When the Jonas Brothers won their first ever MTV VMA for Best Pop for their song ‘Sucker’ on August 25, the 10-year-old in me was ecstatic. I was transported to my childhood days when Camp Rock was one of the best Disney movies and the Jonas Brothers, Kevin, Joe and Nick, were heartthrobs of almost every teen.
The boy band craze has existed for years and each era has had its own. Somewhere in between the Backstreet Boys in the ‘90s and BTS, who are currently riding the popularity wave, were two bands that were all the rage — Jonas Brothers and One Direction. Before One Direction came into play, it was the reign of the Jonas Brothers.
Jonas Brothers first came on the music scene in 2005, when they signed with Columbia Records and toured with acts including the Backstreet Boys and Kelly Clarkson even while working on their debut album. In 2006, they released ‘It’s About Time’ with high-profile producers like Billy Mann (Destiny’s Child) and Desmond Child (Aerosmith). This was the year they also made their foray into Disney, writing the theme song for the Disney Channel’s animated series ‘American Dragon: Jake Long.’
The band signed up with Disney’s Hollywood Records in 2007 after Columbia Records dropped them due to poor sales. They found commercial success doing Disney songs and in August 2007, they came out with their self-titled album ‘Jonas Brothers’ that featured the songs ‘S.O.S.’ and ‘Hold On’. This was just the beginning of their success.
The very next year, 2008, they went on their first tour, made their acting debut in Camp Rock with Demi Lovato and released one of their top albums and my favourite till date, ‘A Little Bit Longer’, which saw them debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and held their all-time-classic singles ‘Burnin’ Up’, ‘Lovebug’ and ‘Tonight.’ And there was no stopping them. In 2009, ‘Lines, Vines and Trying Times’ was released and even this made a Billboard 200 No. 1 debut. They next got their very own Disney show ‘Jonas’ on their lives as rock stars.
The years 2010 and 2011 saw the brothers focus on solo projects and this was perhaps the start of the end. But in 2012, they confirmed working on their next studio album, ‘V’ and were supposed to go on a tour in 2013. But a few days ahead both the tour and the album were cancelled. To the dismay of their fans, the brothers announced that they were disbanding due to creative differences.
Over the next few years, the brothers went on to do their own things with Nick focusing on acting and making his mark on the charts with his songs ‘Jealous’ and ‘Chains,’ Joe forming his own band DNCE, well-known for its summer pop song ‘Cake By The Ocean’ and Kevin settled down to enjoy married life.
The much-talked about and lavish Nick-Priyanka Chopra wedding was a kind of coming together of the Jonas siblings. The bonding extended to the video of their super hit ‘Sucker,’ released in March this year. It featured Priyanka Chopra, Sophie Turner (Joe’s wife) and Danielle (Kevin’s wife), who are all stars in their own right. The song was at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and their album ‘Happiness Begins,’ which released in June 2019, made it to the top of the Billboard 200 chart. They also released their documentary ‘Chasing Happiness’ on Amazon Prime Video in April. It’s time for sibling revelry.
