The urban poetic master of New York, Lou Reed, once sang, “Growing up in public, [is like] growing up with your pants down.” To grow up in the cutting gaze of the public is an experience which can leave you feeling entirely exposed. The modern day cult of the celebrity leaves no stone unturned: a chilling experience for an adult, let alone a child growing up in the midst of such a culture. A man who knows all about such experiences is Nick Jonas, ex-member of the child ‘boy band’, The Jonas Brothers, and now a solo artist and actor.
Performing on Broadway from the age of seven, and selling 17 million records by the tender age of 20, he is truly a man who has felt the glare of the flashing lights throughout his life, both on the stage and off.
From the earliest periods of his childhood, he has always sung. But Nick Jonas’ big break featured neither a flash nor a microphone. It came in the form of a chance meeting in his local hairdressing salon.
“I was about five or six and I was with my mum. She was getting her hair done and I was just doing what I did at that age, which was singing. I had a real passion for it at that age, so I always did it. Someone was sitting next to my mom and heard me singing and said that I should go to this manager she knew. Their son was doing some Broadway shows and she thought that I might enjoy it.
“So I went and saw the manager. She signed me, starting to send me out on auditions. Basically, I think the way that I viewed it was, this was the logical next step. There was never pressure from anyone else except myself. I just was loving it and loving being around other people who shared the same passions and interests.”
Despite his later success, the path to fame and celebrity did not always run so smooth for the child star. The extreme difficulties facing those who attempt to break into show business are by now common knowledge. Some of the most successful and well-known artists of our day faced rejection in their time, and greatly struggled to reach the heights to which they eventually soared.
Jonas joked that in addition to this already difficult task, he faced further barriers in the form of his heavily pregnant mother. Nevertheless, soon after signing with his manager, he was offered a role in Les Miserables on Broadway, beating 250 other children to the role.
But as his mother was seven months pregnant, the family opted to stay in New Jersey where his father was a minister, and so he had to pass on the role until the birth of his new sibling. “I was devastated, as you can imagine. I was thinking, ‘This is it, I’ve ruined the only opportunity to ever be in a Broadway show.’”
Similarly, his first performance on Broadway as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol at the age of eight saw him in the grip by stage fright and being unable to sing a single note. But the event gave him resolve never to let stage fright conquer him again, and in 2003 he was successful in re-gaining the part of Gavroche in Les Miserables that he’d had to give up. The appointment gave him the platform to reveal his budding songwriting skills, as well as enabling him to secure a solo record deal.
However, what was to become a world-wide phenomenon almost never made it past a commercially unsuccessful first record. Although Jonas, now working alongside his brothers Joe and Kevin, had secured a record deal, poor sales of The Jonas Brothers’ album It’s About Time (2006) prompted Columbia Records to drop the band.
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To have success given and taken away in such a short space of time can be hard for any adult to cope with, let alone for Nick, the youngest member of the band. However, as with that initial silence upon the boards of Broadway, the slight setback gave him the courage and conviction to move onto bigger and better things.
“I think the biggest thing for me was always about lasting, sustaining, finding a way to be resilient. There are a lot of people who are very talented, and a lot of people who work really hard. But there’s not a lot of people who can just stay hungry when life throws the curve-balls that it does. And so I feel that being resilient is one area of my life that I’ve worked hard at. My dad gave me a good perspective on the importance of maintaining an attitude of resilience, and a willingness to continue to work hard when things get tough and to press on, as you really have no other choice. Life is going to give you life.”
For some child stars, the strain of fame at such a young age is crippling, even unbearable. To have one’s sex life cross-examined before even reaching the age of consent would be unnerving for anyone, and the level of scrutiny aimed at Jonas in this regard cannot have been easy.
Puberty, a period of rampant raging hormones, is an uncomfortable time on an individual level, even without having to share it with millions of others. However, Jonas’ outlook on growing up in public is more holistic than others. For him, the short term discomfort was worth the long term reward.
“I think I have a really different outlook on it to most. I feel like in a lot of ways for me there were moments that were extremely difficult. You know going through your awkward stage in front of the world is not the preference. There was also an element of really knowing that I was always doing something I loved. So there was always
a balance,
but there were moments when it became tough, especially as a family. The biggest thing for us was trying to tread those waters of keeping
our life
personal,
while
giving
some of
it away.”
Jonas
 emphasises the importance of
 family within 
celebrity culture.
But he and his
 brothers also demonstrate the importance of
 placing family before fame.
Unlike the infamous split of 
Oasis, which destroyed the bond
 between the Gallagher brothers, numerous recent humorous anecdotes about family antics emphasise that the Jonases remain a close family in private, though they pursued their own separate careers in public. The band chose to split when it had naturally run its course and to prevent long-lasting discord arising between the brothers. Despite growing up together in public, the siblings chose to mature as a family unit in private.
“I think that being in business with the family did make things interesting sometimes. But all families have their moments, things that make it complicated. So I feel that our situation was unique. Probably for a lot of people, it is hard to imagine spending that much time with your family and being that busy. But for us it was just our way of life and it made sense for us. And now as we transition to living our own separate lives and finding a way to be a solid family unit, we are just taking time to figure it out.”
Although The Jonas Brothers as a band is no more, the individual members continue to thrive. Nick is now a solo artist, his most recent single ‘Jealous’ reaching Number One in the American dance charts. But he is also forging a successful career as an actor.
The recent series Kingdom saw him play a martial artist battling with his sexuality. Those familiar with his Disney image may be shocked to see him acting in sex scenes. But for Jonas himself, going from child star to adult actor has been natural: part of growing up and developing his career to new heights.
“This was over the course of a couple of years for me. Whereas for the audience and the media and the public, it all seemed to happen very quickly. I feel that the transition for me was natural and was not forced in anyway. It all came from a genuine place. It’s been interesting to see the change. It’s felt good.”
The media often forget that like all normal children, child stars develop and grow up. Like all other teenagers, they have their embarrassing haircuts and looks.
But they do grow up. Their images and interests change. What worked for them as Jonas Brothers in their younger days no longer works. But what has not changed in Jonas is his conviction and passion to succeed and to further his career. He is someone who embraces what he has learnt from growing up in the limelight, but takes it and applies it to new situations.
He is no longer a child star and performer, but is now an accomplished actor and singer. Making the transition from child to adult star is no easy feat. Many fall at this hurdle, their fame left behind in the early days of their youth. But Jonas’ ability to adapt has allowed him to buck the trend and to remain successful.
He stifled the opposition he faced when it was reported that he was going for a part in Kingdom by proving his worth as an actor. Fame and fortune’s course is not always smooth, but it seems Jonas has the strength to continue climbing to the top of its fickle wheel.
