In USA TODAY’s The Essentials, celebrities share what fuels their lives, whether it’s at home, on set, or on the road.
NEW YORK – The Jonas Brothers still know how to strike an emotional chord.
The band’s latest love song, “When You Know,” has the group in its feels.
“There’s that feeling when things are either right or wrong, when it’s time to stay (or) when it’s time to go,” Joe Jonas, 35, tells USA TODAY of the song. “If there’s that one person that’s always gonna have your heart. It’s hopefully something people can relate to. It’s probably the most emotional song on this album.”
It’s a similar emotion to when the group performs their “Little Bird,” which perhaps walked so “When You Know” could fly.
The middle brother of the group, Jonas is no stranger to getting personal through music. Jonas previously told USA TODAY that the group would be “fighting back tears” when they performed father/daughter bond ballad “Little Bird,” off 2023’s “The Album.” He released a solo LP, “Music for People Who Believe in Love,” in May, after his split from ex Sophie Turner.
The new track will appear on the Jonas Brothers’ seventh studio LP, “Greetings from Your Hometown,” out Aug. 8. Ahead of its release, the three brothers chat with USA TODAY about personal moments with fans, receiving a blessing from the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb and their go-to lunch while on tour.
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The Jonas Brothers chat with USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa about their campaign with Mastercard in support of Stand Up To Cancer, new music and more.
The Jonas Brothers surprise fans with personal performance
Equally as personal for the group is how family bonds can be tested.
The Jonas Brothers’ father, Kevin Sr., was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2017. The group feels fortunate that he’s now been cancer-free “for many years,” and his health journey served as part of the backdrop of their latest love letter to fans.
The Jonas Brothers surprised a group of fans and their loved ones that have also felt that impact of the disease, partnering with Mastercard to support the nonprofit Stand Up To Cancer. The fans were unaware that they would meet the Jonas Brothers and hear the first ever live performance of the band’s new song “I Can’t Lose.”
“We have fans that started out as the same age as us; their parents brought them to the shows and now (those fans are) bringing their children to the shows,” Kevin Jonas, 37, says of how the band has grown up with its audience over the last two decades. “We’re giving what we can to (our fans) and they do the same with us by keeping on this journey.”
The song’s music video, which was filmed during the surprise, will air during the 2025 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 15.
The Jonas Brothers’ unlikely Bee Gees collaboration
The Jonas Brothers’ next album includes “I Can’t Lose” as well as a rather unlikely collaboration with a fellow band of brothers.
Nick Jonas says that “about seven years ago” he started working on a song that would eventually be titled, “No Time To Talk,” which interpolates the classic 1977 Bee Gees’ hit “Stayin’ Alive.” But Jonas didn’t make time to finish it because he assumed it wouldn’t “get cleared.”
By the time Nick played the unfinished song for his brothers last year, Jonas had appeared in HBO documentary “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.” The brothers had also met Barry Gibb, the last living founding member of the group, when he attended their concert in Miami with his family.
“So we knew that there was a warmth there,” Nick, 32, recalls of the band’s relationship with Gibb, but he thought “there’s no chance” the Bee Gees singer would allows the use of the song’s lyrics and melody to be included in the song.
“But he ended up clearing it,” Jonas continues. “It’s pretty amazing to look at the credits and see that we technically have a credit with the Bee Gees.”
Jonas Brothers’ diet includes this tour snack
The Jonas Brothers will mark the band’s 20th anniversary this year with the release of “Greetings” followed by a 52-date tour across North America. The trek commences at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, the band’s hometown venue, on Aug. 10 and wraps at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut on Nov. 14.
While the supporting acts and venue sizes will vary from city to city, there will be one consistent besides the Jonas Brothers’ biggest hits: a snack affectionately known as ants on a log.
“We revert back to our childhood, basically,” Nick says of the snack, which is his go-to lunch while on tour. Ants on a log typically consists of peanut butter and raisins spread out on a celery stick. In Nick’s version, almond butter is substituted.
Childhood game the Jonas Brothers always go back to
Joe chimes in that the brothers also relive their childhood by setting up a Spikeball net backstage and bringing along their gaming systems. Kevin adds that the guys “find ways to make games everywhere we go.”
Video games, childhood snacks, Spikeball … Sure, the Jonas Brothers are all fathers of their own children now, but some things never change.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.