JoBros revival — the boys are back
The three Jonas Brothers are as one again, making music — here's what to know about their new venture
In these (lines, vines and) trying times, nostalgia has proven to be quite comforting. It’s why network executives have considered rebooting basically every show you’ve ever loved, or why your parents tell you music on the radio was far better when they were young.
The mums and dads of current 20-somethings may have been shading the Jonas Brothers, a boy band whose fame peaked in the late 2000s. The New Jersey natives gained a huge following from appearing on the Disney Channel and starred in the movie Camp Rock alongside singeractress Demi Lovato in 2008.
Joe was the cool one, Nick the cute one and Kevin was, well, the other one. Skinny jeans, strained voices and purity rings their trademarks.
By the time the band fizzled out in 2013, they had sold more than 17 million albums.
But guess what, parents? The JoBros are back! After teasing the reunion last week, they released the single Sucker and an accompanying music video. An album is coming.
Here’s what to know about the Jonas Brothers and their latest musical adventure.
How long has it been since we last heard from them?
Brothers released the singles Pom Poms and First Time in the first half of 2013, announcing soon after that the songs would be part of a fifth album titled V. In October, however, they cancelled V and released an album of live recordings called Live. After splitting up, the brothers went solo. Nick wound up No 10 on the 2015 list of People’s Sexiest Men Alive and can still be heard on party playlists via his songs Jealous and Levels. Joe fronts the band DNCE, known for the 2015 hit Cake by the Ocean. Kevin, according to Forbes, became a full-time entrepreneur.
What songs should I listen to in preparation for Sucker?
If you’re looking for a true blast from the past, perhaps travel to the future with their cover of Year 3000. The band’s selftitled album contains some of their most memorable work — S.O.S., Hold On, Kids of the Future and When You Look Me in the Eyes — but the 2008
album A Little Bit Longer produced arguably their best
work: Burnin’ Up and Lovebug.
Who are the women in the Sucker music video?
Priyanka Chopra, Sophie Turner and Danielle Jonas. Chopra, a Bollywood star who transitioned to Hollywood by starring in the ABC drama Quantico, married Nick in December. Several receptions followed their lavish #sponcon wedding, as did a viral article that bizarrely referred to her as a “global scam artist”. She is also known for being friends with the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. Game of Thrones fans are especially likely to recognise Turner, a British actress who plays Sansa Stark in the HBO series and has been engaged to Joe since 2017. Danielle Jonas married Kevin in 2009. The brothers are all about family, if you couldn’t tell.
I like seeing these brothers on camera. Have they ever had a television show?
Unfortunately, they have. The Disney Channel series Jonas premiered in 2009 and featured the brothers playing dramatised versions of themselves, Tellingly, the most memorable thing about it is that they lived in a firehouse. A Los Angeles Times article that year said the characters were originally conceived as secret agents who played in a band as a cover. The working title, J.O.N.A.S., would have stood for “Junior Operatives Networking As Spies.” Oh, what could have been!
Why don’t people care as much about Kevin?
Despite his brief E! reality series Married to Jonas, the public just seems more interested in his bros. It’s a running joke — as someone tweeted Friday, they’re basically “The Jonas Brothers Ft. Kevin Jonas.” (Speaking of which, don’t forget about fourth brother Frankie, aka Bonus Jonas.) Hints of this dynamic have slipped into interviews. While promoting Sucker, Joe said that while working on the new music, it came down to “balancing Nick’s sound, DNCE’s sound and, to be truthful, Kevin’s, like, bringing so much heart into this.” We give Kevin props for taking style cues from Beyonce´.
When do we get the rest of the album?
Soon enough. Joe said the band had “30, 40 songs recorded”. In the next few months, we’re probably going to hear more.