New Kids on the Block, ‘Remix (I Like The)’ – Song Review

New Kids on the Block are back with a new tour -- this time not with the Backstreet Boys or NKOTBSB, but with 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men -- and now a new single ('Remix (I Like The)') to boot. Is it worth the hype?

We'd say so.

The song sounds like an adult contemporary answer to the Wanted mixed with Bruno Mars' 'Locked Out of Heaven.' It has a danceable beat like many of the British bad boys' tracks, but is stripped down and raw enough to pass for Mars' latest radio smash as well. So if you like those, you'll dig this.

Each member of NKOTB has his own solo within the song, making it great for karaoke purposes (but in this case, everyone's going to fight over who gets to be Donnie Wahlberg).

Lyrically, the song is basically the plot of 'She's All That': "She was that girl in the corner, thick-rimmed glasses / Everybody laughed every time she passed us / Ever the outcast, had no flava / But who got the last laugh, hey / Always came last, no one ever kissed her / Missing for days, but nobody missed her / She went from wallpaper to heartbreaker / You shoulda seen her / Baby I like the new you / Oooh ooh / I like the Remix baby / Oooh ooh / I like the Remix / Remix / Do what you doin’ I like the way you do it / Do what you doin’ I like the way you do it, do it."

It's not exactly Kafka, but it's fun, and it's enough of a mix of newness and nostalgia to make fans and radio listeners happy. We like the 'Remix,' too.

Listen to New Kids on the Block, 'Remix (I Like the)'