Michael Jackson is trying to restart his rusty career. After seeing the greatest boy band of time reunite, Jackson is rumored to want to work with them. The New Kids on the Block start touring in September and have reportedly been hosting “secret talks” with the “Thriller” signer.

The band held secret talks with Michael, 49, at his Nevada home last week. They are the latest in a string of artists - including Kanye West, will.i.am, Ne-Yo and Akon - rumoured to be working with him as he attempts to revive his career following his acquittal of child abuse charges three years ago.

[Monsters and Critics]

Donny Wahlberg, the token bad boy of the band, spilled the beans while discussing how excited he was to have Michael on board. While Jackson is getting into the groove of the New Kids tour, he has been working in the studio for months on a new album. There is no official release date yet, but according to reports it is due out this year.

I am worried because Michael looks like he is not in a good state to be doing the sprinkler on any stage with the boy band. I guess they aren’t really boys anymore, but Jackson was last seen yesterday in a wheelchair. He wore his pajamas and a surgical mask paired with a black towel on his head secured by a baseball cap. He was just taking the kiddies out shopping for some new toys, but I am not sure this was the way to go.

Let’s just pray it is all a ruse. Maybe he was going for an incognito look. Then again he might as well have been flying a flag that said “freak show” on it.

Michael Jackson is shown at Christian Audiger’s 50th birthday party on 5/23/08. NKOTB are shown at the Much Music video awards on 6/16/08, thanks to WENN.

The New Kids on the Block just finished filming the video for their first new single in a billion years, Summertime . Msat wasn’t a big fan of their live performance on the Today Show three weeks ago, and I have to agree that they sounded pretty damn spotty live. Supposedly it takes a pretty in shape and athletic performer to be able to sing well and dance at the same time. I can’t claim to do either of those things well, so I have no clue, but I’m guessing that being out of the game for so long impacted their performance a bit.

Nonetheless, they seem alright in the studio. Summertime is a pretty generic pop song. I was a pretty big fan of the NKOTB back in second grade, so I’m biased and totally rooting for them. That said, I think the single is just too damn boring – I could attribute it to any nameless boy band out there. But it’ll probably get some attention just for the novelty factor. People has a “behind the scenes” look at the filming of the video.

What music video is complete without bikini-clad women dancing? In the final chapter of New Kids on the Block’s backstage video – seen on PEOPLE.com exclusively thanks to Interscope Records – the reunited boy band gets dressed up to get down on the tiki-club set in Malibu before working their dance and doo-wop skills in front of a green screen. Once the director wraps filming, Donnie tells the camera: “What started off as a goofy little concept on the BlackBerry at 2 in the morning might turn out to be a video after all!” You be the judge. Tune in to VH1 on June 8 at 2 p.m. to see the entire “Summertime” video.

[From People]

I think the New Kids would have been wiser to do a song that – while still pop – courts their old fans. Something aimed at the mid-twenties-to-early-thirties set. Summertime sounds like the same generic crap I hear aimed at 15-year-olds. Maybe I’m totally wrong, but I don’t get the feeling today’s high schoolers are into the New Kids. Sad as it is. The video looks fairly cheesy to me – but I still love them. I need to go dig out my old Jordan Knight pillowcases. Even though I totally have a thing for Donnie Wahlberg now.

Here’s the first two parts of the making of Summertime. For the final installment you have to visit People’s website.

Header of the New Kids performing at at Z100’s Zootopia Concert in East Rutherford, NJ on May 17th. Images thanks to WENN.

After months of speculation, the reunited early-90’s boy band New Kids on the Block performed live this morning on the Today show. Throngs of screaming 25-35 year-old women braved the rain to catch a glimpse of the “Kids” and a chance to relive their adolescence. However, the jury’s still out on whether the performance was a success.

Flashback!

New Kids on the Block performed together for the first time in 15 years on Today this morning.

The boy band sang and danced their way through a medley of old and new hits — including “You Got It (the Right Stuff),” “Hangin’ Tough” and “Step by Step.” (Watch below)

Despite the rainy weather, over 3,000 fans cheered on the band — one of the show’s largest turnouts for its outdoor concert series. Some fans had even camped out overnight.

“I’m going to spend the night just to be ready so early!” joked Joey McIntyre to Usmagazine.com on Thursday.

[From Us Weekly]

I saw the performance live this morning, and to be perfectly honest, I thought they sucked. I have never been a fan, but I always gave the group props for performing live back in the day (when many other acts were lip-syncing), and for having some pretty difficult choreography to do on top of that. But today, these guys are really showing their age in both their vocal abilities and their dance moves. They looked out of shape, and their voices are not what they used to be. Joey’s famous falsetto doesn’t have that same range- which is understandable, given that he was about 13 when the group first hit it big. It will be interesting to see if these guys have the stamina and remaining fan base to actually take this on tour. My advice to Blockheads: stick with your CD’s and life sized posters, otherwise you might be disappointed.

The New Kids on The Block are shown performing this morning, thanks to WENN.

We reported that a New Kids on the Block reunion was in the works on Jan. 28 - a full two days before People Magazine “broke” the story. A lot of people didn’t believe it, but now it’s happening: the members of the late-80s/early 90s boy band will be appearing together for a performance on the Today Show- this Friday. Commence screaming, ladies!

Looks like the Today show’s got the right stuff: All five original New Kids on the Block members – Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood and brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight – will appear together in the morning show’s courtyard on April 4, a source tells PEOPLE.

After months of speculation, PEOPLE confirmed in January that the band is reuniting – just in time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their mega-hit album Hangin’ Tough. The group also recently updated its Web site, nkotb.com.

The boy band, which made legions of tweens swoon in the early ’90s, selling more than 50 million albums, became a worldwide phenomenon before calling it quits in 1994. Since then, the oldest “Kid,” Jonathan Knight, 39, retreated back to Boston to become a real estate developer. Former members Wahlberg, 38, and McIntyre, 35, have seen acting success, while Wood, 38, has worked as a music producer and Jordan Knight, 37, has continued to record.

[From People]

One thing that surprised me after the first story we ran on the Kids was the number of closet fans who still carry a torch for the guys. “Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody wrote a funny column in Entertainment Weekly a while back about how many female hipsters, herself included, still had a thing for the band. True story: Jordan Knight once hit on me in a Boston bar- and he was terrible at it. He was rather drunk and kept staring at my chest while he spoke to me. I didn’t know who he was until after I turned him down, when my squealing girlfriends informed me of his identity as we were leaving. I stand by my decision– I read a couple of days later that he was engaged.

It worked for The Spice Girls, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen. Now, the biggest boy band of the ’80s, New Kids on the Block, will be getting back together for a major tour, according to People magazine.

After months of speculation and rumor, the Kids are coming back. A well-placed source tells PEOPLE exclusively that New Kids On The Block are indeed getting back together.

The band’s Web site, www.nkotb.com, which had been dormant, is now back up and running in anticipation of the official announcement, which the source says will be made in the next few weeks.

The site currently features a television graphic with a fuzzy, flickering photos of NKOTB in their heyday, and a link inviting fans to sign up for info.

[From People]

That’s right, ladies. Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, and those two other guys that nobody cared about (okay, their names are Danny Wood and Jonathan Knight) will be performing their classic hits “Hangin’ Tough,” “Popsicle” and “Didn’t I Blow Your Mind.” So dig out your NKOTB lunchbox, buttons, posters and board games, and find out when the boys are visiting your town. (And then, you should really get some professional help.)

Since the band broke up in 1994, Donnie Wahlberg, brother of Mark Wahlberg and reportedly the inspiration for the “Johnny Drama” character on the show “Entourage,” has been in a few notable film and TV roles, including the NBC drama “Boomtown.” Joey McIntyre, the mushroom-haired baby of the group, appeared on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” And dreamy lead singer Jordan Knight attempted to go solo as a falsetto-abusing, Justin Timberlake wannabe– with tepid results. I guess the reunion is their attempt to cash in on what’s left of their name recognition, and with all the ’80s and ’90s nostalgia going on, now seems like the right time.

Just to make you feel old—‘cause I don’t want to be the only one—the band mates are now in their late thirties and early forties. I wonder—if they still call themselves New Kids on the Block, is that false advertising?

Note by Celebitchy: Here are the NKOTB performing “Hanging Tough,” which I’m sorry to say I remember.

And here’s “Step by Step”