After a disappointing box office for their 3-D concert movie and low ratings for their TV show, JONAS, Disney Channel-bred teen-poppers the Jonas Brothers are looking to bounce back with their fourth disc -- the awkwardly titled Lines, Vines and Trying Times, which hits stores Tuesday -- and their first world tour, the North American leg of which launches June 20 in Dallas.
The global franchise power of the siblings -- who have sold more than eight million albums in the past four years, were nominated for a best new artist Grammy this year and won an American Music Award for best breakthrough artist -- was recently called into question by the New York Times and Entertainment Weekly.
But if the three Jonas brothers -- 21-year-old Kevin, 19-year-old Joe and 16-year-old Nick -- were disappointed by the lack of big box office for their movie, they're not saying.
"I mean, it's a new ball game for us to be able to go and do movies, so we weren't expecting huge numbers," said Joe, during a recent teleconference interview with music writers including Sun Media. "We were, in our own hearts, kind of satisfied with whatever we got and our fans really showed up -- that's what we thought was amazing. I mean, it was cool for us to have the second largest grossing concert film of all time."
Still, given the typically short shelf life of boy bands, are the Jonas Brothers -- working again with producer John Fields, who was behind the board for their first three discs -- radically changing their sound?
They have incorporated harmonica, pedal steel guitar, horns and strings into their boppy pop. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same old Jo Bros, judging from the first single, Paranoid.
There's also songs about confrontational or toxic women (WWIII, Poison Ivy) and plenty of power ballads (Before The Storm, Black Keys, Turn Right, Don't Speak).
The only real left turns are the ill-advised rap-rock of Don't Charge Me For The Crime, featuring Common, and the country-rock of What Did I Do To Your Heart, which is better suited to the Jonas Brothers' wholesome image (they all wear purity rings).
"This new album, for us, I wouldn't say it's a big jump, but it definitely is a progression in our music and a growth for us," Joe said. "Also there's more to the music rather than just a typical kind of relationship song. We had the opportunity to write the songs for our new television show and that helped us as writers to think out of the box."
Past musical influences for the Jonas Brothers have been Elvis Costello, Prince and Johnny Cash.
This time out, they said it was Neil Diamond, the Zutons and Kings of Leon.
As for the subject matter, there's been plenty of personal fodder in the past year.
Nick previously dated Miley Cyrus, who sings with Nick on Before The Storm, and Joe went out with Taylor Swift, the latter who famously talked about being dumped in a short phone call.
But if Poison Ivy is about Swift, nobody is saying.
"It's a metaphor for various things that have happened to us. Maybe a relationship you can't get out of or something that you've gone back to -- even though it might not be the best thing in the world for you," Kevin said.
When asked directly about the state of their current relationships with any girls, Nick was ever the diplomat.
"We tend to find time to date, but for the most part, we're focused on what we're doing on the TV show. We just finished that. And now, with the new tour, it's about really having a connection with our fans. You know, I must admit, they're the most important thing in the world to us."
The Jonas Brothers also land in Toronto June 21 to host and perform at the MuchMusic Video Awards.
"We are so pumped, actually, to go visit Canada," Nick said. "We love it up there. We spent a lot of time filming a movie in Toronto, and Haliburton, about three hours north of Toronto. And we had a great time up there. But overall, just Canada in general, we're going to be hitting some cities we've never hit before, and that's going to be fun. We're really thrilled about that."
jane.stevenson@sunmedia.ca
JO BROS CANADIAN TOUR DATES:
June 30: Vancouver, GM Place
July 2: Edmonton, Rexall Place
July 5: Winnipeg, MTS Centre
August 29: Montreal, Bell Centre
August 30: Toronto, Rogers Centre
August 31: Ottawa, ScotiaBank Place
