`Why I Like The New Kids...' -- Contest Brings Avalanche Of Responses From Adoring Fans

Editor's note: When we thought of asking kids to tell us why they want to see New Kids on the Block at the Kingdome tonight - and offering two free tickets to the contestant who wrote the best essay - we weren't prepared for the tidal wave of mail. We received boxes full of entries from as far away as Alaska. Essays came in elaborately decorated envelopes; in fancy folders, like term papers; in plastic pages tied with colored ribbons; with pictures enclosed. They were mailed, hand-delivered, faxed and even expressed overnight. Among the writers were kids as young as 3 or 4, who laboriously printed signatures to letters they dictated; a 33-year-old mother; even a 65-year-old grandmother.

But most, like winner Chandra Ramert, were pre-teen girls.

Though we could choose only one winner, many others stood out. Here are some excerpts from the best of the rest.

Dear Editors,

It's easy to say that the New Kids are cute, and have fantastic voices, which they do, but it goes down deeper than that.

When I hear anything about them I get a feeling that no one could ever explain, but that's really good and makes you feel wonderful inside. It will last for 5 minutes or so, and I can't think of anything but them. After the feeling is gone you feel empty inside, but the 5 minutes is worth it. I guess you could call it love. Love that isn't personable but is emotional.

The reason I have that special feeling for them is because I can look up to them, and their cool attitude makes one feel special. If you look closely and you read enough magazines you can tell that they've got problems of their own and that they've come from troubled families. And look where they are now. It makes me feel like I've got a chance in that big bad world out there. And maybe if you look close enough, it's not so bad.

Peace = love & happiness,

- Rachel Murray, 12, Seattle

Whenever something seems hopeless all I have to do is look at a picture of the New Kids and I immediately feel better. Like I can make it. Fame didn't come easy to them, just like some things don't come easy to me and other ``Kidiacs.'' So when I look at them and realize that they, too, have gone through some rough times and I see where they are now I feel like if I work hard enough for something I want bad enough I can and will succeed.

- Sara J. Lovell, 14, Kent

I like New Kids On The Block because it drives my dad crazy and he said he loves me so much, that if I win, he'll take me to the concert.

- Mari Wojciechowski, 13,

Olympia

I will make it easier for everyone by making mine short and simple. Now, I am sure that many of my reasons are familiar and repetitive of others but I will give it a shot.

Reason No. 1: I want to scream the names of each member of the group at the top of my lungs while dancing to their lip-synched music because if I did this at home, my parents would probably institutionalize me or make me see a psychiatrist.

Reason No. 2: I am 17 years old and would like to be one of a vast minority of Over the Age of 13 fans.

Reason No. 3: I am a closet New Kids lover and I think it is time to come out of the closet.

No. 4: I want to fulfill one of the wishes of Donnie Wahlberg from People magazine: ``I wish older girls would come see us.''

No. 5: I want to see the sweat pour from the bodies of the members of the group.

No. 6: I want to be the envy of the block by being able to see them.

No. 7: It would be a great cultural experience. By viewing one of the hottest groups on the market today, I will have seen a group most likely to fall into rock history.

No. 8: I have nothing better to do Thursday night.

No. 9: It would be most entertaining.

That is an unconventional essay but I am in an experimenting stage of my youth. Nobody said what kind of essay to write.

- Chanda Tong, 17, Issaquah

I am 13 years old, a freshman at Kennedy High School, and an only child. If I were to choose a brother, I would pick one of the ``NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK.'' My first choice will be Jordan, of course, but I am sure any one of them can more than fill the role of big brother to the fullest.

My wish for the ``NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK'' is continued success in all their endeavors, and I want them to know that I am a big fan of theirs.

- Stella Mulberry, 13, Renton

I like the New Kids

That is true

They have a great attitude, dude

They are such babes

They are so cool

If you don't like them

You're a fool!

My Dad liked Elvis

My Mom liked Paul

But I like Jordan

He's the best of all

They don't take drugs

They really get busy

When I see them in person

I'll really get dizzy

I'm only 10

I know what I like

THE NEW KIDS IN SEATTLE ON THURSDAY NIGHT!

- Beth Schneider, 10, Kirkland

I know the age limit is 18 and under, but my granddaughter is only 9 and she is so great a ``Kids'' fan. Her mother is a single parent, and the $25 per ticket for her and her mom to go isn't possible.

They are having a back-to-school ``New Kids on the Block'' party on Tuesday and wanted me to come. I guess they figured just because you're 65, you should still like the ``Kids.''

Anyway I am going, and hope to see what these ``Kids'' have that's so special.

- Jean M. Holdaas, Seattle

Even though I know it's not the most important thing in the world to me (like my friends and family), and it's not the most important thing in the world (like world peace), I have liked the New Kids for a long, long time and I would like to actually see them ``up close and personal'' and hear them, and be there! Then years from now be able to say ``I was there!'' Also, they must be even cuter in person!!!

- Susan Stone, 11, Edmonds

I love New Kids. Now you're gonna think this is crazy because I am 33 years old. But ever since my daughter Shawna and I heard about the first New Kids tape, we have loved them with all our hearts.

- Gayla Cain, Kent

I would like to win the concert tickets because I love New Kids on The Block. I read all of their books, and I have all of their tapes. I love their music.

I would like to marry either Donnie, Joe or Jordan and I don't know how to ask them unless I go to one of their concerts. I'll be glad to invite all the people at your newspaper to the wedding if any of them accept.

- Tiffany Armstrong, 9, Renton

In today's music world, anybody who can sell millions of records must have ``the right stuff.'' They (the New Kids) didn't have rich fathers to get them their big break. The fact that they made it in the music industry is a reflection on their extraordinary talent, not because some influential relative pulled strings for them.

But they haven't let all this go to their heads. They never seem egotistical or snobbish. I'm almost surprised at that. I think most people would take the attitude of ``I'm a success, why be humble?'' They have never seemed that way to me.

Another thing that makes me want to see the New Kids is that they seem so good-natured. Not only do they sing fresh and exciting music, but they can take criticism. One of them said that after every concert they read the reviews. I know that some of the critics don't have much good to say about the group. I say, you try and tell tens of thousands of screaming girls that the New Kids mean nothing to music.

The last reason that I want to go and see New Kids on the Block is because I believe they will have a place in music history. They aren't one of those groups that are ``here today, gone tomorrow.'' Just as my parents might tell me that they saw the Beatles, I want to be able to tell my children that I saw the New Kids on the Block 30 years from now. And hear them say ``Wow!'', if only for my benefit, just like I'd do for my mom or dad.

- Heidi Hebron

(no age or town given)

I like the New Kids on the Block.

They will be so good for so long they will become the Old Men On the Block.

The first song I ever heard from the New Kids was ``Hanging Tough.'' I heard it in the Kingdome watching a Mariners game.

- Chris Rohl, 8, Seattle

Resilience and enthusiasm . . . it radiates from their music and their ``Just Say No To Drugs'' campaign. These two notable qualities are my encouraging factors to see New Kids on the Block.

The group has been labeled as lust objects of teenyboppers, a marketing phenomenon as well as a bunch of affluent white teens trying to capture the ``black sound.'' All of this can grate on anyone's psyche. Fortunately, the group has successfully persevered. It's called resilience.

The group appears to be sincerely excited and enthused about their work both on stage and off. They haven't displayed any tantrums or outrageous demands (i.e. bowls of M&Ms waiting backstage for them with all the red ones picked out) like some of their fellow musicians in the business. In interviews New Kids are candid about their work as members and their daily lives. These interviews seem to remove part of the facade entertainers sometimes have.

My greatest admiration for the group came about this summer at my workplace. In the afternoons I drove a group of day-care kids home to a nearby shelter. During one of these rides the topic of music arose and a few girls expressed themselves as fans of the group. When I asked them why, they replied it was because ``they're rich and famous, but they're still normal.'' It was then that I realized that although the fans see them as talented youths, the group also appears to share some similar interests and this makes the New Kids believable and all the more real to the fans. The group isn't placed on an unobtainable pedestal where they make claims to be better than everyone else.

- Allie Chinn, 18, Seattle

My own version of ``Step by Step'' (one of the New Kids' songs):

Step by Step

Gotta get to see you guys

Chorus:

Step by step ooh baby

Gotta get to see you guys

Step by step ooh maybe

Really want to see you in the KINGDOME

Hey guys in your eyes

I want to see a picture of me

And guys when you smile

You got to know you drive me wild

Step by step ooh kids

You're always on my mind

Step by Step ooh guys

I really think It's just up to The Times

Chorus

Hey guys can't you see

I've got to see you all just for me

And guys yes it's true

No one else will ever do

Chorus

Step One: I'll have lots of fun

Step Two: This essay will have to do

Step Three: It's just Seattle and me

Step Four: If I don't win I'll be sore

Step Five: Don't you know The Times have arrived

- Celia Moody, 10, Des Moines

`THEIR MUSIC IS DIFFERENT'

The reason why I like New Kids on the Block is because their music is different from other artists that write music for my age group. One can understand the words to the songs that they are singing. Some of the New Kids on the Block's songs express the things I think and feel. They are the kind of boys I wouldn't be afraid to bring home to meet my parents. They are clean-cut, attractive men.

I would like the tickets for the New Kids on the Block concert because it would be my first time going to a concert. Right now, my parents cannot afford tickets for all four of us kids to go. If I were to win these tickets, I would be taking my new stepmom to the concert. I would like to expose her to the kind of music I like to listen to.

Chandra Ramert

Seattle

Age: 12