photo credit: JonasBrothersRok
Every generation has that special singer or musical group that captures the attention of the entire country’s youth. Elvis Presley, in his heyday, was known to whip crowds into frenzy with his very presence, and if he happened to reach out into the audience and touch somebody’s hand, they invariably fainted due to pure euphoria. The Beatles captivated millions of people all over the world with their unique sound and entranced millions of girls and young women all over the world with their handsome looks. Every schoolgirl had her favorite Beatle and they would swear up and down that he was the cutest, most talented one of the bunch. The Jonas Brothers are shaping up to be something like the previously mentioned musical acts, at least in regards to the effect they have on girls: with their charming looks and catchy songs, they are a force to be reckoned with in the music industry of today. Their upcoming album, A Little Bit Longer, will hit the shelves on August 12, 2008.

The signing portion of the Jonas Brothers consists of three of the brothers in the Jonas family: Kevin, Joe, and Nick. Kevin is the eldest Jonas brother at 21 years old, followed by 18-year-old Joe, then 15-year-old Nick. Frankie, their younger brother, will make his acting debut with the rest of the crew as part of J.O.N.A.S, a television series. Minus Frankie, the Jonas Brothers’ career began in 2005 when Columbia Record’s new president, Steve Greenberg, listened to Nick Jonas’s solo record, but did not like it. Before the Jonas brothers had come together as a single musical act, Nick Jonas had been acting and singing on his own. He started acting on Broadway when he was only 7 years old and went on to appear in such productions as A Christmas Carol, Les Miserables, Annie Get your Gun, and Beauty and the Beast. While performing in Beauty and the Beast, Nick and his father wrote a song together called “Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)” and recorded it, with backup vocals from the rest of the cast of the Broadway production. The song became popular on Christian radio stations and appeared on the album Broadway’s Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure Vol. 4. By 2003, Joe had followed his brother’s footsteps and began appearing on Broadway. By the end of 2004, Nick had signed with INO Records and released several singles.

In 2005, Greenberg decided that he did not like Nick’s album, but that he did like Nick’s voice. When he listened to the song “Please Be Mine” that the brothers had written and recorded together, he signed them as a group. On August 8, 2006, the group’s first album, It’s About Time, was released as a limited release, with only 50,000 copies being produced. Because Sony did not want to promote the Jonas Brothers any further, Columbia Records dropped the group in 2007. They were not without a label for long, as Hollywood Records signed them early in 2007, and their self-titled second album, Jonas Brothers, was released on August 7, 2007. It went on to achieve great success, reaching number 5 on the Billboard Hot 200 in its first week. Two singles were released with music videos around this time: “Hold On” two weeks before the album and “S.O.S” after the album’s release.

Their album’s success garnered them several roles on television, most notably guest-starring on the popular Hannah Montana show. They performed the song “We Got the Party” with Miley Cyrus on that episode, and because of its timing after High School Musical 2, 10.7 million people watched the show. In late August, they performed at the Miss Teen USA pageant, the Disney Channel Games, and co-presented with Miley Cyrus at the Teen Choice Awards. They would also perform at the American Music Awards and at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rocking Eve, and they made an appearance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Their Look Me in the Eyes tour began on January 31, 2008 in Tucson, Arizona, where they would perform several songs that would appear on their upcoming album, A Little Bit Longer, which will be their third studio album. Once the tour ended on March 22, 2008, the Jonas Brothers announced that they would be opening for Avril Lavigne’s Best Damn Tour with Boys Like Girls, but only on the Europe leg of the tour that lasted from May to June 2008. The Jonas Brothers also star in a Disney Channel Original Movie called Camp Rock that will be airing through the summer and fall where they play a band called “Connect Three”. When the soundtrack for the movie was released on June 17, 2008, it reached number 3 on the Billboard 200, selling 188,000 copies in its first week.

On June 24, 2008, iTunes announced that it would begin releasing songs from the Jonas Brothers’ third album. Beginning on that date, they would release four songs, with one appearing about every two weeks, and then when the album comes out, those who purchased the song can use the iTunes “Complete the Album” feature to purchase the album. Every new song will also come with a podcast episode from the Jonas Brothers. On June 24, the song “Burnin’ Up” was released, followed on July 15 by “Pushin’ Me Away”. The song “Tonight” was released on July 29, and “A Little Bit Longer” on August 5. By now, all of the singles have been released, and each one has occupied the number 1 spot on iTunes for at least three days, something which is rarely accomplished. The Jonas Brothers will promote A Little Bit Longer and the Camp Rock soundtrack on their North American tour Burnin’ Up. The tour kicked off on July 4, 2008, and the two shows on July 13 and July 14 will be made into a theatrical movie and released as a 3D concert movie. The Jonas Brothers are the first group ever to sell more than 100,000 digital copies of three consecutive singles, which were “Burnin’ Up”, “Play My Music”, and “Pushin’ Me Away”.

In contrast to many young celebrities in this day in age that constantly make the news for their lack of morals and questionable judgment, the Jonas Brothers are known for being a wholesome group that abstains from common temptations that arise for boys their age. They refuse to have premarital sex, as denoted by their “promise rings” which they gladly wear. They also do not use drugs, tobacco, or alcohol, because they do not believe in it and in order to maintain the image that they have already created. They continue to have a strong relationship with their parents, who play a big part in their careers. The Jonas Brothers follow these things as “one of our ways of kind of like being different than everybody else out there.”

If there are any school-aged girls in your life, or if you happen to be one yourself, you are probably well aware of their effects on that demographic. While whether or not you enjoy their music is subjective, everyone can appreciate their commitment to abstinence from drugs and their refusal to have premarital relations with women. Their newest album, A Little Bit Longer, will be released on August 12, 2008, and by the looks of it, they are here to stay.