We’ve waited six years for this moment- The Jonas Brothers are back and they brought us an entire album of fourteen absolute masterpieces.
Track One: “Sucker”
The album begins with the first single, “Sucker”, which was released prior to Happiness Begins. “Sucker” caused a lot of commotion in the social sphere when it was dropped on March 1, 2019, getting fans more than hyped up for what was to come. ‘Sucker’ is an upbeat pop song with lyrics that seem to be about a person being so infatuated with another, that they would go to the extremes for them. In the pre-chorus, the line “I’ve been dancin’ on top of cars and stumblin’ out of bars, I follow you through the dark, can’t get enough. You’re the medicine and the pain, the tattoo inside my brain. And, baby, you know it’s obvious” definitely alludes to the lengths they would go to for this person whom they love. “Sucker” is incredibly catchy and along with the single, The Jo Bros released visuals to pair with the pop hit. The “Sucker” music video features Sophie Turner, Priyanka Chopra, and Danielle Jonas alongside the boys in the Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, England.
Track Two: “Cool”
Next up is track number two “Cool” which has been dubbed 2019’s version of “Burnin’ Up”. Being the second single released prior to the album, visuals were also released to go along with “Cool”. The song is incredibly catchy and definitely hones in on The Jonas Brothers’ original feel and sound. The visuals are similar to that of “Burnin’ Up” of the A Little Bit Longer Jonas Brothers era. “My whole vision was Wolf of Wall Street on vacation,” notes Joe Jonas in a Billboard interview. “So I am very excited to dance on the street with my homies. And I have a mustache, I’m combing my hair.” Joe continues, commenting on how he wants people to feel listening to “Cool”, adding “I want listeners to feel as though they are driving in a convertible, hair flowing in the wind, as they drive by unthreatening volcanoes and a sun with a cartoon smiley face.” Needless to say, “Cool” is our new Summer 2019 anthem.
Track Three: “Only Human”
The third track on Happiness Begins is “Only Human”, which seems to be another fan favorite off the album. “Only Human” has a smooth reggae-inspired beat with a jazzy saxophone on a loop throughout the song. This one feels like a grown-up Lines, Vines and Trying Times era tribute.
Track Four: “I Believe”
Following “Only Human” are tracks four and five called “I Believe” and “Used To Be”. Both tracks slow down a bit and seem to bounce off each other lyrically. “I Believe” seems to be about falling in love with someone quickly and having others not believe the relationship will work out. In another interview with Billboard, Nick described the song as his own whirlwind romance song dedicated to his wife Priyanka Chopra.
Track Five: “Used To Be”
On the other hand, “Used To Be” seems to be about loving someone that was never truly theirs in the first place. In the pre-chorus, the lyrics state “Cold feet turned into cold weather. We had love, now it don’t matter. You just thought you could do better
So do better.”
Track Six: “Every Single Time”
The tempo picks up a little as we move onto track six and seven, “Every Single Time” and “Don’t Throw it Away”. Track six, “Every Single Time”, brings back that reggae-inspired beat continuously sustaining a grooviness to it and mainly features Nick Jonas on vocals. Lyrically, the song talks about a one-sided relationship where the other person isn’t taking the relationship seriously-
“You think, you think it’s only physical (Oh no, no)
No good at getting even
The way you play, the way you play”
Track Seven: “Don’t Throw It Away”
Track seven, “Don’t Throw it Away”, is yet another summer bop. Synth-pop definitely dominates Happiness Begins and this banger is no different. The message of this track seems to be quite straightforward: Don’t throw anything away, especially a valuable relationship, without giving it a lot of thought as it could potentially be the wrong decision. Nick remarks, alluding to the reasoning for giving this more thought:
“I bet no one else gets you like me
‘Cause I know you think you’re better off without me now
Saying’ all you need is space
But baby, we can work this out”
The lyrics become progressively more understanding, as Nick sings
“I know it hurts, and that’s okay /
If it’s too much to open up, then give it time /
I see it in your eyes, so let’s sleep on it tonight.”
Track Eight: “Love Her”
“Love Her”, track eight, is essentially a love letter to the bands’ wives. Nick, Joe, and Kevin all sing about the difficulties and little arguments that might come up in a committed relationship, but the love they feel for their wives makes all the pain and heartache worth it.
“‘Cause when you love her
No matter the fight you know she’s always right
And that’s alright
And they say love can hurt
But seein’ her smile can get you every time”
Track Nine: “Happy When I’m Sad”
“Happy When I’m Sad” is another pretty straightforward song, seeming to be about how the brothers were worried about not being as successful as they once were.
“When I look at old stuff, lookin’ like it’s over
Lookin’ like I’m never going to be that again /
They think I’m happy when I’m sad /
Can’t look how we made it, say “Congratulations”/
See me in the mirror, nothin’ ever changes
Never see the sunset, only in my head.”
Track Ten: “Trust”
Next up is “Trust” and “Strangers” which yet again brings back that heavy synth-pop groove. The lyrics are similar to that of “Sucker”, in that they portray the lengths that one would go for someone that they love.
“I don’t trust myself when I’m around you
Doing things I never do
Acting like a damn fool”
Track 11: “Strangers”
Listeners are blessed by Nick and Joe’s immense vocal power throughout the entire album, and “Strangers” is an incredible example of how effortless falsettos are for them- particularly for Joe in this case. A steady drumbeat begins along with the lyrics telling the tale of love at first sight, feeling as though they’ve known each other forever.
“I just saw the lightning strike
Knew it right then when I looked in your eyes
And I said to myself, “It’s no surprise we ain’t strangers“.
Track 12: “Hesitate”
Joe Jonas dedicated “Hesitate”, track twelve, to his wife Sophie Turner. “Hesitate” is another dynamic love letter from the brothers to their wives, and it’s making us cry just thinking about how much they love each other. Joe’s vocals are the main star of the track as he sings
“I will take your pain
And put it on my heart
I won’t hesitate
Just tell me where to start
I thank the oceans for giving me you
You saved me once and now I’ll save you too
I won’t hesitate for you”.
Track 13: “Rollercoaster”
“Rollercoaster” is a nostalgic tune that reminisces on the band’s success and rise to fame. Throughout the track we also see them realizing that the highlights of their careers outshine all the awful times they went through-
“It was fun when we were young and now we’re older
Those days that are the worst, they seem to glow now
We were up-and-down and barely made it over
But I’d go back and ride that roller coaster with you”.
The track was originally teased at the end of an Amazon Prime interview where Nick explained why he had split from the band. “Rollercoaster” was then teased through their documentary “Chasing Happiness”.
Track 14: “Comeback”
To close out the album, we have a beautiful ballad pleading for a significant other to come back to them.
“Wherever you are right now
Know somehow
I’ll be on the way like a bat out of hell
Heaven knows I’m proud but I’ll turn ’round
Baby, if you stay then I won’t let you down, oh
Whatever we’ve done, whatever we’ll do
Baby, if you come back now
I’ll come back to you”
The band and venues across North America began teasing the phrase “Happiness Begins tomorrow” on April 30th of this year which led to the announcement of the Happiness Begins tour on May 1st. The Happiness Begins Tour is the band’s first major arena tour in ten years. Due to an overwhelming demand for more stops, 23 additional dates were added to the initial announcement. As of today, The Jonas Brothers will be performing over 74 different concerts across North America and 16 European concerts. To snag your tickets to the Happiness Begins Tour, visit https://jonasbrothers.com/tour/
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