Jonas Brothers

Jonas Brothers biography

The Jonas Brothers are an American boy band. Formed in 2005, they have gained popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network and consists of three brothers from the shore region of New Jersey; Paul Kevin Jonas II, Joseph Adam Jonas and Nicholas Jerry Jonas. In the summer of 2008 they starred in the Disney Channel Original Movies Camp Rock and its sequel, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. The band has released four albums: It's About Time, Jonas Brothers, A Little Bit Longer, and Lines, Vines and Trying Times. In 2008, the group was nominated for the Best New Artist award at the 51st Grammy Awards and won the award for Breakthrough Artist at the American Music Awards. As of May 2009, before the release of Lines, Vines and Trying Times, they have sold over eight million albums worldwide.

The band started as a solo project for Nick Jonas. At the age of 7, Nicholas began performing on Broadway. He has acted in several plays, including A Christmas Carol (in 2000 as Tiny Tim and as Scrooge at eight), Annie Get Your Gun (in 2001 as Little Jake), Beauty and the Beast (in 2002 as Chip), and Les Misérables (in 2003 as Gavroche). After Les Misérables closed, he performed in The Sound of Music (as Kurt) at the Paper Mill Playhouse.

In 2002 while performing in Beauty and the Beast, Nick had written a song with his father called "Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)". With background vocals from the Beauty and the Beast cast, Nick performed the song on the 2002 annual Broadway "Equity Fights AIDS" album, Broadway's Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure, Vol. 4. In November 2003, INO Records received a demo copy of "Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)". The label released the song to Christian radio, where it quickly became popular on Record & Radio's Christian Adult Contemporary Chart.

By September 2004, an executive at Columbia Records found out about Nick's song. A second single, a new solo recording of "Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)", was released on November 16. It was supposed to be followed by a December release of a self-titled solo album Nicholas Jonas, but the album had been pushed back; it did, however, get a limited release. Nick, along with his brothers, Kevin and Joe, had written several other songs for the album. After meeting with Nick and hearing the song "Please Be Mine", written and performed by the brothers, Daylight/Columbia Records decided to sign the three as a group act.

2005-06: It's About Time

After being signed to Columbia, the brothers considered naming their group "Sons of Jonas" before settling on the name "Jonas Brothers." Throughout 2005, the Jonas Brothers had gone on several tours, opening for various artists including, Jump5, Kelly Clarkson, Jesse McCartney, the Backstreet Boys, and The Click Five. They spent the latter portion of the year on an anti-drug tour with Aly & AJ and The Cheetah Girls. Additionally, they opened for The Veronicas in early 2006. For the album, titled It's About Time, the band collaborated with several writers, including Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), Michael Mangini (Joss Stone), Desmond Child (Aerosmith, Bon Jovi), Billy Mann (Destiny's Child, Jessica Simpson) and Steve Greenberg. The album was initially supposed to be released in February 2006, but was pushed back several times. The delay was due to executive changes at Sony (the parent company of Columbia) and the executives' desire to have "another lead single" on the album. For the album, the Jonas Brothers covered two hit songs by UK band Busted - "Year 3000" and "What I Go to School For".

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