The Jonas Brothers — Nick, Joe and Kevin — will never forget their first visit to Hollywood. Their management company, PhilyMack, zipped the teen trio around town in a rented Mini Cooper.
“We were listening to Weezer’s album,” Joe says. “We were singing, ‘Beverly Hills, that’s where I want to be.’ We were like, ‘We’re going to do this. We’re going to be out here, we’re going to make it out here.’”
Nick recalls, “Our first real trip to L.A. was big because we were taking lots of meetings and we were like, ‘OK, this is very overwhelming.’”
That was 20 years ago. Kevin was 18 years old, Joe 16 and Nick was just 13. But on Dec. 3, the Jonas Brothers will be honored with a hand and footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
Shortly after signing their first deal with Columbia Records, the New Jersey natives released their debut album, “It’s About Time,” in 2006. However, the label dropped them when album sales failed to gain traction. But no matter, because Hollywood Records swooped in, signed the siblings and within a couple of years, they were selling millions of records and winning breakthrough artist at the American Music Awards in 2008.
They were nominated for best new artist at the 2009 Grammys, but lost to Adele.
“Of all the people to lose to, that’s just fine,” Nick says, laughing.
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Joe adds, “She’s the right person to lose to.”
What followed for the Jonas Brothers were three more albums, arena tours and two “Camp Rock” television movies. There was also feverish attention on their private lives. Tabloid media, entertainment news outlets and blogs couldn’t get enough of Joe’s romances with fellow pop stars like Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato. Nick made headlines for dating Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez. At the same time, the Jonas Brothers wore purity rings, insisting to the world that they believed in abstinence before marriage.
“There was a lot of interest in our sexual life during our teenage years, which was odd,” Joe says.
Looking back, Nick calls the scrutiny “very inappropriate” and doesn’t think the same intrusive conversations around teen celebrities would be tolerated today. “If we were a small part of things — course-correcting people taking that much interest in teenagers’ sex lives — then I’m happy we went through whatever we went through to get there,” he says. “But yeah, it was a bizarre time.”
In 2013, the Jonas Brothers shocked their fans when they announced the band was splitting up. “I never thought we would get back together,” Kevin says. “I thought those days were gone when the band broke up. Me and my wife, Danielle, were about to have our first child. I dove into being a first-time father, that part of our life, and put aside my grieving process of the band.
“Then it hit me — I would be sitting on the couch doing nothing for hours, days,” he continues. “It was a change of not knowing who I was as a person. I learned there was depression involved and anxiety and so much that I was dealing with when my wife pulled me out of it.”
But then, six years later, on Feb. 28, 2019, the Jonas Brothers revealed they were getting back together. Their first post-reunion single, “Sucker,” from their album “Happiness Begins,” debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group’s first No. 1 song.
They released their seventh and most recent album, “Greetings From Your Hometown,” in August. A holiday movie, “A Very Jonas Christmas,” debuted Nov. 14 on Disney+.
Can you believe it’s been 20 years since you started? Nick, you were only 13 at the time.
Nick: It’s a really bizarre thing to think that it’s been that long and to still be as young [laughs]. It’s been a wonderful year to celebrate this journey with the fans and with each other. To be family that not only is able to continue to, but to actually enjoy it and to be doing new things this far into our career, like the Christmas movie and other things —it’s a really meaningful thing for us. I feel like we’re in our favorite chapter of our journey.
Did you ever think when you first signed your first deal that you would be here 20 years later?
Nick: I think we hoped.
Joe: Yeah, we had hopes. I don’t think we had an idea of what it would look like, though.
Nick: I’ll say that I thought that when the band split up back in 2013, that really might be the end. And that was sort of a sacrifice in a lot of ways we all made to ensure that we were good as family first, and then once that healing happened, it’s hard to believe that we’ve now been reunited and doing this for as long as when we were apart doing our own things and spreading our wings. Overall, we feel like we’re having the most fun we’ve ever had.
The first time I saw you guys perform, or even in person for that matter, was at the American Music Awards in 2007, the performance of “SOS,” where Joe fell through that glass door. But I’ll never forget seeing you walk into the arena. The entire place erupted and went wild. I remember telling people, “These guys are the Beatles. Such rock stars.” What was going through your minds?
Joe: I think probably what was going through our minds was tons of what a therapist would call “one-day anxiety” and at that moment we probably just were feeling all those emotions without clarity of what they were and having this performance be the most “important” thing we could do in our career thus far. We were nervous, we were excited, but more nerves than anything, like this is make or break. If you mess up, the whole world is watching. I think it was God or the universe’s way of being like, “Hey, don’t take yourself too serious, kid.”
What did it feel like when you signed your first record deal?
Kevin: I don’t remember the day exactly, but I do remember the time when it was all happening. I remember when [then Columbia Records president] Steve Greenberg came in and began championing us as a band. He was very, very bullish on trying to make something happen.
Nick: I do remember the day we were signed because we were all minors, so you have to get a judge’s approval in the state of New York. We had to go to the courthouse — it’s a very good law to protect young people from signing the deals that would unravel their life later on when they’re 18 — got the judge’s approval, and then were able to sign our contracts. Back then, they were physical contracts, not DocuSigns.
What was the moment that you realized you made it?
Nick: I remember the Texas State Fair back in ‘07 being a moment, we all felt kind of like we’d reached a new plane, and it was around that time where I think we started to settle into the realization that this thing had become so big. That thing is an odd thing to wrestle with when you’re 14.
What’s been the hardest part of the ride?
Joe: I would say it’s a bit professional and personal. We are a band, but we’re also a band of biological brothers. I think with a band breaking up, it arguably hits way harder than a normal band breaking up because Thanksgiving dinner might be a little bit more awkward than most. It hit us, our family and our friends. It was the best decision that we could have made as a band, but at the time, that was tough. And also trying to navigate just being a “normal” person. That was tricky and weird. You saw us through those years when we were in our teenage years trying to be like, who are we and the rest of the world assumes we know already. Somehow we made it through and kept our heads on straight and had each other to lean on. Without all of that experience, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Do you remember your first red carpet?
Nick: The Kid’s Choice Awards was the proper first red carpet and those photos are really something. For some reason we decided that in every photo we would make this expression with our mouths where we’re sticking our tongues out and that was the right thing to do to introduce ourselves. But we were young.
Joe: I think we looked at a lot of Green Day photos, Blink 182, Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. They were always like tongues out, big expressions, jumping all over each other. We were like, “Well, if we do this, maybe they’ll use our photo. How do we stand out?” It was us attempting to be what we thought we should be or what we thought was cool, and we were like, “We could be just like them.”
In 2009, you were nominated for the best new artist Grammy.
Kevin: That was very, very special. It was a great moment. Luckily, we were there at the nomination ceremony when they announced the nominees, and it was a really special day. I think it just felt like we were part of the club. I felt like we had been working really hard, and a lot of the music that the team and ourselves really worked hard to write and produce with John Fields and Nick writing so many amazing songs, we felt heard.
Nick: I don’t think we ever thought we would win. We were just happy to be invited to the party and to this day, we still haven’t won a Grammy, but we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to play for the crowds we play for and have people really connect with this music on a multi-generational level. That’s the best part about what we’re seeing at the shows now, is that the fans that were there in their teens and their childhoods are coming, but with their kids now, and the parents that used to bring them still want to come. So it’s a real celebration.
What would you tell your younger selves today?
Nick: I would tell them just to take a little pressure off. I think we came up in a time — our work with Disney — and obviously, demographics of that being primarily a younger audience, teens, so there’s this real pressure to be a role model, to be an example. I think back when we would’ve said, “Oh, we love that. We don’t mind the pressure. We’re trying to be good guys.” I think as a 33-year-old, talking to my 13-year-old self, I’d say, “Hey, don’t try to carry the world on your shoulders. If you just need to be a kid growing up, going through experiences, do that.”
I’ve talked to Joe in the past about his experience being in therapy. Have you ever been in group therapy as a band or as a family?
Joe: We have not done family or band therapy. We’re not above it in any way. I think we haven’t dealt with anything yet that we couldn’t resolve internally just the three of us. But I do think it would be good to have somebody on…
Nick: Speed dial.
Joe: Just probably put them on per diem or a retainer just in case. We do have our quick-change tent right off-stage where we go before and after our shows. We’ve had some real conversations in that tent this tour, whether it’s us getting real with one another and saying, “Hey, what’s going on here or there?” It’s the therapy tent.
At the end of those conversations, is there a moment where you go, “OK, we’re going to leave that here in the tent because now it’s time to perform?”
Joe: Definitely. Usually it’s two of us telling one person, “Hey, what do you got to work through or shake off, and if you can’t shake it, let’s use it. If you need a minute, let’s take a minute. The show can wait.” It’s a reminder to be there for each other.
Who do you still want to work with?
Nick: I think for the full circle aspect of it, to do something with [fellow New Jersey native] Bruce Springsteen would be cool.
Kevin: I would really love to work with Mark Ronson. I feel like he would be a really incredible songwriter and producer to work with on a project of ours.
Joe: I’d love to work with Rick Rubin. And I agree with Kevin and Nick, so maybe all three of them at the same time.
Whose kids look like they’re going to end up going in the business?
Nick: Our daughter [Nick and his wife Priyanka Chopra’s daughter Malti turns 4 in January] loves music and she loves to sing, but I think we’re going to be very patient and make sure she is teed up for emotional success as well as other success by way of how we parent her. If she wants to pursue a career in music or acting, then of course we’ll be supportive of whatever she wants to do. We want to see her thrive.
What’s the one song of yours that will always put you in a good mood, that no matter when you play it or hear it, you’re good?
Nick: “Waffle House” has that vibe in the message. I feel like every time we play it, I’m reminded of the good old days and to think that maybe the good old days are happening right now.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
From Variety US