Jonas Brothers | |
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![]() The Jonas Brothers surround singer Celine Dion
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Background information | |
Origin | Wyckoff, New Jersey, USA |
Genre(s) | Pop, pop rock |
Years active | 2005–present |
Label(s) | Columbia (2005–2006) Hollywood (2007–present) |
Website | JonasBrothers.com |
Members | |
Kevin Jonas Joe Jonas Nick Jonas |
The Jonas Brothers are an AMA-winning, Grammy-nominated American boy band. The band gained their popularity from the children's television network, Disney Channel. Hailing from Wyckoff, New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. They have released three albums: It's About Time (2006), Jonas Brothers (2007), and A Little Bit Longer (2008).
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The band started as a solo project of Nick Jonas. When Nick was six years old, he was discovered while singing at a barber shop and was referred to a professional show business manager.[1][2][3] At the age of 7, Nicholas began performing on Broadway.[4][5] He has acted in several plays, including A Christmas Carol (in 2000 as Tiny Tim and Scrooge at eight), Annie Get Your Gun (in 2001 as Little Jake), Beauty and the Beast (in 2002 as Chip), and Les Misérables (in 2003 as Gavroche).[5][6][7][8] After Les Misérables closed, he performed in The Sound of Music (as Kurt) at the Paper Mill Playhouse.[9]
In 2002 while performing in Beauty and the Beast, Nick had written a song with his father called "Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)". With background vocals from the Beauty and the Beast cast, Nick performed the song on the 2002 annual Broadway "Equity Fights AIDS" album, Broadway's Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure, Vol. 4.[10][11] In November 2003, INO Records received a demo copy of "Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)". [12] The label released the song to Christian radio, where it quickly became popular on Record & Radio's Christian Adult Contemporary Chart.[11] While Nick was working on his solo project, Joe followed in his footsteps to Broadway, appearing in Baz Lurhmann's production of La Boheme.
By September 2004, an executive at Columbia Records found out about Nick's song.[13][11] Nick was soon jointly signed to INO Records and Columbia Records and released the single "Dear God".[14] A second single, a new solo recording of "Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)", was released on November 16.[15] It was supposed to be followed by a December release of a self-titled solo album Nicholas Jonas, but the album had been pushed back;[16] it did, however, get a limited release.[17] Nick, along with his brothers, Kevin and Joe, had written several other songs for the album.[13]
In early 2005, Columbia Records' new president, Steve Greenberg, listened to Nick's record. While Greenberg did not like the album, he did like Nick's voice.[18] After meeting with Nick and hearing the song, "Please Be Mine", written and performed by the brothers, Daylight/Columbia Records decided to sign the three as a group act.[13][19][20]
After being signed to Columbia, the brothers considered naming their group "Sons of Jonas" before settling on the name "Jonas Brothers."[21]
Throughout 2005, the Jonas Brothers had went on several tours, opening for various artists including, Kelly Clarkson, Jesse McCartney, the Backstreet Boys, and The Click Five.[1][22] They spent the latter portion of the year on an anti-drug tour with Aly & AJ and The Cheetah Girls.[22][23] Additionally, they opened for The Veronicas in early 2006.[13]
For the album, titled It's About Time, the band collaborated with several writers, including Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), Michael Mangini (Joss Stone), Desmond Child (Aerosmith, Bon Jovi), Billy Mann (Destiny's Child, Jessica Simpson) and Steve Greenberg (Joss Stone, Hanson).[23] The album was initially supposed to be released in February 2006, but was pushed back several times.[13][19][22][23] The delay was due to executive changes at Sony (the parent company of Columbia) and the executives' desire to have "another lead single" on the album. For the album, the Jonas Brothers covered two hit songs by UK band Busted - "Year 3000" and "What I Go to School For".[18]
The Jonas Brothers' first single, "Mandy", was released on December 27, 2005.[24] Its music video was shown on MTV's Total Request Live on February 22, 2006[3] and reached number four. Another song, "Time for Me to Fly," was released on the Aquamarine soundtrack, also in February.[25] In March, "Mandy" was featured in the Nickelodeon television film Zoey 101: Spring Break-Up and the Zoey 101: Music Mix soundtrack album, with Nicholas Jonas listed as the artist name.[25] The group's music was also featured on Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoon Fridays.[1][25] The band covered "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" from Pirates of the Caribbean for the DisneyMania 4 album, released on April 4, 2006.[26] Over the summer of 2006, the Jonas Brothers went on tour with Aly & AJ.[27] The Jonas Brothers also created the theme song for the second season of American Dragon Jake Long, airing from June 2006 to September 2007 on the Disney Channel.[25][28]
It's About Time was finally released on August 8, 2006.[29] According to the band's manager, it was only a "limited release" of 50,000 copies, so the album can be bid on auction sites like eBay for up to $200-$300 USD. Because Sony was not interested in further promoting the band, the Jonas Brothers then considered switching labels.
On October 3, 2006, Nick's 2004 solo single, "Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)," was re-released on Joy to the World: The Ultimate Christmas Collection.[30] Also in October, the Jonas Brothers covered "Poor Unfortunate Souls" from The Little Mermaid. Along with a music video, the song was released on a two-disc special-edition release of The Little Mermaid soundtrack.[31] The second single from It's About Time was "Year 3000." The song became popular on Radio Disney, and the music video debuted on Disney Channel in January 2007.
The band was ultimately dropped by Columbia Records in early 2007.
After shortly being without a label, the Jonas Brothers signed with Hollywood Records in February 2007.[32][33] Around the same time, brothers began appearing in commercials for Baby Bottle Pops, singing the jingle.[33] On March 24, two additional songs on two different albums were released: "Kids of the Future" from the Meet the Robinsons soundtrack[34] (Based on Kim Wilde's "Kids in America"), and "I Wanna Be like You" from DisneyMania 5.[35]
The Jonas Brothers made their first appearance at the White House on Monday, April 9, 2007, during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll where they sang the National Anthem.[36] They returned on Wednesday June 27, 2007, during a Celebrating Women in Sports Tee Ball game on the South Lawn. They sang the National Anthem and after the game, the Jonas Brothers entertained at the picnic-reception with a selection of their hits.[37]
Their self-titled second album, Jonas Brothers, was released on August 7, 2007.[38] It reached number five on the Billboard Hot 200 chart in its first week. Two singles with music videos were also released around this time - "Hold On" two weeks before, and "S.O.S." just after the release of the album.
In August, the Jonas Brothers made several appearances on television. On August 17, they guest-starred in an episode of the Disney Channel show Hannah Montana titled "Me and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas." They also performed "We Got the Party" with Miley Cyrus in the episode, which premiered after High School Musical 2 and was viewed by 10.7 million people that night.[39] On August 24, the Jonas Brothers performed two songs at the Miss Teen USA contest.[40] The following day, the closing ceremonies of the Disney Channel Games aired, featuring a performance from the Jonas Brothers. The games were taped on April 27, 2007 in Orlando, Florida.[41] On August 26, the Jonas Brothers co-presented an award with Miley Cyrus at the Teen Choice Awards.
On November 18, 2007, they performed at the American Music Awards, performing the song "S.O.S." On November 22, the brothers appeared in the 81st annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. For their final performance of 2007, the three brothers performed their singles "Hold On" and "S.O.S." at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.
The Jonas Brothers kicked off their Look Me In The Eyes Tour on January 31, 2008 in Tucson, Arizona. They performed several new songs on the tour that will be on their third studio album, A Little Bit Longer.
The Jonas Brothers' third studio album, A Little Bit Longer, was released in the United States on August 12, 2008, with CDVU+ technology, just like their second album, Jonas Brothers. On June 24, 2008, iTunes announced that it would release four songs from A Little Bit Longer, one roughly every two weeks.[42] The purchase of each of the songs applies to the cost of the entire album, which could be purchased via iTunes' Complete the Album feature after release. Each song released also featured a podcast. The schedule: June 24, 2008 for "Burnin' Up"; July 15, 2008 for "Pushin' Me Away"; July 29, 2008 for "Tonight"; and August 5, 2008 for "A Little Bit Longer." Now that all of the singles have been released, all of them have occupied the number 1 spot on iTunes for at least 3 days.
After the Look Me In The Eyes Tour ended on March 22, 2008, the Jonas Brothers announced that they would be opening up for Avril Lavigne's Best Damn Tour along with Boys Like Girls, but only on the second leg of the tour in Europe which lasted from late May to late June 2008.
While filming the movie Camp Rock, the Jonas Brothers wrote several songs for fellow Disney Channel star and close friend, Demi Lovato, for her upcoming album, Don't Forget.[43][44] The album was released on September 23, 2008. The brothers also helped produce Lovato's album.
A soundtrack was also for the movie was released for the movie Camp Rock on June 17, 2008. It debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 with 188,000 copies sold in its first week.[45]
During the summer of 2008, the Jonas Brothers started their North American tour, the Burning Up Tour, promoting A Little Bit Longer and Camp Rock Soundtrack, and performing songs from previous albums as well: It's About Time and Jonas Brothers. The tour kicked off July 4, 2008, at Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, Ontario. A Disney Digital 3D production crew filmed the two shows in Anaheim, California on July 13 and July 14[46] with close friend, Taylor Swift,[47] who sang a few singles from her album, Taylor Swift, for a theatrical movie that will be released in theatres as a 3D concert movie on February 22, 2009.[48] On July 14, Nick Jonas announced onstage that the band had already written five songs for their fourth studio album (third with Hollywood Records).[47]
The Jonas Brothers made history being the first group to sell more than 100,000 digital downloads for three consecutive singles: "Burnin' Up", 183,000+ first week sales, "Play My Music", 109,000+ sales, and "Pushin' Me Away", 116,000+ sales.[49] In addition, "Burnin' Up", "Pushin' Me Away", "Tonight", and "A Little Bit Longer" all charted as #1 on the iTunes "Top Songs" Chart for several days, pushing off Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl".
The band was featured on the cover of the July 2008 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine.[50]
On August 4, 2008, the brothers appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and performed Burnin' Up in front of an outdoor audience.
The Jonas Brothers visited downtown Cleveland, Ohio's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before their sold-out concert on the evening of August 22, 2008, at Blossom Music Center. The band presented the suits and pants they wore on the cover artwork of A Little Bit Longer to Jim Henke, vice president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The suits are part of the Right Here, Right Now! exhibit, which includes some of today's most popular artists.[51]
In December 2008, the Jonas Brothers were nominated for the Best New Artist award at the 51st Grammy Awards.
The Jonas Brothers had made their acting debut in season 2 of the popular Disney Channel Original Series, Hannah Montana, where the guest starred on the episode "Me and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas".
Soon after, they had collaborated with Miley Cyrus again to be in her 3D Concert Film, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, where they had been the opening act while on tour with Miley.
While on the Look Me in the Eyes Tour the Jonas Brothers had filmed a Disney Channel reality short series, entitled Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream, it premiered on the Disney Channel on May 16, 2008. The show, which ran until September 5, 2008, had documented their lives on their tour. It featured clips of the band rehearsing, traveling, performing, studying, and their personal life with their family and friends.
The Jonas Brothers were featured in a Disney Channel special, entitled Studio DC: Almost Live, a special half-hour variety show that features The Muppets as well as Disney Channel stars. Durring this time the Jonas Brothers had also appeared on the olympic-based special miniseries, Disney Channel Games for the third annual show.
The band had made their film deubt, in the Disney Channel Original Movie called Camp Rock where they play a band called "Connect Three". Joe Jonas plays the lead male role and lead singer "Shane Gray"; Nick Jonas plays the role of "Nate" a guitarist; and Kevin Jonas plays the role of "Jason" who is also a guitarist. The movie premiered on June 20 in the USA on Disney Channel, and Canada on Family. It will air around the world throughout the summer and fall on the Disney Channel.
Due to the success of Camp Rock, a sequel, is also currently in development. The Jonas Brothers will also return as the band, connect three, and their youngest brother Frankie Jonas is also expected to star.
Currently the Jonas Brothers are filming a new Disney Channel Original Series, entitled J.O.N.A.S.. Which was created by Michael Curtis (of Phil of the Future) and Roger S.H. Schulman (Shrek), directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik (National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, The Bronx is Burning). The show title was originally an acronym for "Junior Operative Networking as Spies".[52] As the original pilot had been about a teenage rock band (Jonas Brothers) having double lives as government-hired spies. However, since the pilot had originally been shot, the storyline has changed and is now about a band of three brothers who have to cope with being rockstars while trying to live an ordinary life. The series is slated to premiere in May, 2009.
The Jonas Brothers will also be making their big screen feature debut in, Walter the Farting Dog a movie adaption of the bestselling book series Walter the Farting Dog. Nick, Joe, Kevin, and Frankie will star.
Because of their major success with Disney and Hollywood Records, Disney has signed the brothers to two Disney Channel Original Series', a 3D concert movie, a behind-the-scenes book, and a sequel to their hit Disney Channel Original Movie.
The Jonas' are known for their wholesome, family-friendly image. The brothers are all committed Evangelical Christians, their father is a former Assembly of God pastor, and they were homeschooled by their mother. In addition, to signify their vow to abstain from premarital sex, on their left-hand ring finger they all wear purity rings, which Russell Brand made fun of during the MTV Video Music Awards.[62] Brand held up a silver ring, claiming to have relieved one of the brothers of his virginity,[62] and said: "Well done the Jonas Brothers. Each wear a ring to say they are not going to have sex; I'd take them more seriously if they wore it around their genitals."[63] Brand later faced criticism and apologized for his comments.[63] Joe has said that the rings symbolize "a promise to ourselves and to God that we'll stay pure 'till marriage," and Nick had stated that "it's purity rings pretty awesome, and the rings are just one of our ways of kind of like being different than everybody else out there." They reportedly started wearing the rings when their parents, Denise and Kevin Sr., asked them if they wanted to.[64] They also reportedly abstain from alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.[65]
The Jonas Brothers earned about $12 million in 2007, and have donated 10% of their earnings to their charity, Change for the Children Foundation.[66][67] Change for the Children Foundation is a foundation started by the Jonas Brothers, where contributors donate to charities and places such as "Nothing But Nets", "American Diabetes Foundation", "St. Jude Children's Research Hospitial", "Children's Hospital Los Angeles", and "Summer Stars: Camp for the Performing Arts". The band stated that:
We started The Change for the Children Foundation to support programs that motivate and inspire children to face adversity with confidence, determination and a will to succeed. And we think the best people to help children are their peers -- kids helping other kids who are a little less fortunate.
Since August 6, 2008, Bayer Diabetes Care has partnered with Nick Jonas as a diabetes ambassador to promote the idea for young people to manage their diabetes, as Nick was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 13.[68]
Year | Title | Joe's role | Nick's role | Kevin's role | Frankie's role | Notes |
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2008 | Best of Both Worlds Concert | Himself | Himself | Himself | Doesn't Star | 3D Concert film |
Camp Rock | Shane Gray | Nate | Jason | Doesn't Star | Disney Channel Original Movie | |
2009 | Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience | Himself | Himself | Himself | Himself | 3D Concert film |
Band in a Bus | Himself | Himself | Himself | Himself | Reality DVD | |
Camp Rock 2 | Shane Gray | Nate | Jason | Unknown | Disney Channel Original Movie |
Year | Title | Joe's role | Nick's role | Kevin's role | Frankie's role | Notes |
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2008 | Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream | Himself | Himself | Himself | Himself | Reality series |
2009 | J.O.N.A.S. | Joe Lucas | Nick Lucas | Kevin Lucas | Frankie Lucas | Currently filming |
Year | Title | Joe's role | Nick's role | Kevin's role | Frankie's role | Notes |
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2007 | Hannah Montana | Joe Jonas | Nick Jonas | Kevin Jonas | Doesn't Star | "Me and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas" (Season 2, Episode 16) |
2008 | Disney Channel Games 2008 | Himself | Himself | Himself | Doesn't Star | Third annual |
Studio DC: Almost Live | Himself | Himself | Himself | Doesn't Star | Disney Channel special | |
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition | Himself | Himself | Himself | Doesn't Star | "The Akers Family" (Season 6, Episode 2) | |
The Suite Life on Deck | Joe Jonas | Nick Jonas | Kevin Jonas | Doesn't Star | "Crossover" (Season 1, Episode 15) |
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