People who meet Jonathan Rashleigh Knight for the first time are always struck by his immediate warm friendliness, his openness, humor and complete lack of self-importance in his attitude. Was this 21-year-old New Kid on the Block born with these wonderful qualities?

To hear Jon tell it, the answer is no. The person he is today is, to a great extent, the result of his upbringing and the influences of his parents,

Marlene and Allan, and siblings, Allison, Sharon, David, Chris and fellow

New Kid Jordan!

IT STARTED IN BOSTON...

For example, Novem

ber 29, 1968-born Jon confides that his open-mindedness stems directly from his childhood years in Boston, Massachusetts.

"We were all brought up not to ever judge people," explains the hazel-eyed singer earnestly. "First of all, we grew up in a city and went to school with people of mixed backgrounds. It's weird; I have an adopted brother who's black, and sometimes people actually ask me how I feel about that! I feel badly for kids who don't get the chance to learn about other people and other ways of life."

Because Jon and his family foster no prejudices against others, Jon intentionally chooses friends who like him for who he is. And now that he's famous, that's become no easy trick! Here's where Jon's younger, equally famous brother tries to help Jon out.

"Jordan told me that when people I barely knew in the past suddenly become friendly to me, I should say straight out, 'You never talked to me before - why are you doing it now?'" reflects Jon, who then quickly adds,

"But I can't do it! I'll talk to everyone. Only, I can kind of tell when they're not sincere."

A GIFT OF SPIRIT

All the members of the Knight family seem to have strong effects on each other. Even though Jon's parents divorced years ago and their kids remained with their mom, Jon has experienced the influence of both his parents on different occasions. Since his father is a minister, the Knight children were raised in a religious environment and Jon carries some of that spirituality inside him to this day.

But when it comes to sharing feelings and exchanging advice on a regular basis, Jon's strongest family tie might very well be his relationship with mom Marlene. Though protective and cautious when her two youngest boys decided to join up with a new musical group, Marlene always offered Jon and Jordan strong support. Today she handles much of their fan mail!

As for motherly advice, Marlene hands it to Jon sparingly. And when he has a big question on his mind, he often turns to her.

"I always ask my mom how to define success," reveals this popular performer. "We agreed there's really no definition for it. You can set a goal and get there, but there's always another goal beyond it."