Tonight (New Kids on the Block song)

"Tonight"
Single by New Kids on the Block
from the album Step by Step
B-side	"Hold On"
Released	July 26, 1990
Format	7" single 12" maxi
Recorded	1990
Genre	Pop
Length	3:26
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Maurice Starr, Al Lancellotti
Producer(s)	Maurice Starr
New Kids on the Block singles chronology
"Valentine Girl" (1990) "Tonight" (1990) "Let's Try It Again" (1990)

"Tonight" is a 1990 song recorded by the American pop band New Kids on the Block. It was their second single from their 1990 album Step by Step. It was a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic. It first reached #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and then went on to reach #3 on the UK Singles Chart soon after its American success, giving the band another hit, as, at this point, they were at their commercial peak.

The song is "half slow tempo, half ska"^[1] and is mostly sung in unison by all five members of the group until the "la la..." section of the chorus. The song "discusses the relationship that binds the members of the group to their fans, since the beginning", with many references to their earlier hits in the first couplet.

The "ska part" is the melody of Johann Sebastians Bach's Cantate "Sleepers awake" (BWV 140).

Track listings

7" single / 7" single - Picture disc

1. "Tonight" — 3:26
2. "Hold on" — 3:36

12" maxi / CD maxi

1. "Tonight" — 3:27
2. "Hold on" — 3:36
3. "Don't Give Up on Me" — 4:45

Versions

• "Tonight" [Album Version] - 3:30
• "Tonight" [Remix] - 3:29
• "Tonight" [12' Version] - 4:47
• "Tonight" [Video Version] - 3:11

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1990) Peak position Australian (ARIA)[2] 16 Austrian Singles Chart[2] 12 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[3] 4 Dutch Singles Chart[4] 3 French SNEP Singles Chart[2] 3 German Singles Chart[2] 19 Irish IRMA Singles Chart[5] 8 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[6] 16 Spain Top 40 Radio[7] 2 Swedish Singles Chart[2] 11 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[8] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[9] 7 End of year chart (1990) Position Australia (ARIA)[10] 83 Dutch Top 40[11] 37

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/Sales France (SNEP)[12] Silver 200,000^* ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Elia Habib, Muz hit. tubes, 2002, p. 197 (ISBN 2-9518832-0-X) : "Les jeunes de NKOTB réalisent là leur meilleur classement avec une chanson moitié slow, moitié ska façon Madness."
2. "Tonight", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 26, 2008)
3. "Ultratop.be – New Kids on the Block – Tonight" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
4. Top40.nl, 20 October 1990, Week 42 Retrieved August 4, 2009
5. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved February 26, 2008)
6. "Charts.org.nz – New Kids on the Block – Tonight". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
7. Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
8. "Archive Chart: 1990-08-04" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
9. "New Kids on the Block – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for New Kids on the Block. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
10. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart 1990 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report No. 50)". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved October 10, 2016.
11. "Single top 100 over 1990" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
12. "French single certifications – New Kids On The Block – Tonight" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 13 March 2016.