<a href=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDSUB040402080938021912&sql=B7kd4vwxta9xk>Maurice Starr</a> produced New Kids on the Block, the first major boy band act in the 1980s.

Donnie Wahlberg spent a decade as the black sheep of the squeaky-clean and wholesome New Kids on the Block. When the group disbanded in the mid-'90s, he kept a hand in the music business by writing and producing the work of others, including brother Marky Mark and former New Kids Joey McIntyre and Jordan Knight. He also began an acting career, delivering memorable performances in Ransom and The Sixth Sense and lining up work in the Steven Spielberg production Band of Brothers. Wahlberg, whose full name is Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr., is one of nine children in a family from Dorchester, MA. He became a member of Risk, a local group, at the age of ten, and later joined the Kool Aid Bunch. When he was 13 years old, his father left and Wahlberg shouldered the responsibility of taking care of his large family. He and his wife, Kim Fey, wed in 1999. The couple has one son, Xavier Alexander.

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With his hit single "Ice Ice Baby" and its accompanying album, To the Extreme, Vanilla Ice became the second white rapper to top the charts. Unlike the Beastie Boys, he didn't have any street credibility, so the Miami-born rapper decided to invent some of his own, claiming he had a seriously violent gangster past. Nevertheless, "Ice Ice Baby" became a number one hit late in 1990, thanks to the pulsating bass riff from David Bowieand Queen's "Under Pressure." To the Extremealso went to the top of the charts, spending 16 weeks at number one and selling over seven million copies. Ice began filming a feature film, Cool As Ice, in the spring of 1990, but by the time the film came out in the fall, his star had fallen dramatically; To the Extremewas at number one longer than the soundtrack to Cool as Icewas on the charts.

Sensing that his time had passed, Vanilla Ice took a couple years off, re-emerging in 1994 with Mind Blowin'. Dispensing with the pop-rap formula of his debut, the rapper adopted the lazy, rolling funk of Cypress Hill, as well as that trio's obsession with pot. The album was a commercial disaster, disappearing from sight immediately after its release. With 1998's Hard to Swallow, Ice attempted to reinvent himself as a hardcore, gangsta-styled rapper; again the public wanted no part of it. A similar attempt, 2001's Bipolar, tried to reinvent him as both rapper and rocker, much to the public's general disinterest.

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As one of the Backstreet Boys, singer Nick Carter became an international superstar during the mid-'90s as his band became one of the best-selling teen pop bands in history. Born Nickolas Gene Carter on January 28, 1980, in upstate New York, Carter's life in entertainment began at an early age. He starred in various commercials and participated in countless talent shows as a child. By the time he was a teenager, he left the public school system for a home-schooled environment so he could focus on being a performer. He was barely 13 when he got the chance of a lifetime: Carter became the youngest member of the Backstreet Boysupon their formation in 1992. A tour of Europe catapulted the boys into fame by 1994 and the young Carter was elated. The Backstreet Boysbroke America three years later with "Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart)" and "As Long as You Love Me," and the next few years would be unstoppable for the vocal quintet. Their self-titled American debut sold 13 million copies. Millennium(1999) was an impressive sophomore effort; however, the band's third album, Black & Blue(2000), resulted in poor sales. Carter took a well-needed break after touring the world for seven years, but he remained conscious of future musical ideas. Within a year, he and KNS(Josh Schwartzand Brian Keirulf) were working on Carter's first solo album. What followed was a deeply personal piece of rock & roll and R&B entitled Now or Never, which appeared on Jive in October 2002. Carter coincided the release with his first-ever solo tour in February 2003.

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With those dazzling poster boy looks, Ronan Keating became one of Europe's most endearing stars as the leader of the Irish boy band Boyzone. The five Irish lads in Boyzone, who made their debut in 1993, built their charismatic style into one of the biggest European pop/rock acts of the '90s. But before he was winning over the world, Keatingwas a middle-class kid living in Dublin. Born Ronan Patrick John Keatingon March 3, 1977, he was the last of four children in the Keatinghousehold. His father Gerrywas a pub owner and his mother Mariewas a hairdresser, so financially the Keatingfamily was trying to make ends meet. The working trudge instilled the desire to work in the youngest Keating. While working in a local shoe store, he noticed an ad that was searching for an Irish Take That. The 14-year-old beat out 300 hopefuls with his own rendition of the Cat Stevenssong "Father & Son" and was onto becoming a celebrity. Boyzonereleased four albums, every one debuting at number one in the U.K. They released 16 singles, each one also charting in the top three on the U.K. charts. Most notably, Americans will recognize this five-piece as the dashing young men singing behind U2's Bonoin "The Sweetest Thing" video.

Six years into being part of one of the U.K.'s brightest and biggest-selling pop bands, Keatingsearched for an alternate creative outlet. He began managing another male pop group called Westlife. He married Irish model Yvonne Connellyin April 1998 and the following year they had a son, Jack. Musically, however, Keating's intentions stayed in tune with his internal spirit. He couldn't possibly steer clear of the media spotlight for long and something positive was bound to come of it. He recorded his debut solo effort in early 2000 under the craftsmanship of artists such as Bryan Adamsand Barry Gibb. His sensual and childlike persona was full-fledged. He is a working songsmith with the utmost class, and counterparts like Robbie Williamsand Gary Barloware a bit shy of such inborn grace. Ronanwas issued overseas in mid-2000. A U.S. version followed in October.

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Out of all the members of Take That, Robbie Williams never really seemed to fit in. Roguishly handsome where his bandmates were merely cute, Williams was tougher and sexier than the rest, which made him more distinctive. He also fought regularly with the other members and their management, primarily because he was occasionally adverse to being so heavily packaged. So it didn't come as a surprise that he was the first to leave the band, departing early in the summer of 1995 to pursue a solo career; by some accounts, he was fired from the group. Although he was the first out of the gate, it took Williams a while to get started. For most of 1995, he attempted to boost his credibility by tagging along with Oasis, hoping that Noel Gallagherwould give him a couple of songs. He never did, but all of his time with Oasislaunched Williams into a world of heavy partying, drinking and drugging. Over the course of 1996, he was only heard from in gossip columns, and every published picture indicated he had put on considerable weight. Occasionally, he was quoted as saying his new music would abandon lightweight dance-pop for traditional Brit-pop, but his first single was a cover of George Michael's"Freedom '90." Released late in 1996, the single was a disaster, but his second single, 1997's "Old Before I Die," was more in the vein of his early pronouncements, featuring a distinct Oasisinfluence. Williams released his first solo album, Life Thru a Lens, in 1997. The album became a big hit in Britain, prompting his second I've Been Expecting You, in 1998. The Ego Has Landed, a US-only compilation designed for breaking Williams to American audiences, was released in the US in the spring of 1999. Sing When You're Winningfollowed in late 2000, gaining success with the video hit "Rock DJ," while a big-band album of standards (Swing When You're Winning) appeared a year later.

During 2002, Williams celebrated an enormous new contract with EMI (rumored to be upwards of $80 million), but suffered the loss of his long-time production partner, Guy Chambers. Escapology, the fifth Robbie Williams album (and the last including Chambers' input), sold millions of copies in Europe, though it failed to persuade American audiences. As a result, the 2003 concert record Live at Knebworthwasn't released in the States.

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In mid-1996, Mark Owen became the second member of the British pop group Take That to pursue a solo career. In 1991, he had formed the band with Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Robbie Williams and Howard Donald. Over the next five years, Take That became very popular on the British and European charts, reaching the number one position eight times in their home country. After a press conference announcing the group's breakup in February 1996, Gary Barlow began a solo career, and Mark Owen followed soon after. Unlike his former bandmate, though, Owen recruited producer John Leckie (the Stone Roses) to give him an image closer to indie Brit-pop than Take That had been known for. Owen's first album, Green Man, was a modest hit upon its release in late 1996.

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Used to be a member of Take That.

Beginning his career during the mid-'80s under the name the Fresh Prince, by the following decade rapper Will Smithwas one of the biggest superstars of his time -- not only a pop music sensation, he also conquered television and eventually feature films, starring in a string of box-office megahits. Born September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, he was 16 when he met aspiring DJ Jeff Townes; joining forces as DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, the duo immediately became local favorites, but their continued existence was threatened when Smith graduated high school and was offered a scholarship to MIT. Ultimately, he chose to pursue a career in music, and in 1987 he and Townesissued their debut record, Rock the House, scoring a hit with the single "Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble."

Propelled by the smash "Parents Just Don't Understand," DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Princebroke into the mainstream a year later with He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper, one of the first hip-hop LPs to achieve double-platinum status. Clean-cut, witty, and easygoing, the duo's bubblegum approach was a stark contrast to the dominant, harder-edged rap sound of the period; viewed as a non-threatening alternative to their peers, they received the parental seal of approval, and their appeal spread across racial lines as well. And in This Corner...followed in 1989, and soon Hollywood began taking notice of Smith's success; in 1990, he was tapped to star in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a sitcom for NBC. An immediate hit, it made Smith a household name, and continued in production through 1996.

Smith also continued his music career, and in 1991 DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Princescored their biggest chart hit to date with the excellent "Summertime," from the album Homebase. The year following, he made his feature film debut in the drama Where the Day Takes You; in 1993, his supporting turn in Six Degrees of Separationwas the subject of much critical acclaim. That same year, the final Jazzy Jeff/Fresh Princerecord, the disappointing Code Red, was released. In 1995, Smith co-starred in the action film Bad Boys, a major box-office hit; it set the stage for his leading role in 1996's Independence Day, the summer's biggest smash. A year later, he starred in Men in Black, again the box-office champ of the summer season; recording for the first time under his given name, he also scored a smash with the movie's rap theme. Smith's debut solo LP, Big Willie Style, also appeared in 1997, notching the hits "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," "Just the Two of Us," and "Miami." Shortly on the heels of his first box-office disappointment, 1999's Wild Wild West, he returned with the album Willennium.

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Danny Wood was a member of New Kids on the Block that was never heard of again after the group disbanded.

Hanson Guitarist.

Take That member.

Part of Take That.