While on tour together with ’80s hit teen musician Tiffany in 1989, New Kids on The Block got a chance to appeal to her audience.
“We were very fortunate that Tiffany, herself personally, advocated for us to be her opening act. Suddenly, we walked out and they saw us. Nobody knew what was going to happen. Nobody knew,” Wahlberg said.
But Tiffany’s closeness with the band, particularly Jonathan, resulted in female fans spewing vitriol at her before her performances on headlining tour.
“I started hanging out with Jonathan but it produced a little bit of a rift because a lot of my female fans wanted to be with him,” Tiffany said in the documentary.
The now 53-year-old explained, “When we would be on tour, the fans are screaming and yelling at me, calling me names, pull my hair. I was shocked. The girls were very tough.”
Because of the New Kids’ skyrocketing popularity, Tiffany then became an opener on her own tour, relinquishing her top spot for NKOTB to take over for the renamed Hangin’ Tough Tour. While they were technically co-headliners, it’s clear the popularity of NKOTB had eclipsed her.