Nick Jonas says he’s full of “gratitude” as Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th anniversary but is now focused on “moving forward” and putting himself “in positions where I’m kind of uncomfortable”.
The 32-year-old New Jersey native, who splits his time between Los Angeles and London, was just 12 when he and older brothers Kevin and Joe, now 37 and 35 respectively, formed pop-rock group Jonas Brothers in 2005.
They rose to international fame helped by the added exposure of Disney TV shows and the Camp Rock movie franchise.
They went on hiatus in 2011 to focus on solo endeavours, but two years later officially announced that they had split due to a “deep rift within the band” over “creative differences”.
The trio reformed in 2019 and now with six studio albums under their belts, they haven’t looked back since.
It has been quite the ride, but Jonas wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Speaking to The Standard, he said: “It’s a crazy moment in our career. We’re very aware of how fortunate we are to still be doing what we’re doing and to have the support of our incredible fans over the many stages and moments throughout our career and I think I just have a real sense of gratitude as we approach these milestones and you know, 20 years of Jonas Brothers is a pretty wild thought considering I’m only 32 and my brothers are in their 30s.
“It’s really special [and] shows just how incredible our fans are. We can’t wait to put together a really exciting year - 18 months of celebration around this journey we’ve been on together and that we’re continuing on.”
The Jonas Brothers have recently completed the European leg of their latest world tour with another celebrating their big milestone for next year expected to be announced.
The singer-songwriter and actor also has plenty of things in his own career to keep him busy.
Next year, he’s set to star in new Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon-led comedy film You’re Cordially Invited and will make his highly anticipated return to the stage on Broadway in a limited run of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years.
Plus, he was recently announced as the new global ambassador for watch brand Fossil.
“I’m incredibly ambitious and driven,” he said of his future plans. “I think I’m really focused on momentum and kind of moving forward and taking bigger risks and putting myself in positions where I’m kind of uncomfortable.”
Another area Jonas is extremely passionate about is being an advocate for type 1 diabetes having been diagnosed himself when he was 13.
To mark National Diabetes Awareness Month this November, he has teamed with glucose monitoring (CGM) device manufacturer Dexcom to invite people with diabetes to share something they’re striving for.
Recalling receiving his diagnosis at such a pivotal time in both his life and his career, he said: “I was on the road with my brothers, we had just started a tour in Korea and we were starting to gain some momentum and I noticed that something was off with my physical health.
“I was losing a drastic amount of weight in a very short period of time, I was agitated and irritable and was constantly thirsty and just knew [something wasn’t right]. After a few weeks I finished off that tour and went to the doctor and pretty much right away they said I was type 1 so it really was a big adjustment period in just really learning how to live and manage this disease while going through the other life changes.
“A lot happens during those teenage years, when you throw in something like type 1 diabetes it can really add an extra layer of stress - emotional stress. My thing was just to lean on my friends and family and support team.
“I think there are still a lot of misconceptions [around diabetes]. One of the things that I am working towards doing is trying to re-write some of those and sort of educate where I can. Not just about the management of the disease but how people can be a better support system to their friends or family or even strangers that they may meet who are living with this disease.”
Jonas - who is married to actress and producer Priyanka Chopra, 42, with whom he shares two-year-old daughter Malti - added: “I have this public platform and I think as a father I better understand the responsibility that I have to speak about things that are relevant and real to me [and] to try to help others in whatever way I can.”
Dexcom, providers of diabetes management technology, has teamed up global brand advocates – Dexcom Warriors - including Nick Jonas to invite people with diabetes to share something they’re striving for. To join the conversation this World Diabetes Day, share #DiscoverWithDexcom on Instagram and TikTok..
