A Jonas Brothers Concert? Nope, it's just Nick Jonas proving he has what it takes to be a solo star. From the moment the lights turned on and his band started playing, the energy was high at the Marquee Theatre Sunday night.
About a minute later Jonas made his big entrance on the stage in a leather jacket and aviator glasses. Then he took to the microphone and started to sing the first verse of "Chains"
"With her wine-stained lips, she's nothing but trouble..."
This song was the first single off his second album, released last November, peaking at number six on the charts. It is a far cry from his debut record, which barely cracked the charts when it was released back in 2005. The album itself is R&B-themed, almost resembling The Weeknd or Frank Ocean.
This influence plays a big part in the overall sound of the show. After "Chains," Jonas goes right into two other tracks from the album, "Numb" and "Levels".
It was a packed house at the Marquee, and the crowd was diverse. There were elderly couples to college students and of course, young screaming 10-year-old girls.
"Playing in Arizona brings so much memories," he said to the crowd.
This is almost ironic because he immediately goes into playing "Santa Barbara." The song is a slower song with an impressive guitar rift, played by Jonas himself. He would also often play the guitar throughout the show, switching from an acoustic to an electric guitar.
Nick Jonas slowing it down
#themarquree #tempe #NickJonas #jonas pic.twitter.com/k1V3eD6JQo
— Obie Dieke (@20crowndancer14) September 21, 2015
The most impressive part of the show was his vocals. He has a nice range compared to many of his peers. Though most of his songs are sung in alto, Jonas also showed off his falsetto with "Push." Halfway into the show Jonas teased the audience.
"We're going to take it back to the basics," he said.
The audience went crazy because many thought he was going to break out into a Jonas Brothers song and you could see a slight disappointment on people's faces when he instead sang "Wilderness" instead.
It's hard not to think of the Jonas Brothers when thinking of Nick Jonas. By the time the group officially disbanded in 2013, they had four studio albums, a television series and 17 million albums sold worldwide.
Despite this success, it seems almost as if he wants to become his own artist. This was made completely evident when he did not perform one Jonas Brothers hit. Breaking away from boy bands is extremely hard, but not impossible to do, like Justin Timberlake of NSYNC proved.
Jonas has even cited Timberlake as one of his idols. He is still far away from achieving Timberlake's solo success. That is not to say it won't happen though; Jonas has enough chops to become a global superstar someday, but for now he is just trying to make a name for himself.
The highlight of the show was when he performed "Teacher", which I think is the best song off his album. This funky tune really got the crowd moving. We could even see Jonas doing a slight dance routine to the song.
He mixed the song with The Weekend's "I Can't Feel My Face" and Bell Biv Devoe's "Posion". This mash up felt very Bruno Mars-inspired.
Jonas finally closed the show with his biggest hit "Jealous."
"You already know the words to this one," he said to the audience. He was right. By the time he reached the second verse the audience was singing along in unison.
Tempe, AZ! Thank you for an amazing night.
— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) September 21, 2015
This concert definitely proved that Nick Jonas has what it takes to be a solo star without his brothers.
Related Links:
'Nick Jonas' shows smooth transition from sweet to sultry
Reach the reporter at obie.dieke@asu.edu, or on Twitter @20crowndancer14
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