Joey McIntyre Bio
Joseph Mulrey McIntyre (born December 31, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter and actor best known as the youngest member of the iconic boy band New Kids on the Block. Over a career that began in 1985, he has sold more than one million records as a solo artist while building a parallel résumé in film, television, and stage work, including several Broadway productions. He is recognized for the 1999 top-10 single “Stay the Same” and for continuing to perform with New Kids on the Block following the group’s 2008 reunion.
McIntyre has balanced pop music with acting across multiple mediums, from Off-Broadway and Broadway musicals to network television and feature films. He remains active as both a recording artist and a stage performer, and he is widely regarded as a central figure in late-twentieth-century American pop music.
Early Life and Background
Joey McIntyre was born in Needham, Massachusetts, and raised in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He is the son of Thomas McIntyre, a union official, and Katherine (née Bowen) McIntyre, a community theater actress whose work in local theater helped shape his early interest in performance. Growing up in a household where his mother was active in community theater gave him consistent exposure to the craft from a young age.
The Boston area’s rich musical and theatrical scene provided additional formative influences, and McIntyre has frequently cited his hometown as central to his artistic identity. His mother died on November 30, 2014, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, and his father died on November 12, 2018. These family experiences later inspired his charitable work, including raising awareness for Alzheimer’s causes.
Path to Music
McIntyre’s path to a professional music career began in 1985, when, just before his thirteenth birthday, he auditioned for and joined New Kids on the Block, replacing original member Jamie Kelly. Because the other four members of the group were already long-time school friends, he initially found it difficult to fit in, but the band soon gelled and rose to become one of the most successful pop acts of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The group produced two number one albums on the US Billboard 200 chart, and in 1991 Forbes listed them as the highest-earning entertainers in the world, ahead of Madonna and Michael Jackson.
When New Kids on the Block split in 1994, McIntyre turned his attention to songwriting and film work, making his acting debut in the 1995 movie The Fantasticks, based on the long-running Off-Broadway musical. Disenchanted by the difficulty of securing a solo recording contract, he invested his own money to record his first solo album, Stay the Same, and distributed it through his website. After taking the title track to local Boston DJs and generating national airplay, he signed a recording contract in 1999 with Sony Music USA’s C2 label, a subsidiary of Columbia Records that had previously been home to his former group.
Joey McIntyre Career
Early Career (1985–1994)
McIntyre’s earliest professional work came as a member of New Kids on the Block, joining the group in 1985 and helping drive its rise to commercial dominance over the following decade. The band toured extensively, appeared on television, and recorded a string of successful albums that established McIntyre as a recognizable pop performer before he reached adulthood. Their split in 1994 concluded this first phase of his career and left him looking for new directions as a solo artist and actor.
During this period he also began to lay the groundwork for a stage and screen career, drawing on the performing instincts he had developed while touring with the group. Although his film debut in The Fantasticks would not be released until 2000, the project was filmed in 1995 and marked his first step beyond the boy-band format.
Breakthrough (1999–2004)
McIntyre’s solo breakthrough arrived in 1999 with the release of Stay the Same, the title track of which peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped the album sell more than a million copies worldwide. A second single, “I Love You Came Too Late,” followed, and he also recorded “Remember Me” for the 1999 film Southie, which starred his former bandmate Donnie Wahlberg. In 2001 he released his second solo album, Meet Joe Mac, and contributed to the soundtrack of the film On Broadway, which was shot in his hometown of Boston.
His acting profile grew in tandem with his music during this period. In 2001 he played Jon in both the Off-Broadway and national tour productions of Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick… BOOM!, and in 2002 he appeared for a season on the television program Boston Public. The year 2004 brought two of his most visible stage roles: he starred alongside Mila Kunis in the film Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding and took over the leading male role of Fiyero Tigelaar in the Broadway musical Wicked from July 2004 through January 2005, earning strong reviews.
Notable Works and Milestones
Among McIntyre’s signature works are the hit single “Stay the Same,” the 1999 solo album of the same name, and his 2008 collaboration with New Kids on the Block on their comeback album The Block, which was their first full-length release in fourteen years. His 2004 stint in Wicked and his 2019 return to Broadway as Dr. Jim Pomatter in Waitress stand as milestones in his stage career, while his appearance in the 2006 Dancing with the Stars competition, where he placed third, brought him renewed mainstream visibility.
Joey McIntyre Award Nominations
Publicly verified award nominations for Joey McIntyre as a solo artist are not well documented in the available sources, and no comprehensive nominations list can be presented with confidence. Readers seeking detailed nominations history are encouraged to consult industry databases for the most current and complete information.
Joey McIntyre Awards Won
Verified individual award wins for Joey McIntyre as a solo artist are not well documented in the available sources, and a complete summary of trophies cannot be presented with confidence. His most celebrated professional achievements remain the commercial success of “Stay the Same” and his long association with New Kids on the Block, whose collective accolades are documented separately.
Joey McIntyre Family
Joey McIntyre is the son of Thomas McIntyre, a union official, and Katherine (née Bowen) McIntyre, a community theater actress whose work influenced his early interest in performance. His mother died on November 30, 2014, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, and his father died on November 12, 2018. In 2013 he ran the Boston Marathon in honor of his mother to raise awareness of the disease that ultimately took her life.
Personal Life
McIntyre married Barrett Williams, a former real estate agent, on August 9, 2003, in New York City, one year after the couple met. They have three children, one of whom has congenital hearing loss. The family has been a central part of McIntyre’s life, and he has often dedicated songs and public appearances to his wife and children.