Nick Jonas found fame as one third of the Jonas Brothers, the American pop rockers who emerged from their Disney Channel beginnings into one of the biggest boy bands of the late 2000s. Unlike many of his contemporaries though, Jonas managed to carve out a successful solo career once his group had split, with the singles Chains, Jealous, Close and Bacon in particular showing that he was capable of varied, contemporary pop classics with his distinctive high-pitched vocals.

Away from music though, Jonas remained as busy as ever. From co-founding his own record label Safehouse Records, to starring alongside Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan in the comedy adventure film Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle (which was the fifth highest grossing movie of 2017), Jonas gives the impression being a man who rarely says no to a project. 

So it came as no surprise when, in 2019, Jonas and his brothers got the old band back together, dropping their fifth studio album Happiness Begins, and with it the single Sucker, which earned the trio their first number one of their career. But rather than spell the end of Nick Jonas as a solo artist, the reunion seems to have focused him on making his latest solo album Spaceman, which landed this week.

That’s because this is an album with a really clear theme, loosely a concept album about relationships, and in particular a sort of love letter to his wife, the actress, producer and singer Priyanka Chopra, who he married in 2018. The album’s title track and lead single buzzes with its slick production and jangly effects, while Deeper Love is a suitably 80s feeling disco affair.

Elsewhere, 2Drunk is a slow burner with a big chorus, This Is Heaven is made for the dancefloor, and Nervous is a gentle low key affair, and probably the point on the album where its connection to Chopra is most keenly felt as he sings: “After all this time / Your love's still making me nervous / You're the reason why / My heart beats out of my chest”. This sentimentality doesn’t land on every track, but when it does it shows you why Jonas is still one of pop’s biggest names. 

Spaceman tracklist (Deluxe Edition):

1. Don’t Give Up On Us
2. Heights
3. Spaceman
4. 2Drunk
5. Delicious
6. This Is Heaven
7. Sexual
8. Deeper Love
9. If I Fall
10. Death Do Us Part
11. Nervous
12. Selfish
13. Dangerous
14. Don’t Give Up On Us (Chill Version)
15. 2Drunk (Chill Version)
16. This Is Heaven (Chill Version)

Watch the official video for Spaceman here.

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.