If You Go Away (New Kids on the Block song)

Updated on Dec 19, 2024

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Released December 14, 1991 Recorded May–July 1991 Length 5:28		Format CD single Genre R&B, pop, soul Label Columbia

"If You Go Away" is a song by pop group New Kids on the Block (although the group was credited under the moniker of NKOTB on the jacket.) Released as a stand-alone single on December 14, 1991, the only new song on the compilation H.I.T.S. ; it was later included on their 1994 album Face the Music. Written by John Bettis, Trey Lorenz and Walter Afanasieff, the latter of whom also served as the songs producer. Lead vocals are shared by Jordan Knight and Joey McIntyre, with a spoken word by Danny Wood. It was, at that point, the first song the group put out after having split with longtime manager and producer Maurice Starr.

Reception

The song returned the group to the US top twenty, peaking at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the UK Singles Chart, and was a commercial rebound for the group after having seen its three previous songs all fail to reach the top forty. The group performed the song on The Arsenio Hall Show, while addressing an alleged lip-synching controversy. The single was the group's last hit until the release of the top 40 hit "Summertime" in 2008, and to date remains its final top twenty entry.