Joe Jonas' upcoming album isn't technically his solo debut: In 2011 during a Jonas Brothers hiatus, he released the mid-length JoBro Fastlifea foray into club-oriented rhythmic pop with contributions from Lil Wayne and Chris Brown that failed to turn the then 22-year-old into a radio star. “I have so much love for these songs – they've actually aged quite well!” says Jonas today with a big smile. “But I feel like a different person.”
Fastlife could be a lifetime ago for Jonas, now 35. Since then, he's found radio success with 2015's “Cake by the Ocean” as the leader of pop collective DNCE, then reunited with his brothers Nick and Kevin in 2019, for a The Return of the Jonas Brothers produced No. 1 smash “Sucker” and a world arena tour, among other achievements.
Jonas also married actress Sophie Turner in 2019, had two daughters, and then experienced a very public divorce in 2023. “I went through a lot of changes in my life,” he says of the past few years, “finding out who I was as a person and a father and a friend, and living under the microscope of what the music industry can be. And I think, at such a crazy time in my life, I looked to music as an outlet.”
The result is Music for people who believe in lovea solo album full of colorless musings and sonic experiments that Republic Records will release on October 18th. The full length is like nothing Fastlifebut it doesn't sound like either the Jonas Brothers or DNCE. Jonas lands on a shimmering pop sound that draws together a wide range of influences, from garage-rock to alt-pop to '90s country, while singing about navigating life's uncertainties and gratitude in the midst of loss.
“Things you can't imagine/Remind you of what you've always had/Maybe they're meant to happen/That's how you know the worst isn't so bad,” she sings on “My Own Best Friend,” a pleading anthem punctuated by mournful whistling. Elsewhere, Jonas runs through a synth-heavy workout on “Velvet Sunshine,” delivers a soft “lullaby to my kids” on “Hey Beautiful,” and, on lead single “Work It Out,” addresses his own “Head Full of Insecurities ” while sliding into falsetto with a piercing beat.
Jonas says so Music for people who believe in love started with the song 'Only Love', a funk-up and flirty pop-rock jam he had originally planned with his brothers. During the writing process in Australia while working with producer Joel Little, “I noticed that the song was going in the direction of some personal things that I was going through,” Jonas recalls. “So I go to Kevin and Nick, 'Hey, can I use this as a catapult to explore what that sound could be and also what I'm trying to get at emotionally?' They were very supportive — Nick said, “Well, damn, I really like this song. But I understand what you have to do, so go ahead.' ”
Jonas quickly went to work, gathering studio musicians including Alexander 23, Justin Tranter, Jason Evigan and Tommy English at Los Angeles' House of Blues studio and knocking out most of the album in two and a half weeks. Following the sunny Jonas Brothers bodysuit The album in the spring of 2023 — and then a series of tabloid headlines detailing his divorce last fall — Jonas says that pursuing a more personal project ultimately proved therapeutic.
“It was scary at times, and also liberating,” she says. “I'm not trying to come for anybody on this album. I'm not trying to put things on blast. I have a beautiful life for which I am grateful. I have two beautiful children. I'm a happy person and the music had to be like that — but also the journey to get here.”
Republic vice president of marketing strategy Alyssa LoPresti adds, “This campaign starts and ends with Joe. From his personal taste in music, brought out by [his] remarkable and exciting choice of partners, the way he interacts with his fans across his platforms and the content he's filmed to support the launch are all authentic to who Joe is and reflective of this chapter of his life.”
Jonas says more album tracks and their featured guests will be revealed in the coming weeks after the release of “Work It Out” in July, and that he “definitely” plans to introduce the album live, possibly around release week.
If Jonas' latest solo project was a bid for stardom while he was still figuring out who he was, Music for people who believe in love it represents a check-in from an artist at peace with his choices. “At its core,” he says, “if this body of work helps people deal with what they're going through, that's all I can really hope for.”
This story appears in the August 24, 2024 issue Bulletin board.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/joe-jonas-music-for-people-who-believe-in-love-interview-1235759125/
