The story is age old—a successful boy band, the desire of hundreds of screaming female fans, breaks up and then one member veers away and attempts to do things solo. Case in point, Nick Jonas’s recent autonomous success distinct from the Jonas Brothers with his release of his self-titled album, “Nick Jonas,” which came out on Tuesday.
After the Jonas Brothers confirmed their amicable split in October 2013, Nick Jonas took his vocal chords and decided to go solo. The 22-year-old singer’s new album is nothing short of risqué, and it shatters Jonas’s previous good-boy Disney image.
“Nick Jonas” has a total of 11 songs that break the stereotypical mold of the former boy-bander. The first track on the album, which was first released as a solo, is “Chains.” The deep beat is accompanied by even deeper lyrics. Jonas sings, “trying to break the chains, but the chains only break me,” as he croons about a tormented relationship that keeps him imprisoned.
“Chains” is followed by the catchy tune of his first single, “Jealous.” The song is not only a lyrical masterpiece that would appeal to any person who has ever experienced jealousy within a relationship with the hook, “Cause you’re too sexy, beautiful/ And everybody wants a taste that’s why/ I still get jealous.” It also contains just the right amount of pop combined with a hint of rock music.
The third track on the album is “Teacher,” which has a very Michael Jackson-esque air. The beat is poppy and upbeat, and the lyrics are steamy. “Teacher” is followed by “Warning,” which is very repetitive as Jonas describes the distress of being trapped in one’s head. He sings, “I keep trying to escape/ From this cage that I live in/ This prison in my head.”
The fifth track, “Wilderness,” begins with humming and strips love down to the basics. Nick sings, “Gotta have it/ The feeling you give me is savage.” It is followed by “Numb,” featuring Angel Haze, which is Jonas’s first leap into hip-hop, sort of. He drops an f-bomb in the first verse of the song, and the beat is as close to hip-hop as the former Jonas Brother has ever come.
The next song, “Take Over,” is more characteristic of Nick and goes back to his pop roots. “Take Over” is followed by “Push,” the album’s first ballad. It is slow, yet rhythmic with the lyrics, “You need space, you need time/ You take yours, and I’ll take mine.”
“I Want You” is the ninth track on the album, and it describes a man that is hell-bent on keeping his girl to himself and only himself—a bit creepy, I know. In the next track on the album, “Avalanche,” Jonas works with former Disney co-star Demi Lovato. His voice is soft and pleasant in the song, and Lovato complements his vocals well.
The final track on “Nick Jonas” is “Nothing Would be Better,” and the song lives up to its title. The song is the perfect end to Jonas’s new album. It is melodic, and the lyrics are genuine and deep. He sings, “Like it or not, we were doomed from the start/ I know that you’ll agree/ But nothing is forever, nothing would be better/ Better than you and me.” The lyrics are cryptic, but hold so much meaning that it comes together as a sweet, unflawed song.
In a New York Times article, Jonas is said to have grown as a singer and into his own musical style. The article says, “Mr. Jonas is a capable singer, with an effective falsetto, and as a signifier of maturity, you suspect, he’s switched from applying it to rock to putting it in service of R&B. (He also curses, which matters only if you believed that the purity rings the Jonas Brothers once wore warded off all sin for time eternal.)”
It is evident Jonas’ new album is different from the work for which he is known. He transitioned from a Disney boy-bander to somewhat of a sex symbol over time. His new album screams lust, and his image has accordingly transitioned.
In a Rolling Stones article Brittany Spanos says, “For Jonas, the new sound works well: He’s sweetly confident while singing about all the adult lust that he has been suppressing in his music for years.”
Overall, Nick Jonas’s latest self-titled album epitomizes a blend of the pop and R&B genre with its catchy lyrics and rhythmic beats.
