Friday September 5, 2008
The Jonas Brothers are down-to-earth heartthrobs
By GORDON KHO
Despite their superstar status, the Jonas Brothers are down-to-earth.
It is only 10am but the sun is already blazing. The barricades have been placed opposite the legendary Ziegfeld Theatre on 54th street in Manhattan, New York.
A group of giddy and giggly teenage girls have secured the prime positions along the barricades. More will join them soon. These girls come as far away as Canada and Los Angeles for one reason. Actually, make that three reasons – Joe, Nick and Kevin – a.k.a. the Jonas Brothers.
Here, at the Ziegfeld Theatre, Disney will screen Camp Rock in which the boys make their major acting debut.
Never mind that the Jonas Brothers will only make an appearance on the “white” carpet (red carpet is so yesterday!) at 4pm. These girls are there bright and early to ensure they get the best spot so that the boys can spot them (and their home-made signs which read “Marry Me Nick!” and “The Jonas Brothers ROCK!”).
The Jonas Brothers, (from left) Nick, Joe and Kevin, are the latest sensation from Disney. The boys star in a Disney original made-for-TV-movie, Camp Rock. Tourists who chance upon the street (Ziegfeld is close to Fifth Avenue and Central Park) where the girls are congregating, are puzzled. What’s the big deal, they must be wondering.
Well, the Jonas Brothers are a big deal. Forget Zac Efron. Move aside Miley Cyrus.
The summer of 2008 clearly belonged to this telegenic trio. They opened for Avril Lavigne in several European cities. Upon completion, they embarked on a 46-date North American tour in support of their third album, A Little Bit Longer.
That tour proved to be fruitful because when the album was released just a few weeks ago, it went straight to No.1 on the Billboard album chart, chalking up sales of 517,000 copies. A very impressive number considering the music business is in a slump.
Then, there’s Camp Rock, the TV movie that Disney tailored just for the boys. Initially, Disney only wanted Joe for the role of Shane Grey in Camp Rock. But the Jonas camp was only keen if all brothers were included in the movie. Thus, Kevin and Nick were cast, albeit in supporting roles.
In the movie, the brothers play phenomenal pop act, Connect Three. When lead singer Shane is dogged with negative publicity for his bad behaviour, the other two band members, Jason (Kevin) and Nate (Nick), decide to send him off to Camp Rock to straighten him up. At the camp, Shane has to teach the kids dance lessons.
Though he is bummed with the prospect of spending the summer in Camp Rock, Shane changes his mind when he hears a mysterious girl singing a beautiful ballad. He makes it his mission to search for the girl with the sensational voice.
Demi Lovato is the female lead in Camp Rock, a Disney Channel original movie. Demi plays Mitchie Torres, a musical prodigy who can’t afford to attend a prestigious music camp. Her mother manages to get her into the camp by landing them both jobs in the kitchen and once there, Mitchie befriends Shane and his gang.
Just like in the movie, the brothers are tight in real life too. They reveal that they hardly fight and don’t mind spending time with one another, even outside work. Nick and Joe still share a room when they are on the road.
Shane Grey (Joe Jonas) gets packed off to Camp Rock by his bandmates because of his bad behaviour. At camp, Shane has to teach the kids dance moves They move about together as a group and never do interviews individually. Twenty-year-old Kevin who is the eldest is the most talkative. Joe, 19, who is the lead singer, is the fashionable one. And songwriter Nick, at only 15, is the brooding one. He is also the one with a high-profiled love life.
Currently rumoured to be dating Selena Gomez (another up-and-coming Disney starlet who also appeared as Nick’s love interest in the music video for the Jonas Brothers’ latest single, Burnin’ Up), Nick had a two-year relationship with Miley Cyrus prior to this.
The Jonas Brothers is not a new band. They have been in the scene for a few years but fame just eluded them. They were signed to Columbia Records in 2005 and released their debut album a year later. But the label did nothing to promote them which explains why their careers were stagnant. Along came Disney.
“We have met them when they were with Columbia Records and have commissioned them to do a music video for us for the opening title for one of our animated series,” recalls Gary Marsh, president of entertainment, Disney Channels Worldwide. “When we shot the video, we thought there’s something electric about these guys. They are naturally gifted performers.”
However, because of contractual obligations, Disney couldn’t do anything more with them. But Marsh did express interest in the band.
“But guess what, Columbia for whatever reason – our good fortune, their bad timing – dropped them. We signed them to a record deal, we signed them to a TV series. And they got embraced by the Disney family.”
With Disney’s clout, Jonas Brothers went from strength to strength. While the first album, It’s about Time under Columbia, received lukewarm response, their second eponymous effort under Disney’s Hollywood Records fared much better.
The album, released last year, sold 1.2 million copies in America (at press time, the album has re-entered the top 10 of the Billboard album chart, giving the boys two albums in the top 10, a feat not achieved for the past nine years by any act). Last year, the band reportedly made US$12mil (RM41mil).
Demi Lovato (middle), the female lead, and her co-stars Jasmine Richard (left) and Anna Maria Perez de Tagle in a scene from Camp Rock. But the brothers have not forgotten their roots. Fans who gathered to see the boys at the premiere of Camp Rock say that they like Jonas Brothers because they are humble. Their co-stars echo this sentiment.
“Being on set with them, you wouldn’t know how big they are because they are so genuine. And they have a special family bond and it is nice to see that in the business,” says 14-year-old Alyson Stoner, who plays Camp Rock’s music genius Caitlyn Geller.
Kevin, Joe and Nick’s careers are managed by their father, Kevin Jonas Sr. Their mother Denise and younger brother, Frankie (affectionately known as Bonus Jonas), travel with the boys on tours.
Nick says that having family around helps them stay grounded and out of trouble.
Their success could also be a matter of timing. In the music scene, there seem to be a void of clean-cut boybands. In the top 40, you have R&B divas (Rihanna, Mary J. Blige), good girls gone bad (Katy Perry, Pussycat Dolls), white boys wanting to be black (Justin Timberlake, Jesse McCartney) and black artistes aplenty (Akon, Kanye).
Jonas Brothers are as clean cut as they come. In an interview with People magazine, the boys revealed that all three wear purity rings to signify that they will stay pure until the day they get married.
“It’s a personal decision. It’s another way for us to be different. Some people are like ‘Whoa’. Why is the world so freaked out that we have standards?” Nick told People magazine.
Shane (Joe Jonas) is inspired to write just the right song for Connect Three, the phenomenal pop act in Camp Rock. At the interview with StarTwo the day after the premiere, I ask the boys if telling the world of their pledge to stay celibate would be such a good idea as the media would then be watching like hawks for a slip-up (hello, Britney!). Nick suddenly clams up and replies coldly: “We are here to talk about Camp Rock only.”
However, when the same question is posed to Kevin Sr, who was once a minister in a church in New Jersey, he is more forthcoming than his popular son.
“It was a personal decision they made when they were 12. I respect it but it was made at 12. Whether or not the media will scrutinise them, they have made a quality decision that I will applaud. Whether it lasts a week, or till they are married, it is a good reminder that values are good and worth holding on to.”
So, that’s part of Jonas Brothers’ charm – old-fashioned, Osmond-like innocence. Even their fashion sense is inspired from that era.
“Our style is definitely very 60s and 70s inspired. Fashion is like a big thing for us. We enjoy high fashion stuff but you will see us at vintage shops too,” explains Joe.
The 19-year-old favours bespoke suits and chose a black Dolce & Gabanna suit, pink V-neck T-shirt from Burberry and a pair of pristine white Gucci laced-up shoes for the premiere.
Kevin seems to have a penchant for skinny jeans and pointy boots while Nick favours skinny ties and cardigans.
And like every other celebrities in show business today, Jonas Brothers, too, hope to parlay their popularity into a fashion line.
“Maybe one day we can tap into the fashion market and have a Jonas Brothers fashion line,” says Joe. “I’m not saying we’re amazing designers or anything, but we love our clothes. It would be really cool.”
At the moment, though, their hands are full. Apart from promoting their current album (the first single Burnin’ Up is already burning up the airwaves in the United States as well as Malaysia), their new comedy-spy-adventure TV series J.O.N.A.S. (Junior Operatives Networking As Spies) will make its debut on Disney channel in the United States this month.
The boys are also music producers for their Camp Rock co-star Lovato. They have written and produced six songs in her upcoming album. Then, it will be back to filming the sequel to Camp Rock.
Jonas Brothers definitely have their plates full. And to think that they were once deemed unworthy and dropped from a recording company. Someone at Columbia Records must be kicking himself now.
Catch Jonas Brothers in Camp Rock which premieres on Disney Channel (Astro channel 615) this Sunday at 7.30pm. The repeat is on Sept 21 at 10am.
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Father Jonas knows best
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