Every generation has its share of boy bands. While young women of the 1960s rocked out to The Beatles, and those in the 1990s and early 2000s screamed for the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, it was The Jonas Brothers who captured the hearts of young girls everywhere in the late 2000s.
The band, made up of brothers Kevin, Nick, and Joe, formed in 2005 as a Christian group. Later that year, they signed with Columbia Records and began working on their debut album while also touring with acts like Kelly Clarkson, the Backstreet Boys, and The Cheetah Girls.
Their first album, “It’s About Time,” was released in 2006. After Columbia Records dropped the brothers in early 2007, they signed with Disney’s Hollywood Records. While they initially started out covering songs for Disney soundtracks, they eventually released a self-titled album called “Jonas Brothers” in August of 2007.
The brothers went on a successful three-month concert tour in early 2008. They also landed a starring role in the Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock, which helped boost their popularity. They starred alongside Demi Lovato, whose own music career took off with some help from the brothers who co-wrote some of her songs.
Just two months after the movie’s premiere in June 2008, The Jonas Brothers released their third album, “A Little Bit Longer.” It debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and included hits like “Lovebug,” “Tonight,” and “Burnin’ Up,” further cementing their place among the world’s hottest musical acts of the time.
The entire album contained obvious nods to The Beatles, who were among The Jonas Brothers’ biggest musical influences. They even covered one of the Fab Four’s songs, “Hello Goodbye,” as a bonus track. The song “BB Good” has a message that is quite similar to “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.”
In 2009, they released their fourth album, “Lines, Vines and Trying Times.” Although it debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, critics called it “overproduced” and “premature,” saying that the band seemed too eager to shed their Disney image. Others, meanwhile, mocked them for their squeaky clean reputation and their decision to wear purity rings.
Despite all this criticism, the brothers continued to work with Disney. They starred in Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam which premiered in 2010. They also worked on the second season of their sitcom, Jonas.
Following the Camp Rock 2 concert tour and their show’s cancellation, the band’s popularity began to fizzle out. In 2011, The Jonas Brothers cut ties with Hollywood Records and went on hiatus. Nick and Joe went solo, while Kevin began to settle into married life. After a failed attempt to work on another album, the band announced their decision to split in 2013.
Six years after their breakup, The Jonas Brothers are making a comeback. They released a new single, “Sucker,” in March of 2019. Their fifth studio album, “Happiness Begins,” followed a few months after. They also announced the Happiness Begins Tour, and a new Amazon Prime Video documentary called Chasing Happiness, which explores their rise to stardom, their breakup, and their frustrations working with Disney.
This year marks the start of an exciting new chapter for The Jonas Brothers. Free from the pressures of the company that made them stars early on, the brothers are now free to mold their image and grow their careers on their own terms. The future is looking bright for them, and we can’t wait to see what they’ll be up to next.