Joey McIntyre stars in the world premiere of the Holiday Spectacular Tinselcolor at CineVita in Los Angeles.
Zak Cassar
Singer, songwriter, and actor Joey McIntyre didn’t need asking twice to host Tinselcolor: Holiday Soundtracks Live, an all-new concert event celebrating the music of beloved holiday films. In fact, he didn’t need to be asked at all.
He happened to be literally standing in the venue in Los Angeles, CineVita, the world’s largest Belgian Spiegeltent, located at Hollywood Park next to SoFi Stadium, chatting to the venue’s creatives when the show was first being discussed.
“They were talking about how they were stitching together their Christmas show, it wasn’t final, and I basically said, ‘Do you need a host?’” he reveals. “I had known their work, and I was standing in the space, so that was enough for me. There goes taking off the holidays, but it’s a wonderful group of people, they’re super talented, and we’re having a lot of fun putting it together. It’s just one of a kind, and I’m a theater kid, so it was like Jessica Rabbit saying, ‘Where do I sign?’” The season kicks off on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, and runs through Thursday, December 30, 2025. You can get tickets here.
Tinselcolor, which features an eight-piece band reimagining music from more than 25 iconic festive film soundtracks, is performed in the round, meaning the stage is in the center of the room, at the heart of the audience. It’s one of the main selling points of all the shows staged at the circular CineVita. Being up close and personal is something McIntyre, who shot to fame as the youngest member of multi-platinum-selling group New Kids on the Block, is very comfortable with.
“You’d think it was like the greatest secret in showbiz, but even in the 80s, we would go out into the crowd, and we still do it today. We are very touchy-feely with our fans, so that is not a foreign thing for me,” he explains. “I love being in the round. I just did some solo dates myself, and although I had no business bringing the production I had for this club tour, I did it, and it was kind of in a similar style. This, however, is the creme de la creme. It’s very interactive, and that’s kind of their brand. It’s so cozy in there, too. It’s big, but it’s cozy, which is perfect.”
Joey McIntyre rehearses for 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade at Macy’s Herald Square in 2024 in New York City.
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Tinselcolor Is A Christmas Experience
Research shows that audiences are willing to pay more for a unique, premium experience, now more than ever. Tickets for Tinselcolor: Holiday Soundtracks Live start at $19 for standing room, increase to $39 for balcony seating, then $69 for main floor tables. However, if you do want to splurge, there are limited private floor tables at $249 and private booths at $349. That is the premium, up-close experience.
“When the New Kids came back in 2008, our fans were in their 30s, and since then, we’ve been going strong. That generation wants an experience, and that’s trickling down now. People want to be boots on the ground in the room, and they value that, which is a great thing for live performance,” McIntyre enthuses. “I’m a son of a union guy, so I’m torn because I’m benefiting from this surge in appreciation and value in live performance but I go right to the prices and the prices to me are very reasonable for this type of type of experience, for this night out for the holidays, and it’s nice for that to be a part of the puzzle as well.”
From Home Alone and Elf to Love Actually, The Polar Express, White Christmas, and many more, Tinselcolor captures the sounds of cinema and the spirit of the holidays in a dazzling celebration only Los Angeles could stage. Part of that classic festive feel is the show’s design, which harks back to the days of holiday TV specials.
“The idea behind the show is that I’m hosting a party in my living room. We’re working on that line of, ‘How did all these people get in my living room? How did my living room get in a tent?’ It’s that kind of wink and a smile, but it is about the passion and the magic and the memories we get from the music in holiday movies,” McIntyre explains. “I’ve been saying lately that with the last few things I have done, I’ve been lucky enough to originate roles more. It turns out I bring a lot to the table after 40 years in the industry, but you need partners who want to listen and collaborate. I’m lucky enough that these guys, who could do it on their own, are being very open.”
Aside from the show, with the holidays upon us, people will be pulling out their own favorite Christmas albums. While some will reach for Mariah Carey, many others will reach for Merry, Merry Christmas, New Kids on the Block’s iconic album.
“Of course, as teenagers, we hated the album cover. We couldn’t stand it. We shot one cool thing, and then the record company was like, ‘Hell no. Where’s the snow and the sled?'” the singer recalls. “It works now, because it’s so nostalgic. There’s only one song called Funky Christmas but there are a lot of great originals on that, and it’s near and dear to us. It’s nice to hear that it’s still poking around.”
He continues, “We recorded it in July, in hotel rooms. I remember recording Funky Christmas in particular because Donnie basically produced that. It was just us in two hotel rooms, like a double suite, and back then, you needed a whole SSL board, all the wires, and everything. I was in the other room, we would do our parts, and then switch around. I remember it like it was yesterday. Things got really hectic, really fast for us, but that Christmas album was always a moment to smile and get all the feels and have a few laughs.”
(left to right) Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood, Joey McIntyre, Jonathan Knight and Jordan Knight of New Kids on the Block perform on the opening night of the group’s ‘The Right Stuff’ Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Once the Tinselcolor tree and decorations are packed up and 2026 rolls around, McIntyre and his fellow New Kids will be returning to Las Vegas after a hugely successful run of shows this year. Their The Right Stuff residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM kicks off in February, with additional dates in June, July, and October.
Will any of the outfits be making an appearance? Maybe the sweaters from the Merry, Merry Christmas album cover? Or would they like fans to dress up as them, like the Backstreet Boys had their fans wear all white for their Vegas shows?
“For a while, we did these epic cruises. It was just awesome—just us and 3000 fans,” he laughs. “We reenacted the Christmas cover for those. We came in on a sleigh to the Lido Deck, where we had these crazy parties every night, and we somehow nailed the costumes. I don’t know where the original ones are anymore, but you could go to your regular thrift shop and put your own together.”
“Backstreet had the white clothing thing, and over the years, we have asked our fans to wear fluorescent, because the 80s were bonkers over anything fluorescent, pink, yellow, and green, so that felt very fitting. Maybe they could wear holiday sweaters for a Christmas show.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthompson/2025/11/26/christmas-comes-home-with-joey-mcintyre-in-tinselcolor/
