Biography

Singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actor Nick Jonas is best known as one-third of the hugely popular Disney Channel sibling pop/rock act the Jonas Brothers. Since 2010, Nick has focused primarily on his own career, releasing solo material, appearing in musicals, and acting in film and television. While hooky pop remains at the core of his sound, he has matured, collaborating with members of Prince's New Power Generation for his 2010 Nick Jonas & the Administration debut, Who I Am. The album hit number three on the Billboard 200 and paved the way for equally sophisticated solo productions including 2014's Nick Jonas and 2016's Last Year Was Complicated, the latter of which included collaborations with Tove Lo, Ty Dolla $ign, and Big Sean. Both albums also cracked the Top Ten of the Billboard 200. Along with roles in the 2016 fraternity hazing drama Goat and the 2017 comedy Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Jonas has continued to explore different pop styles, working on tracks with Nicki Minaj, Mike Posner, and DJ Robin Schulz. Following his chart-topping 2019 reunion with the Jonas Brothers, Happiness Begins, he returned to his solo work with 2021's Spaceman. A performer since the age of seven (the age at which he joined the Broadway cast of Annie Get Your Gun), Nick made his songwriting debut in 2002, when a holiday tune he'd co-written with his father found its way onto a Broadway Christmas album. A contract with Columbia Records followed two years later. He began prepping for his solo career by writing material with his older brothers, Kevin and Joseph, who eventually climbed aboard as permanent partners. Nick's solo project thus blossomed into a full-fledged band, and the siblings aptly named themselves the Jonas Brothers. It took several years for the trio to find an adoring audience. It's About Time, the band's 2006 debut, was a commercial flop, and Columbia Records dropped the group one year later. Signing with Hollywood Records in 2007, they began attracting new fans -- most of them young and female -- by establishing a presence in the Disney world. They appeared on the network's television shows, earned their own series, starred in a made-for-TV movie with Disney starlet Demi Lovato, and sold close to two million copies of their self-titled sophomore album. They replicated that feat one year later with A Little Bit Longer and returned in 2009 with Lines, Vines and Trying Times. All of the albums featured heavy contributions from Nick, who not only led the songwriting process but also played a wide variety of instruments, from drums to keyboard to guitar. Taking a rare break from the band, Nick Jonas began working with several other musicians on a side project in late 2009. Members from Prince's New Power Generation were recruited to join the lineup, including Michael Bland and Tommy Barbarella, and the group dubbed itself Nick Jonas & the Administration before debuting in early 2010 with the album Who I Am. The record performed respectably, peaking at three on the U.S. charts on its way to sales of 151,000, but there were soon suggestions that Nick was planning to return to the Jonas Brothers fold. This didn't happen. A 2013 tour was scrapped just prior to its October launch and, soon afterward, the band split. Nick Jonas regrouped with a 2014 solo tour followed by the November release of an eponymous album. Over the course of 2014, Jonas gained momentum, generating the Top Ten single "Jealous," which also topped Billboard's dance charts, as did "Chains" and "Levels," a bonus track from 2015's Nick Jonas X2. In the summer of 2016, Jonas returned with Last Year Was Complicated, featuring production by Jason Evigan, Mattman & Robin, and Sir Nolan, among others. Included on the album was "Close," a duet with Tove Lo, and "Bacon" featuring Ty Dolla $ign. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. Also around this time, Jonas returned to acting, starring in the erotic thriller Careful What You Wish For and the fraternity hazing drama Goat. In 2017, he released the single "Remember I Told You," featuring Anne-Marie and Mike Posner. Also that year, he collaborated with Nicki Minaj on the track "Bom Bidi Bom" from the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack, and he appeared in the hit action-comedy Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Jonas paired with German DJ Robin Schulz in 2018 for the single "Right Now," which hit number 14 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. In 2019, he was back with his brothers for the reunion album Happiness Begins. Buoyed by the number one single "Sucker," the set debuted on top of the Billboard 200. Following reunion tour duties, Jonas returned to his solo work, releasing the 2020 stand-alone single "Until We Meet Again." In March 2021, he issued his fourth solo album, the Greg Kurstin-produced Spaceman. ~ Andrew Leahey, Rovi