Mark Wahlberg is a bona fide movie star these days, but he wasn’t always that way.
Donnie Wahlberg, 54, said this week that he invested about $500,000 in the early 1990s to help launch his brother’s 52-year-old music career and keep him “off the streets.”
The New Kids on the Block alum said: “Andy Cohen Live” on SiriusXM in of interview and of band He said, “I was trying to help my brother stay off the streets because his life is going nowhere, he’s in good health, and when he comes on the show, that’s what the fans are going to do.” I thought, “Oh my god, he’s cute,” and I was like, “He’s cute. I thought, “Let’s make this kid famous.” ”
Donnie explained that he also co-wrote Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch’s first album to prove he was more than just a boy bander and could write songs.
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Donnie Wahlberg (right) said he invested about $500,000 in his brother Marky Mark early in his rap career. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
“We were really successful,” Donnie said of New Kids on the Block. And like a lot of us, I was really a hip-hop fan and just wanted to produce songs and make music. ”
According to Donnie, when he first performed a demo of Mark’s 1991 hit “Good Vibrations” with only Loreatta Holloway singing the chorus, fellow New Kid on the Block member Jordan Knight said, “Hey, this is a hit.”
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“I was like, ‘Wow.’ I felt so inspired by his reaction to that,” he said. “And her mother had the same reaction and said, ‘This is going to be Mark’s No. 1 record. Donnie, you’re going to be so great.'”
Donnie Wahlberg (right) (pictured in 1991) helped his younger brother Mark (left) launch his career in his early 20s. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
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However, he said the “Father Stu” star was “just a kid” and “wasn’t ready” the first time he tried to record the song, adding, “I didn’t have enough practice, so I sent him back home.” ” he said.
“I was like, ‘Go home. I’m not ready. Come back tomorrow.'” He added that by that point he had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the “Perfect Storm” star’s music career. explained.
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“I rode him hard because that could have been my record,” Donnie explained. “It could have been my song, it could have been a New Kids song. I could have rapped, I could have done whatever I wanted. But I also could have been like half I had a million dollars invested in his career, and I was like, ‘Don’t waste your time, don’t waste your money, go home and practice and come back.’ I pushed him hard.”
This week, New Kids on the Block appeared on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM radio show. (Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
When Cohen asked if he made a lot of money with the song, he said that college students who saw the band members outside Cohen’s studio yelled, “‘Oh, New Kids.’ And I was right behind them. Then I walked past Cohen’s studio and the college kids were like, “Hey, Marky Mark,” and one of the staff members said, “That’s funny. He calls you Marky Mark.” That’s what it felt like. I said, “Well, every time I hear that song, I think, who’s getting paid?” Not a marquee mark. Yeah, it’s been very good to me, and I’m very grateful and very humbled by it all. ”
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New Kids on the Block have also announced that they will release their first album in 11 years, Still Kids, in May, with Donnie writing seven songs for the album. The group will also be embarking on a “Magic Summer” tour starting in June, with guests Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
