By PHYLLIS HO
alltherage@thestar.com.my

KEVIN Jonas has Yuna’s music on his phone. How cool is that?
When asked during a Skype interview if the Jonas Brothers were familiar with any Malaysian singers, the eldest of the trio showed us a Yuna album cover on his mobile phone.

The 24-year-old singer even played a short clip from a song on his phone, before exclaiming “I think I have that album!”

The Jonas Brothers, Kevin, Joe, and Nick, shot to stardom seven years ago and have since released four albums – It’s About Time, Jonas Brothers, A Little Bit Longer and Lines, Vines And Trying Times. They were even nominated for the Best New Artist award at the 51st Grammy Awards (though Adele took home the trophy) and won the Breakthrough Artist award at the 2008 American Music Awards.

Besides carving out a career in singing, the trio also gained much popularity from starring in Disney Channel Original Movies’ Camp Rock and it’s sequel Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, and they even had their own Disney Channel reality series called Jonas Brothers: Living The Dream.

Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, starring Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers premiered on Disney Channel.

Despite being one of the biggest teen acts on the planet, the boys eventually took a break from the scene – right about the time when Canadian superstar Justin Bieber was making a huge splash in the industry.

While some speculated that Bieber’s rising popularity contributed to the brothers’ retreat, according to the boys, they just felt it was the right time to take a breather and focus on personal projects.

Joe used the break to work on his solo album Fastlife, while Nick started his own band Nick Jonas & The Administration, and Kevin … well, he was busy enjoying married life with former hairdresser Danielle Deleasa, as seen on reality TV series Married To Jonas.

And now after three years, the JoBros are finally staging a comeback.
Earlier this year, they teased their fans by tweeting a video (with the #JonasBrothers2012 hashtag) of them working in their home studio, and since then, fans have been having a hard time containing their excitement over their musical reunion.

“It feels like the right time in our lives (to reunite), and we are really looking forward to that,” said 20-year-old Nick, the youngest of the trio.

Though their last world tour was in 2010, the Jonas Brothers seem relaxed and well prepared for their upcoming reunion world tour, which includes a date at Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, on Oct 24. They even joked that they’ll be incorporating Bieber and Lady Gaga’s onstage throwing up into their show.

Brotherly love

Despite the recent British boyband invasion, and the fact that they’ve been gone for so long, the Jonas Brothers don’t seem pressured at all.

In fact, they’re confident they’ll not only recapture the hearts of their existing fans, but they’ll also gain some new ones along the way.

“The thing that sets us apart is that we play the instruments, and we’re the ones writing our music as well (compared to boybands),” Nick said, whose talent as a young Broadway star and recording artist was what led to the Brothers being discovered in the first place.

It was when Nick was pushing his debut solo album (when he was just 13) that his label decided to sign on his brothers as well, creating a band which the brothers initially wanted to call “Sons of Jonas”. Thankfully, they went with Jonas Brothers instead.

And now that they’re back from their hiatus, they hope to take a break from all the side projects to just focus on the group, and at “being brothers again”.

Married life has been smooth sailing so far for the eldest of the purity ring-wearing siblings. “I feel great. It’s wonderful spending every day with your best friend,” said Kevin.

Kevin Jonas and Danielle Deleasa are enjoying married life.

According to him, the reality show – which documents the young couple’s domestic life along with the brothers’ preparation for their new album – has actually helped their marriage.

“It made us communicate even better on a different level than we did before, and we’ve learnt a lot more about each other than we ever knew,” he shared. “So it’s been a lot of fun, but also very difficult to do.”

Besides Married to Jonas, Nick also appears on the current season of The X-Factor as a guest mentor alongside Demi Lovato. When asked how he feels about working with Joe’s ex-girlfriend, he replied: “She’s a good friend of mine. We’re still very close friends, and it’s amazing that we get to work with each other.”

Different direction

Now that they are older and re-grouping after spending so much time on their solo projects, many fans have wondered if there has been a shift in dynamics within the group.

“It’s sort of an evolution. There has been a slight shift but not really a huge one. We’re discovering how to work together and how to not only create music, but also perform,” Nick explained.

Twenty-three-year-old Joe also added that they went into the comeback with an open mind, and it has been a great experience so far.

A short teaser of their project was shown on an episode of Married To Jonas. Their new track Meet You In Paris was featured on the show while the three brothers were seen recording in their studio.

The Jonas Brothers are back!

However, it’s not confirmed whether the song will be released as the album’s first single, as they are still selecting the best songs for the album.

“Sometimes you pick up a bunch of good songs, and sometimes you wait till you find the perfect song.

“It’s like a journey, where you can record a hundred songs and then write down only 10,” said Kevin, adding that they are planning to play three songs from the new album during this tour.

The boys boldly stated that their latest album’s concept would be different from their previous ones, as the brothers claimed that they have taken charge over everything – from writing the music to the production of the album.

“It’s all us,” said Nick. “We are controlled by destiny now.”

Fresh and new

It might come as a surprise to many, but it will actually be the JoBros’ first tour to Asia, and Nick says they can’t wait to see their fans in this part of the world.

“To go to a new territory that we haven’t been, we feel incredible because we’re finally going to be able to spend the time that we always wanted in those markets, and we’re excited to meet the fans that have been so supportive for so long,” shared Kevin.

“Our vision for the world tour is to create a really dynamic show. The stage is pretty incredible,” said Nick, revealing that they will certainly play most of their old songs. He even mentioned that the group takes song requests from their fans – via Twitter – seriously, and it is a great thing to be able to play what the fans want to hear.

“For those people who may not be as familiar with our work, come see our show. Hopefully you’ll leave a fan,” said Nick.