Joey McIntyre is thankful to One Direction for making boy bands cool again.

The New Kids On The Block singer has confessed he and his bandmates - Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood, Jordan Knight and Jonathan Knight - are so grateful to the 'Midnight Memories' hitmakers that they've even started covering their tracks during their concerts.

Joey told the Daily Star newspaper: ''It's fun to see One Direction's success, they have made people much more open to all types of music.

''It means people are more tolerant of our music too. We tip our hats to them in our new show with a cover or two.''

The 'Hangin' Tough' hitmaker has also revealed that he's a fan of Miley Cyrus' risqué performances and thinks it's amazing she's still managing to shock people in the same way Madonna did during the height of their fame.

He said: ''We did a few pelvic thrusts back then, but nothing like Miley. In this day and age to still be able to go too far is an achievement.

''I don't now what going too far even is any more. So kudos to her that she's pushing an envelope I didn't know was there.

''She gets complaints but it sounds to me like what they used to say about Madonna.''