10

In 2008, The Block—the comeback LP by New Kids on the Block—did well, even as the group aimed to fit in with contemporary R&B rather than giving in to nostalgia. But with 2013’s 10 (a reference to the band’s 10 albums, including compilations), New Kids on the Block comfortably accept their past while acknowledging they can never again be a boy band. But this only makes for a better album, as evidenced right from the opening song, “We Own Tonight.” It's a mature urban ballad with life-lived lyrics that don’t try to hide the reality that the members of New Kids on the Block are now middle-aged. The standout single "Remix (I Like The)" includes collaboration by European producers Johannes Joergensen (Sugarbabes, Ashley Tisdale, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson), Lars Halvor Jensen (Jedward, Sugarbabes, Jedward, Charice), and Lemar Obika—which may be why the song plays with the pop sophistication of a modern-day Kylie Minogue hit. The similarly cosmopolitan “Jealous (Blue)” further illustrates that 10 shows the progression from "boy band" to "man band."