Hangin' Tough is the second studio album by American boy band New Kids on the Block, released on August 12, 1988, by Columbia Records. It is widely regarded as the group's breakthrough album, gaining positive reviews for their musical transition from bubblegum pop to urban contemporary, blended with popular rock music. The group's label had planned to end their contract when their 1986 debut garnered little commercial and critical attention, which nearly led to their breakup. However, Maurice Starr, the group's producer, diligently persuaded the label to let them record a second album. Hangin' Tough led the group to success due to the emergence of their music to radio airplay and creation of music videos for each released single, showcasing the group's visual appeal. Their popularity was eventually built as they made TV appearances and embarked on promotional tours. By the end of 1989, the album topped the US Billboard 200 charts, while it peaked at number two on the Canadian Albums Chart that year and the UK Albums Chart the following year. The record has a home-media video release entitled New Kids on the Block: Hangin' Tough, which is a documentary musical film about the group's biographical career, released in 1989. It also contains a series of music videos, live performances, and exclusive interviews from the group and their fans. The album and film received accolades: two American Music Awards and at least one Grammy Award nomination. With sales of more than fifteen million copies worldwide, Hangin' Tough became the group's best-selling album and was certified Diamond in Canada by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), with sales of more than one million units, and 8× Platinum in the U.S. by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making it the country's second-best-selling album of 1989, behind Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel. The record spawned five commercial singles: "Please Don't Go Girl", "You Got It (The Right Stuff)", "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)", "Hangin' Tough", and "Cover Girl". All were top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making NKOTB the first teen act to gain such chart success. An album titled More Hangin' Tough, which included remixed and instrumental versions of the original songs, was issued in Japan. Following the 2019 release of the 30th Anniversary Edition of the album, which contains remixes of previous singles plus three newly recorded songs, the record re-entered the US Billboard 200 chart at number 18.

Singles

Five singles were released from Hangin' Tough, starting with "Please Don't Go Girl", which came out in April 1988. The song was a major hit on radio stations nationwide and became the group's first top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number ten. The second single was "You Got It (The Right Stuff)", a worldwide hit that peaked at number three on the Billboard charts. "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)", a ballad, was the third single and became NKOTB's first number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. The title track was released next and also reached number one. "Cover Girl" was the fifth released; it peaked at number two. "My Favorite Girl" was issued in January 1990 as a promotional single sent to radio but was not made commercially available at retail.

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews from music critics. Dan Heilman and Bil Carpenter of AllMusic wrote, "Good songs collected by New Kids mastermind Maurice Starr highlight this smash, including 'I'll Be Loving You (Forever)', 'You Got It (The Right Stuff)', 'Please Don't Go Girl', and the title track. Tight, warm, even soulful harmony on the ballads." Robert Christgau gave the album a C+ grade. He stated that:"At five million and counting, this isn't the rank offense its demographic tilt would lead you to expect—auteur Maurice Starr has positioned two exceedingly cute up-tempo hits atop two overly balladic sides. Really, why shouldn't a black svengali mastermind the safe white R&B ripoff for once? Funkier than the Osmonds or Milli Vanilli. As hip as New Edition."

Accolades

Hangin' Tough won two American Music Awards in January 1990 for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group, beating Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl and Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel in the Favorite Pop/Rock Album category, and Bon Jovi and Milli Vanilli in the Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group category. The Hangin' Tough music film was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Long Form (now called Best Music Film) at the 1990 Grammy Awards but lost to Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson, beating Eurythmics's Savage, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, and Pink Floyd's Delicate Sound of Thunder.

Track listing

All songs written and produced by Maurice Starr, except where noted.

Personnel

New Kids on the Block Additional personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales