Nick Jonas (album)

Nick Jonas
Studio album by Nick Jonas
Released	November 10, 2014 (2014-11-10)
Recorded	2013–15
Genre	Pop R&B PBR&B Disco Funk Soul
Length	38:52
Label	Island Safehouse
Producer	Jason Evigan Nick Jonas Sir Nolan David Massey (exec.)
Nick Jonas chronology
Songs from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2012) Nick Jonas (2014)
Singles from Nick Jonas
"Chains" Released: July 30, 2014 "Jealous" Released: September 5, 2014
Alternative cover
Nick Jonas X2 album cover
Singles from Nick Jonas X2
"Levels" Released: August 21, 2015

Nick Jonas is the eponymous second studio album by American singer Nick Jonas. It was released on November 10, 2014, by Island Records. The album features collaborations with Angel Haze, Demi Lovato and Mike Posner. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and reached the top ten in the US, top twenty in the UK, Mexico and Canada whilst also reaching the top forty in Australia and New Zealand. It was re-released on November 20, 2015, under the title Nick Jonas X2, including three new tracks and four remixes.

Background and recording

In an interview with Rolling Stone Jonas stated that when Demi Lovato's The Neon Lights Tour gets off the ground, he will turn his attention towards his upcoming solo project. "Some of it is done and ready to be released," he said. "I've got a lot of things in the pipeline right now and I'm waiting to release some news about my music and my next steps. It isn't quite locked in yet, but I have started making some music and now it's all about lining up the pieces.^[1]

"I came in really wanting to make a record that was different from anything I'd done in the past, but that was true to my influences: Stevie Wonder, Prince, Bee Gees," he told Time. "And then, more recently, The Weeknd and Frank Ocean. That whole vibe of alternative R&B and pop. It just fell into a really natural place really early. I came in really sure of what I wanted to do", Jonas said about his new record.^[2]

On July 30, 2014, it was announced that after Jonas' stint as a creative and musical director for The Neon Lights Tour, that there will be an duet between him and fellow Camp Rock star Demi Lovato on the record. "It's a great song that we both love. Her voice is just amazing on it. She's the real deal. It's the perfect fit for this record", Jonas said about the song.^[3] On September 5, 2014, it was announced along with the tour that his self-titled debut album would release on November 11, 2014.^[4][5]

Jonas opened up to Entertainment Weekly about the prospect of re-releasing the album with some additional tracks. He revealed, "I feel like the next step is just going to be getting a collection of a few more songs and maybe repackaging the album. [...] I still feel like there’s some life left on the record I released last year."^[6]

Singles

	"Chains" A sample of "Chains" by Nick Jonas, surfaced as the lead single from Nick Jonas. "Jealous" A sample of "Jealous" the song that surfaced as the second single from the album.
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"Chains" was released as the lead single from Nick Jonas on July 24, 2014.^[7] The song was written and produced by Jason Evigan, with additional songwriting provided by Ammar Malik, and Daniel Parker. It peaked at 31 on the US Pop Digital Songs chart.^[8] A music video, directed by Ryan Pallotta, was released on July 30, 2014.^[9] After the single's re-release in January 2015, it has since peaked at 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[10] The single was released on June 21, 2015 in the UK.^[11]

The album's second single, "Jealous" was released on September 7, 2014. It was written by Jonas, Simon Wilcox, and Nolan Lambroza; production was helmed by Lambroza. On September 5, Jonas previewed 30 seconds of the new single.^[12] It was announced on September 6, 2014, that fans could pre-order his upcoming album to get early access to the tour ticket sale. They will also receive a download of his single, "Jealous" on September 8, 2014. The song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Jonas' highest charting single in the United States as of November 2014.^[13][14] A music video, directed by Peter Tunney and featuring a cameo appearance by Jonas' real-life girlfriend Olivia Culpo, premiered on September 16, 2014.^[15] The single was released on April 5, 2015 in the UK and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart.^[16]

With the re-release of the album, Jonas released a new single, "Levels", on August 21, 2015, to help with promoting.^[17] A music video to accompany the song was released on August 30, 2015.^[18][19]

A few days later, the singer dropped "Area Code" on his SoundCloud account,^[20] with a music video being later released on October 9, 2015.^[21]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	69/100[22]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[23]
Alter the Press!	4.5/5[24]
andPOP	8/10[25]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[26]
Idolator	3.5/5[27]
Newsday	B[28]
PressPLAY	[29]
Rolling Stone	[30]
Slant Magazine	[31]

Upon the album's announcement, Jonas promoted the album during various radio and television appearances, such as: a performance of "God Bless America" at the televised US Open Women’s Finals on September 7, and both Watch What Happens: Live and Fashion Rocks on September 9, 2014.^[5] In order to promote the album Jonas released a track called "Numb" featuring Angel Haze as a countdown single from the album on October 7, 2014.^[32] The album's third track, called "Teacher", was released as the second countdown single on October 14, 2014.^[33] Also the album's fifth track, called "Wilderness", was released as the third countdown single on October 21, 2014.^[34] Jonas embarked on the album's supporting tour, the Nick Jonas Live Tour which kicked off in Seattle on September 22, 2014.^[5]

Nick Jonas earned generally positive reviews from music critics upon release, holding an aggregate score of 69 out of 100 based on nine reviews.^[22] S. Thomas Erlewine from All Music quoted, "For all the guests and modern accouterments, Nick Jonas is at its best when Jonas plays it straight, when he relies on his eternal Prince and Stevie Wonder fixations, which give him not only a fairly rich palette to draw from but provide him with a good direction to channel his melodic skills".

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200, with first week sales of 37,000 copies in the United States.^[35]

Track listing

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a vocal producer.

Charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References