New Kids on the Blecch

'N Sync as themselves

"New Kids on the Blecch" is the fourteenth episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 25, 2001. In the episode, a music producer selects Bart, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph to be members of the next hit boyband, who record songs containing subliminal messages about joining the Navy.

The episode was written by Tim Long and directed by Steven Dean Moore. The episode's title is a play on the boyband New Kids on the Block and Mad Magazine's tendency to use the word 'blecch' a lot. The episode has received positive reviews from critics and was watched by almost 10 million viewers.

After seeing 38-year-old Carlos Lopes in the 1984 Summer Olympics on TV, Homer decides to participate in the Springfield marathon to prove to Marge that he is fit. In the end though, Bart comes out as a surprise winner, by entering from a side alley near the end, wearing a stereotypical Italian costume as a disguise. Unfortunately, while receiving the trophy, a bird rips off Bart's fake moustache, causing an angry mob to chase after him. Cornered, he accepts a ride from a stranger to escape. The stranger introduces himself as 'L.T. Smash', who happens to be a music producer. Smash offers Bart a career as a member of a boyband known as "The Party Posse", as his stunt showed he has the right bad boy attitude. Bart accepts, and becomes the Party Posse's fourth member, joining Nelson, Ralph and Milhouse. The Party Posse quickly ascends to stardom, albeit using complex voice enhancers built by NASA. They perform at Springfield Elementary to high applause.