They’ve been together almost two decades, but Joey McIntyre can still get overwhelmed with emotion while expressing his love for wife Barrett Williams.
The New Kids on the Block singer was performing during the closing night of his co-headlining Las Vegas residency with pop star Debbie Gibson on Sunday when he felt the urge to stop mid-show and call Barrett, who couldn’t make it to the gig.
“Listen, this might be a disaster because it’s bedtime and she’s going to say, ‘What do you want?’ but I’m gonna wing it,” McIntyre told the audience at The Venetian Resort’s Summit Showroom.
Video calling his 13-year-old son Griffin, McIntyre instructed the teenage “Country Comfort” star to “run and go get momma,” who was putting the couple’s 10-year-old daughter Kira to bed.
“Honey, I just wanted to say I love you and I want you to know that I think about you a lot up here,” the 48-year-old boy bander sweetly told his wife of 18 years, pausing as he held back tears. “And, the funny thing is that working with another amazing and talented woman like Debbie Gibson reminds me that I have another amazing woman in my life, so I just wanted to tell you I love you.”
“And, I wish you could be here,” continued McIntyre, who also has an 11-year-old son, Rhys. “Next time, I don’t care – we’re leaving the kids at home and you’re going to come!”
McIntyre then explained to the audience that his love for Barrett inspired him to write one his first songs–a track called “Supergirl.” Choking up again, he shared how earlier in the day a fan named Sarah had told him she had been in hospital for 75 days while undergoing chemotherapy and that she listened to “Supergirl” during her treatment.
Still overwhelmed with emotion, McIntyre managed to sing part of the song to Sarah, before wiping away tears.
The heavy moment was a memorable scene from the closing night of Debbie Gibson and Joey McIntyre: Live From Las Vegas. The evening saw the pair cover everyone from Celine Dion to Dua Lipa, share fun backstage stories, chat to audience members and perform solo tracks.
Prior to hitting the stage, the musicians filled us in on their first impressions, meeting each other back in 1989.
“The first time we met was as teenagers backstage at the Westbury Music Fair,” recalled Gibson, 51, as she and McIntyre hit the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Festival straight after their Saturday night performance.
“I’m only like two years younger, but I looked like I was eight [instead of 16] and she was backstage and she was like a senior and I was like a sophomore in high school,” McIntyre added. “I looked at her and she was so nice to me. We didn’t hang out much back then, but we met back up a couple of years ago on The Mixtape Tour and she was nice enough to share her number one record with me.”
McIntyre was referring to Gibson’s 1989 hit “Lost in Your Eyes,” which she and McIntyre beautifully performed together during New Kids on the Block’s 2019 Mixtape Tour. The duet was so popular that during the pandemic, Gibson suggested they record the track together.
“Joey was like, ‘Let’s go one step further and do some live shows together,’” Gibson explained. “We become amazing friends putting on this show together.”
During closing night, McIntyre also performed New Kids on the Block hits like “Please Don’t Go Girl,” fan favourites like “5 Brothers and A Million Sisters,” solo tracks like “I Love You Came Too Late” and covers like Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.”
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Meanwhile, Gibson rocked the stage with ’80s favourites like “Electric Youth,” and “Foolish Beat” before taking a request for “For Better or Worse” from two male fans who shared how they used the song to celebrate their 14-year wedding anniversary.
But it was a young female fan who stole the show when she adorably yelled out, “I love you Debbie,” only to find herself pulled on-stage by Gibson, who promptly found a stool so the cutie could sit next to her as she performed “Only in My Dreams” on the piano.
In an array of spectacular outfits, Gibson’s killer body was on display as she also performed her party anthem, “Girls Night Out,” as well as “The Body Remembers” – the title track from her first new album of original music in 20 years, released in August.
Gibson, who will headline Chicago Pride Fest on October 3rd, and McIntyre, who has a New Kids on the Block announcement coming up and will star in Broadway production The Wanderer from March, also covered “Grease Lightening” and “Islands in the Stream.” The two closed the show with “Lost in Your Eyes,” before assuring the crowd they hope to do more Vegas shows.
“We definitely want to come back!” they both enthused.
