NKOTB: As Organic as Your Strawberries

The original boy band debuts their new single "Summertime," and says they were nothing like manufactured groups that came after them

The New Kids on the Block may have paved the way for more contemporary boy bands—think 'N Sync or the Backstreet Boys—but don't go labeling them as a manufactured group.

"I went to school with Danny, Jon and Jordan since first grade," Donnie Wahlberg told Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS-FM morning show while promoting their new single "Summertime." (Hear it below!)

"It was very organic...There was definitely no big machine or anything. The machine—that’s one of the misconceptions of the group. Because of the later boy bands that came. People churning out these boy bands."

But no hard feelings for 'N Sync, as Jon admitted to having a little place for the band in his heart:

"I’ve always been partial to ‘N Sync, personally. But you know, I’m a softie."