Heyo! Happy Friday! Hope you had a great week. I am still very much in what I have affectionately called "Jonas Hell". Which means these three dorks from Jersey are still in my mind 14/7 and I am only listening to their music. This is month 10 of the fixation and there is no sign of it ever slowing down or stopping. It's a good thing I didn't write and post this when I was originally planning to because my feelings for this man are drastically different now.
This week's subject is Nicholas Jerry Jonas, or as you all know him, Nick Jonas. I have found a new appreciation for him as an artist, actor, and overall person.
 |
| Nick Jonas |
If by some miracle Nick ever sees this post: Hi, Nick. How are you? Had me lowkey spiraling when you had the flu because I kept waiting for proof of life which we didn't get until you began shooting your movie. Thank you for still trying to perform even when you were clearly feeling crappy. It is appreciated, but I need to say you should never feel bad for putting your health first. You should never feel bad for having to "disappoint" fans over something you cannot control. Your health is so much more important because if you don't take care of yourself then we have no Nick to go see perform. But I am glad that you're well! Lastly, what's up with the Jersey Boys proshoot? I feel like I've been waiting to experience you as Frankie Valli for eons. It is a NEED!
Being that I got into the Jonas Brothers sometime in mid-2006, I've been following Nick's career since he was 13/14 years old. I was nine. We are only four and a half years apart - or five years technically if you don't feel like doing the math. I have an early birthday and he has a late one so it feels like only a four-year difference. I feel like I grew up with him and I did in a parasocial way.
 |
| Nick Jonas, 2006 |
Full disclaimer, he has always been my least favorite Jonas Brother. This is the case where "least" isn't meant in a bad way. Someone had to come in third place and it was him. The joke used to be he's too young for my taste - I have a thing for older men who are at least a decade older than me. Of course, I've always adored him as I adored his two older brothers. But I never crushed on him I've always enjoyed his music. But with the Jonas Brothers - obviously - and his solo work. I was obsessed with Who I Am, but we'll get to that later on in the post. And OF COURSE, I can't get enough of his voice. But again, we'll get to that.
My parasocial relationship with him was always solely platonic. I understood why objectively he was the most favored Jonas Brother and why people found him attractive. But subjectively, I never saw it. He's just not my type and when you realize Joe IS my type, you kind of get it. They are very different. However, I don't have to have a crush on him to admire his work. I've always LOVED his music. In 2010, when he released Who I Am as Nick Jonas & The Administration, I was HYPED! I remember watching every TV performance and interview he did that I could find during that era. Mostly found them on YouTube because even though YouTube was in its infancy, some people did find ways to upload the performances. It is still to this day one of my favorite albums. I don't need to scream about his voice. I'm pretty sure most if not everyone who will come across this post has heard Nick sing at least once. He has one of the most incredible, most distinct voices. Man is too talented for his own good. He released Who I Am when he was just 17 - he hadn't yet turned 18 - and he wrote every song on that album AND co-produced it. We already knew he was a talented songwriter after writing so many ICONIC songs with his brothers. But this album was the second time he went out on his own - the first since starting Jonas Brothers. Who I Am was incredible - STILL IS INCREDIBLE - and I want him to do another album with that vibe so badly. I am planning to write a Kinda Review about it because it deserves its own post where I write about every song individually.
Do you know what else came out in 2010? Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam starring Nick as Nate Gray. He gave us the best song in the film, "Introducing Me". No, I will not be accepting criticism at this time. "Introducing Me" holds so much power because of the performance Nick gave us in the studio recording and the movie. Dare I say it might even be the best song of the franchise.
If you remember Nicholas Jonas' self-titled debut album, you may be eligible for a senior discount. Even I wasn't around for that and I've been a fan for eighteen years now. If anyone is interested in me hunting down his real debut album, Nicholas Jonas, and writing about it, I will GLADLY do so.
NOW I am not a Nick girl. I am going through an era of "weakness" currently because I went through his filmography and actually learned that I enjoy wanting him as an actor, but he is STILL my least favorite Jonas Brother (affectionate). THAT BEING SAID for some reason in 2012 or 2013, I read fanfiction about him for SOME reason and it pointed me in the direction of his performance of Marius Pontmercy in the 25th anniversary concert of Les Miserables. I have been a fan of Les Mis ever since. So thanks for that, Nick.
Then he showed up in an episode of Last Man Standing, which my parents watched religiously and I fell in love with Ryan Vogelson who was then recast, but I adore both portrayals of the character. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't start writing a fanfiction about the character - that has since been shelved. Embarrassing, but true. Ryan Vogelson lives rent-free in my head.
 |
| (L to R) Joe, Kevin, and Nick Jonas |
NOW I can't write about Nick without discussing the role he played in the Jonas Brothers breakup. Which is he broke up the band. He was completely valid. If you've watched the documentary, Chasing Happiness, he talks about his reasons. A lot was going on and he had to kill the band to save the relationships between him and his brothers. And look what happened. They got back together and they're making incredible music together again.
I didn't keep up with Nick's acting career. Only watched his filmography during this current resurgence of the Jonas fixation. But I DID keep up with his music - because of course, I did. Have you heard the man sing?
In 2014, he released his "debut" self-titled album - but it's technically his second - Nick Jonas. For the purpose and clarity - and because I listen to the deluxe version more anyway - I will be referring to it as X2. This is the album that gave us "Jealous" and "Chains" which I'd argue are two of his most popular solo songs. FOR THE RECORD, I will be writing Kinda Reviews about all of Nick's solo albums just so I have an excuse to ramble about his music because he is truly an incredible artist. X2 was a STRONG "debut" album. But I mean he already established himself as a musician and talented songwriter. If anyone was surprised that he had the ability to make good music, it's because they never took the Jonas Brothers seriously. Which is fair.
Then he released Last Year Was Complicated which included "Close" with Tove Lo which according to Spotify is his second most popular song. Honestly, LYWC has better songs. Not that "Close" isn't a GREAT song, but this is the same album that gave us "Chainsaw" and "Unhinged". Once again, the man proves that music is his purpose. We are luck to exist in the same timeline, the same era, the same time as him. I will be the first person to crack jokes about him and lovingly make fun of him, but this is the ONLY time I will openly admit that I agree when people call him a genius.
 |
| My favorite photo of Nick and Priyanka Chopra Jonas |
In 2018, he got married! i had always known OF Priyanka Chopra. I knew she was known as a phenomenal actor and often called one of the most beautiful women in the world - which I have always agreed with and I don't know how this dude from Jersey landed her - but I had never watched any of her roles. I had her on my radar and had Quantico on my list of shows to watch, but I never got around to it. Until she married Nick. And I am so sorry to her. She deserved better than that from me. Seeing Nick get married made my heart soar. They do genuinely look so happy and in love. Talk about couple goals. I have since watched several of Priyanka's roles and have loved every performance I've seen so far. Can't wait to dive deeper into her career.
 |
| Priyanka, Malti Marie, and Nick backstage at The Tour |
AND THEN NICK BECAME A DAD!! I need to remind you all that when I first became a fan of Nick he was 13/14 years old. And now he's 31 with a family of his own. He seems like the sweetest dad. I have NEVER been so soft for Nick as I have since he's become a dad. I love whenever they share photos with us. Recently he shared a TikTok of him surprising Malti Marie - his daughter - and you can see from the look on her face that she's a daddy's girl. Seeing him and his family makes me so happy.
In 2021, he released what is in MY OPINION his best solo album to date, Spaceman. And then he released Spaceman (Deluxe) which is the version I prefer because it gave us "Selfish" with the Jonas Brothers and the "chill versions" of a few songs. The vibes of Spaceman (Deluxe) are IMMACULATE! It's become one of my favorite albums. I fully understand why "Selfish" is a Nick song featuring Jonas Brothers and not just a Jonas Brothers song. It doesn't fit their usual "vibe" but it is a top-tier Jonas Brothers song. "Death Do Us Part" gets me every time. Where do I find myself someone who loves me that hard? I can't wait to write a Kinda Review about it.
 |
| The photo of Nick and Malti Marie that ruined my life |
NOW let me explain how I ended up in my "Nick girl era" despite him being my least favorite Jonas Brother. WHAT HAD HAPPENED was Priyanka had posted a photo of him sitting in some automobile - party bus maybe - giving Malti Marie her bottle. That was the photo that ruined my life. BEFORE THAT he was my least favorite (derogatory) because I have gathered that I projected Nick Lucas - his character in the Disney show, JONAS - on him. I know there is some truth to the character, but projecting angsty teen Nick on him for the rest of his life was unfair. But I still can't stand Nick Lucas. I've been rewatching JONAS and Nick Lucas is annoying. That is the hill I will die on.
But after seeing the photo Priyanka posted, I found myself SO soft for him for the first time in all the years I'd been a fan of his. I did have a moment of weakness where I found myself attracted to him. Was it because I saw him as a dad and that is my type? Probably. Let's be real. So because of that, I decided to go through his filmography. A few of his roles I had already been familiar with. Not going to lie, I do have two old fanfictions featuring Nick's character that my OC has relationships. Those characters were Ryan Vogelson from Last Man Standing - who I'd mentioned earlier in the post - and Lyle West from SMASH. Both roles were basically cameos, but Ryan did become a series regular after he was recast.
 |
| Nick on dad duty with his daughter, Malti Marie |
Nick's done some interesting films and shows and if you are interested in me writing about my favorite roles of him, I will gladly make a top Nick Jonas roles post. My favorite film role of his - at the time of writing this post - is frat bro, Brett Land in Goat. I loved that movie, but it is a hard watch. It deals with hazing in a college fraternity and is based on a true story. I do recommend anyone who considers themselves a Nick girlie to give it a watch.
My favorite TV role of his is Nate Kulina in Kingdom. Kingdom is a show about a MMA gym in California. Nate is an MMA fighter and the son of the gym owner who gets dealt the worst hand of any character on the show. I will never forgive the writer for what they did to him. But it is Nick's STRONGEST role. He did phenomenally. I believe he deserved some kind of award for it. Give him an Emmy. Nate Kulina has become one of my favorite fictional characters OF ALL TIME! I can promise Nate will get his own Fangirl Friday post because I love that fictional man with my whole heart and he has been living in my head rent-free since November. I do recommend giving Kingdom a watch. even if you're like me and don't care about anything to do with MMA. For me, it was worth watching just for Nick's performance alone. I really did love it that much. I would rewatch the show all over again just for him. Might even see if I can buy the whole series. We love and support Nate Kulina in this household.
 |
| Nick as Renn Wheeland in The Good Half |
He does have a movie called The Good Half coming out this summer. Based on the bit I've read and seen about it, I have a feeling his character in this movie MIGHT dethrone Brett as my favorite film role of his, but we'll see. I am so HYPED for The Good Half and I cannot wait to finally see it. Ideally, I'd be able to see it in theaters, but that's unlikely. At the time of writing this post, he has been shooting a moving with Paul Rudd called Power Ballad. I am mildly interested especially since I read that his character was described as a "boybander" and he seems to be the villain of the movie. As we learned form his roles in Hawaii Five-0 and UglyDolls, he makes a great villain so I am here for it. I will DEFINITELY be keeping up with his acting career from now on.
I am so sorry to Nick for the years of disrespect of ranking him my least favorite Jonas Brother (derogatory), but he's been promoted to least favorite (affectionate). I've grown up with the kid - kind of not really. Watched him navigate his teen years in front of the camera, watched him become an adult, a husband, and now a dad. I am honored to be a Jonas Brothers fan. And I am honored to be a Nick Jonas fan.
 |
| Nick and Malti Marie |
Congratulations on making it to the end of the post. The Jonas posts are almost over. The fixation doesn't seem to be going anywhere, but I can only write so much about them. Actually let me not jinx myself, because I think with this post, I've written 20k words about them total SO FAR.
Anyway, have a great weekend!
Comments
Post a Comment