Friday, January 25, 2013

Pearls : Nick Jonas

"I thought the popular kids were the cool kids. I got caught up in that, and it was bogus. High school is about finding who you are because thats more important than trying to be someone else."

Who Is Nick Jonas ?
Nicholas Jerry "Nick" Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor and multi-instrumentalist, best known as one of the Jonas Brothers, a pop-rock band he formed with his brothers Joe and Kevin. The Jonas Brothers originally started as an attempted solo singing career for Nick, but the record producer liked the sound when his brothers sang backup for him. He previously starred in the Disney Channel original series JONAS L.A. as Nick Lucas, alongside his brothers. He also starred in the Disney Channel original movie Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. He formed the band Nick Jonas & The Administration, which released its first album in 2010.

Jonas was born in Dallas, Texas. His mother, Denise (née Miller), is a former sign language teacher and singer, and his father, Paul Kevin Jonas, Sr., is a songwriter, musician, and former ordained minister at an Assemblies of God church. He was raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey and homeschooled by his mother. Nick is of Italian (from a great-grandfather), German, Irish, English, Cherokee, and French-Canadian descent.

Jonas's career started when he was discovered at the age of six in a barber shop, while his mother was getting her hair cut and was referred to a professional show business manager. At the age of 7, he began performing on Broadway. He had acted in several plays, including A Christmas Carol (in 2000 as Tiny Tim and 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, Jonas wrote a song with his father called "Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)." With background vocals from the Beauty and the Beast cast, Nick recorded 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 discovered Jonas' song. He was soon jointly signed to INO Records and Columbia Records and released the single "Dear God". A second single, "Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)" (a re-recorded version), 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 was pushed back. It did, however, get a limited release. Nick, along with his brothers, Kevin and Joe, co-wrote songs for the album. In early 2005, Columbia Records' new president, Steve Greenberg, heard Jonas' record. While Greenberg did not like the album, he did like Nick's voice.

After meeting with Jonas 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. After being signed to Columbia, the brothers considered naming their group "Sons of Jonas" before settling on the name "Jonas Brothers." It's About Time, the brothers' first album was released on August 8, 2006. According to the band's manager, it was only a "limited release" of a little over 50,000 copies. Because Sony was not interested in further promoting the band, the Jonas Brothers considered switching labels. The band was ultimately dropped by Columbia Records in early 2007.

After shortly being without a label, the Jonas Brothers signed with Hollywood Records in February 2007. Around the same time, brothers began appearing in commercials for Baby Bottle Pops, singing the jingle. Their self-titled second album, Jonas Brothers, was released on August 7, 2007. It reached number five on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week. It has since sold over three million copies worldwide. On August 17, 2007, Jonas, along with his brothers, guest starred in an episode of Hannah Montana, which aired after the premiere of High School Musical 2 and the Disney Channel show Phineas and Ferb. The episode broke basic cable records with a record 10.7 million viewers and became basic cable's most watched series telecast ever.

The reality short series, Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream, premiered on Disney Channel on May 16, 2008. The show, which ran until September 5, 2008, documents the brothers' lives on the Look Me in the Eyes Tour. The name was inspired by the band's hit song "When You Look Me in the Eyes". The series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on March 21, 2010. The second season follows the band on the European leg of their World Tour 2009. Jonas and his brothers filmed a Disney Channel Original Movie called Camp Rock where they play a band called "Connect Three." Joe plays the lead male role as lead singer "Shane Gray"; Nick plays the role of "Nate," a guitarist; and Kevin plays the role of "Jason," also a guitarist. A soundtrack for the movie was released on June 17, 2008. The movie premiered on June 20, 2008, in the USA on Disney Channel, and Canada on Family. Production began on the sequel, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam in September 2009 and it premiered during the summer of 2010.

The Jonas Brothers' third studio album, A Little Bit Longer, was released in the United States on August 12, 2008. It sold over 2 million copies worldwide. The Jonas Brothers were listed number 9 on the richest pop acts of 2008. Jonas and his brothers starred in the Disney Channel Original Series JONAS about a pop band trying to live a normal life, which premiered May 2, 2009 and concluded on March 14, 2010. Filming for the second season began in February 2010. The second season was renamed Jonas L.A., and premiered on June 20, 2010. On November 8, 2010, it was announced that the series had been cancelled. The Jonas Brothers' fourth studio album, Lines, Vines and Trying Times, was released in the United States in June 2009.

Jonas' side project from the Jonas Brothers called Nick Jonas & the Administration released their debut album Who I Am was released February 2, 2010. In January 2010, Jonas embarked on the Who I Am Tour with the Administration. The tour consisted of 22 dates that began on January 2, 2010, in Dallas, Texas and concluded on January 30, 2010, in Berkeley, California. Jonas also toured with his brothers again in 2010. In September 2011 and October 2011, Nick Jonas & The Administration began touring through South America in support of their debut album, Who I Am.

On June 21, 2010, Jonas made his West End debut performing in Les Misérables for the second time, but this time as the role of Marius Pontmercy. Jonas was originally supposed to play the role for only three weeks, but was able to extend his run until July 24, 2010, because of changes in the Jonas Brothers tour schedule. He also appeared in the 25th Anniversary Concert at The O2 Arena on October 3, 2010, again playing the role of Marius Pontmercy. From August 5–7, 2011, Jonas performed in the musical Hairspray as Link Larkin at the Hollywood Bowl. Jonas appeared in the 2011 series Mr. Sunshine; he played Eli White, an up-and-coming singer who wants everything his way before he performs at the Sunshine Center. He also plays the role of Ryan on the sitcom Last Man Standing. (Read More)


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