Which Two HGTV Stars Were In Boy Bands? One Still Is

Two HGTV stars have a boy band past, trading in their microphones for hammers.

While Farmhouse Fixer’s Jonathan Knight is still a member of New Kids on the Block, Scott’s Vacation House Rules’ Scott McGillivray has left his time in Next Element behind.

“I was in a boy band and I would say it was probably the most outrageous short period of time in my life,” McGillivray told HGTV Canada. The host of Income Property revealed he and his roommates decided to give the boy band thing a try because it seemed “so simple.”

“We learned a couple dances, we learned a couple songs,” the 43-year-old continued. “My friend’s mom had a dance studio so she was able to teach us. I had another friend who worked as a hairdresser so she put like highlights in my hair and it was free so it was perfect. Next thing we know we were doing a concert with 10,000 people.”

While Next Element had no major hits, Starcasm reported the band performed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In sharp contrast, New Kids on the Block enjoyed immense success during their original run from 1984 until 1994. Knight and the other members reunited in 2008.

McGillivray has maintained a sense of humor about his time in the music industry, joking on Twitter for April Fools’ Day in 2016 that Next Element was dropping a reunion album.

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McGillivray First Invested in Real Estate in College

Despite McGillivray’s boy band past, he is best known for his time on HGTV, HGTV Canada and the DIY Network. According to his HGTV profile, he has completed more than 300 episodes of television.

The Canada-native specializes in investment properties, a business he first got involved with while picking a topic for his final project in college.

“I had to make a business plan and analyze supply and demand gaps and at the same time I was looking for somewhere to live and I was having such a hard time finding a property,” he told Hoss Magazine. “It was like there were too many students and not enough rental properties.”

That realization prompted an idea and while working on the project he realized he was pre-qualified for a mortgage. Using a part of his student loan as a down payment, he bought a property he could live in and rent to friends. The next year he bought another, revealing, “I had 25 properties by the time I was 25.”

He was a licensed contractor by age 26, and in 2008, made his hosting debut. Though, when asked, he still shows off his moonwalking dance moves.

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Knight Has Been Restoring Farm Houses for More Than 25 Years

Knight made his HGTV debut in March 2021 as the host of the six-part series, Farmhouse Fixer, where he restores “centuries-old New England farmhouses.” According to his HGTV profile, he has renovated more than 200 houses.

“Restoring the American farmhouse is not just a hobby for me—it’s my passion, my obsession and I’ve been doing it for more than 25 years,” Knight told HGTV. “It’s so easy to just go knock down an old house. It’s way harder to renovate them so that families can enjoy them for years to come. That’s the reason this work is so worth it.”

New Kids on the Block is set to next perform at Fenway Park in July.

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