soulja Boy -- because of alleged gang associations.

· Vanilla Ice won’t be charged with domestic battery after all: his wife took it back and said there was no physical confrontation.

· Remember how we told you Mya was going to make her sort of dubious Broadway debut in “Chicago”? Guess not: poor girl broke her foot.