New Kids On The Block News

The biggest victim of the global recession? Australia's a definite frontrunner.

The land Down Under has been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn, as the new New Kids on the Block just announced they are canceling the Australian leg of their world tour due to the current global slump.

"Despite warnings that the financial problems plaguing the world would compromise the Australian tour—they never gave up on this dream and neither did we," Donnie Wahlberg writes in a message on the group's official site, nkotb.com.

"We are not going to Australia…quite honestly—we tried very hard to make it work. However—we are, in fact, in the middle of a worldwide recession and we just cannot make it work."

But not for lack of trying…

"We have exhausted efforts to tie in the Far East to Australia and find other creative ways to make this work," Wahlberg continues. "We can only assure you that when the recession's stranglehold on the world's economies eases up a bit—we will find a way to make this work."

Well, if that doesn't stimulate the economy, nothing will.

In a joint statement, the rest of the '90s crew, currently in the midst of their U.S. tour, says, "The group is incredibly disappointed and very sorry they won't be able to perform in Australia at this time."

NKOTB isn't the only musical casualty of the recession.

Back in January, Janet Jackson called quits on the Japanese leg of her Rock Witchu world tour, citing "the impact of the economic crisis."

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