When hearing the name “Joe Jonas,” it’s easy to conjure the image of him and his two famous brothers to mind. Joe Jonas is one-third of the hit trio the Jonas Brothers alongside his brothers Nick and Kevin Jonas. Outside of the band that formed when they were teenagers, Joe is also a songwriter and frontman of the dance-rock band DNCE. Find out more about the hit singer below.
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Early Days
Joe and his brothers were born in Arizona, but raised on the opposite end of the country in New Jersey. Their father, Kevin Jonas Sr., is a minister, in addition to being a songwriter-musician. Joe got his start on the stage early, scoring a major opportunity when he was 13 as a member of the children’s choir in Baz Luhrmann’s stage adaption of La bohème on Broadway from December 2002 to June 2003.
Jonas Brothers
Though Nick Jonas originally started off as a solo artist, when Columbia Records executive Steve Greenberg heard them sing “Please Be Mine” together, he signed them as a trio. The song ended up on the Jonas Brothers’ 2006 debut album, It’s About Time, which featured their hit cover of “Year 3000” and debut single, “Mandy.” Over the next five years, the Jonas Brothers would become one of the most popular boy bands with four albums and signature songs like “S.O.S.,” “Burnin’ Up” and “Lovebug.”
They were named Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2008 American Music Awards and nominated for Best New Artist at the 2009 Grammy Awards. They also transitioned into the world of acting, making their film debut in Disney Channel’s Camp Rock alongside Demi Lovato. They also starred in the Camp Rock sequel, and appeared in an episode of Hannah Montana, among other acting credits.
Solo Career
In 2011, the Jonas Brothers went on hiatus to pursue solo careers. Joe released his debut solo album, Fastlife, in October 2011 which produced two singles. Joe reunited with his brothers in 2013 to work on their fifth album and embark on tour dates around the world. However, the band broke up again due to creative differences after a handful of dates and the release of two singles.
Joe then turned his attention to a new group, DNCE, that he formed with drummer Jack Lawless and guitarist JinJoo Lee, with Jonas on lead vocals. The band had a hit right off the bat with its debut single “Cake by the Ocean” which was co-written by Jonas and a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. They released one album and two EPs before disbanding in 2018.
[RELATED: See the Setlist for Jonas Brothers’ Career-Spanning 2023 Tour]
Back with the band of brothers
Reunited and it feels so good! In 2019, the Jonas Brothers got back together and reintroduced themselves with “Sucker” which was the biggest hit of their career. Co-written by the trio alongside a team that included Ryan Tedder, “Sucker” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking their first song to reach the pinnacle position.
That same year, they dropped their highly-anticipated album Happiness Begins, with follow-up singles “Cool” and “Only Human” becoming Top 10 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart. They released their latest album, The Album, in 2023 and embarked on a tour that same year wherein they perform nearly every song of all the albums they’ve released so far.
On the personal side, Jonas married Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner in May 2019 in Las Vegas, with a more elaborate ceremony taking place in Paris one month later. Jonas reportedly filed for divorce from Turner in September 2023. They share two daughters. The first was born in July 2020 and the other in July 2022.
“After four wonderful years of marriage we have mutually decided to amicably end our marriage,” Joe posted in a joint statement on Instagram. “There are many speculative narratives as to why, but truly this is a united decision and we sincerely hope that everyone can respect our wishes for privacy for us and our children.”
Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images
