There are two contrasting adages. Out of sight, out of mind and absence makes the heart grow fonder. The latter certainly seems to apply to The Jonas Brothers.
A deep rift within the band caused by creative differences led to Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas going their separate ways in 2013. They had enjoyed great success since joining forces in 2005. Appearances on popular Disney Channel programming augmented their music career and raised the boys profile to such an extent that while their 2006 debut album, It’s About Time, reached number 91 on the Billboard 200, 2007’s Jonas Brothers hit number five.Four soundtrack albums all peaked inside the top ten while their two other studio albums, 2008’s A Little Bit Longer and 2009’s Lines, Vines and Trying Times, both topped the Billboard 200.
Surprisingly, significant singles success proved more elusive. Although all of their singles fared well enough, only two made the top ten on Billboard’s Hot 100. Burnin’ Up, which reached number five, and Tonight, which peaked at number eight, both came from A Little Bit Longer. The album title-track was also hugely popular peaking at number 11.
This relative lack of a major hit track made it all the more surprising that their comeback single, Sucker, should have given The Jonas Brothers their first number one. Not only that but Sucker actually debuted atop the Hot 100 becoming just the 34th song to achieve this feat in the chart’s 60-year history.
The boys also became the first group to enter the Hot 100 at number one since Aerosmith did so in 1998 with I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing.
Despite Nick being 26, Joe 29 and Kevin 31, they are still categorised as a boy band. It may shock fans of One Direction, The Wanted and 5 Seconds of Summer but The Jonas Brothers are the first boy band to hold top spot since B2K reached number one in 2003 with Bump, Bump, Bump.
The B2K track featured P. Diddy as a guest artiste so his involvement may well have accounted for increased record sales. Incidentally, Like The Jonas Brothers, B2K have also reunited and are currently touring across North America.
To be fair, The Jonas Brothers have not been completely absent from the music scene over the last six years.
“Only Kevin has really gotten into other things,” Joe explained. “He’s become a real business entrepreneur. He created a food app, a video sharing app, founded a real-estate development and construction company and is a co-CEO of the Blu Market Company. I reckon he must think he’s slumming being back in the music business with us!”
Joe had success with his band DNCE. Their biggest hit was 2015’s Cake By The Ocean which reached the top ten in Britain, America and numerous countries around the world.
Nick has been the most active and successful solo Jonas. His two albums, 2014’s Nick Jonas and 2016’s Last Year Was Complicated, both made the top ten on the Billboard 200. He also won the 2016 Songwriter’s Hall of Fame Hal David Starlight Award.
Numerous acting roles have come his way with appearances on television in Hawaii Five-O, Kingdom and Scream Queens. His films have included Careful What You Wish For, Goat and the hugely successful Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
Considering the boys have all been doing well as individuals, what made them decide to re-form the band?
“The prospect really came about while we were filming a documentary about ourselves,” Nick revealed. “This was exactly a year ago. Joe was a coach on The Voice Australia. He had to live in Australia for several months so Kevin and I had to fly there to continue working on the documentary.
“Things didn’t end well in 2013. It took us a couple of years or so just to work things out as brothers. Even after that was settled, I don’t think we could have imagined performing together again. But all that baggage we had started to get unpacked while we were working on the documentary. “Kevin’s willing involvement also surprised Joe and I. Leaving aside all his business interests, he has his wife and two daughters. We knew how much he loves being a dad and raising the girls.”
“Being with my family is really gratifying,” Kevin stated. “But to be able to come back and create music again with Nick and Joe as a family is something very special. Danielle (Kevin’s wife) and the kids are also part of everything. Danielle, Nick’s wife Priyanka (Chopra) and Joe’s fiancee Sophie (Turner) appear with us in the video for Sucker.
“The kids will come with us when we tour and everything we do will be as a collective family. I also kind of like the idea of my kids seeing me on stage as a pop star rather than just in old videos and films from before they were born.”
As Kevin indicated, touring is very much on The Jonas Brothers’ agenda.
“It wasn’t just writing songs and recording together that we missed,” Nick remarked. “Working on the documentary made us appreciate there was a magic when we were together. What scars which might have remained from our break-up were healed while we were doing the documentary.”
“We realised we wanted the documentary to cover the first part of our career and then start afresh with a new chapter,” Joe added. “That meant becoming a touring band again and performing a whole new collection of songs.
“We’ve already recorded about 40 tracks. The songs are a nice balance of DNCE’s sound, Nick’s sound and the stories from Kevin’s family life along with the heart that he brings to each track. We can’t wait for everyone to hear them.”
Judging by the response to Sucker, it seems like their fans feel exactly the same.
