To say that this year has been busy for Nick Jonas would be a huge understatement. The musician and actor probably only needs one hand to count how many nights he has spent in the house that he bought with his older brother Joe at the beginning of the year.
So what has he been up to in 2016?
Nick started the year off hot by releasing, “Close,” as the lead single off of his then upcoming album on 25th of March. The song featured Swedish singer and songwriter Tove Lo and it quickly made an impression on the charts by becoming certified as Silver in the United Kingdom, Gold in Sweden, and Platinum in New Zealand and the United States. The track showcased the undeniable talent of the musicians, but it was the music video itself which received the most buzz. We are super jealous -of the invisible person who got to rip Nick’s clothes off, thread by thread!
Nick then starred in an episode of Saturday Night Live with actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus and although it was the first time that he had been on the show since he last appeared as part of the Jonas Brothers, he swiftly made a name for himself by taking part in some of the show’s funniest sketches to date.
Here he is as a pool boy named Toby:
On 10th May, Nick’s hard work was recognised for the first time in 2016 when he won the award for ‘Pop Songwriter’ at the BMI Awards.
Shortly after on 13th May, Nick released the official music video for, “Chainsaw,” through streaming service, Tidal. Acting as the second music video from his album and featuring sexy Victoria’s Secret model Sara Sampaio, it was probably one of his best music videos to date. It portrayed the story of two lovers after a break up which mirrored Nick’s real life following his split from former flame Olivia Culpo.
Next, Nick revealed that he would be releasing a docu-series of seven episodes in the run-up to the release of his album, “Last Year Was Complicated.” The first of these episodes was released on 1st June and then a new episode was released every couple of weeks after to give an uncensored look into his life. In the series, Nick was seen spending time with his niece Alena, working on his new album, contemplating the next chapter of his career, and getting stuck in Paris while his team were unknowingly on their way to London without him. You can watch the episodes from start to finish right here exclusively on Tidal.
Nick was then honoured at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame on 9th June when he won the Hal David Starlight Award for his achievements in songwriting. The two co-chairs of the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, said that Nick was, “one of the brightest and most versatile young talents on the pop scene. A veteran of recording, television, movies, and Broadway, he has been making his cultural mark in a variety of ways for more than a decade. Nick has literally grown up in public and that growth is reflected in his songwriting. He is a wonderful choice for the award.” We couldn’t agree more!
It was a great day to be a Nick Jonas fan on 10th June when he sent his fan base into meltdown by releasing two huge things. The first exciting reveal came when he released the steamy official music video for, “Under You,” which featured the familiar face of Pretty Little Liars‘ Shay Mitchell. Although first uploaded on Tidal, screenshots and GIF’s of the video soon made their way onto every social media site available and we think it’s more than fair to say that it is one of the sexiest music videos of 2016.
His second reveal came when Nick released his highly anticipated new album titled, “Last Year Was Complicated,” which came out under labels Island Records and Safehouse Records, the latter of which is the label that he co-founded with best friend Demi Lovato and their manager Phil McIntyre back in 2015. The body of work received positive reviews from fans and critics alike, debuting at a very impressive number two on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top Album Sales Chart in the United States.
He won the iHeartRadio International Artist of the Year Award at the 2016 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards on 19th June and at this point we were wondering if he has any space left to store all of his shiny awards. If it was us, we would have them all lined up in our bathroom and at the side of our bed!
Nick showed that he wasn’t a one-trick pony when he teamed up with country music singer Thomas Rhett for an episode of, “CMT Crossroads.” He had dabbled with country music on a few occasions previously but this appearance in particular really put him on the map as someone who could easily adapt to pretty much every genre of music. In the episode, the singers covered each others’ biggest hits for an adoring crowd. You can watch their full episode on the CMT website here. We just hope that Nick scored an honorary pair of cowboy boots after the set…
Nick then joined forces with best friend and fellow superstar Demi Lovato for the Honda Civic Future Now tour which spanned forty-two dates from 29th June to 17th September.
The tour ended the day after Nick turned twenty-four but he barely had time to celebrate before he released his next single, “Bacon”. He revealed the official music video for the song on Tidal on the 12th of July. Rapper Ty Dolla $ign featured on the track with an impressive rap that is still stuck in our heads now but we’re not complaining at all.
The success of the single earned Nick and Ty Dolla $ign a performance slot at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. It was packed with surprise cameos from stars including DNCE and Ashley Graham but we probably shouldn’t recommend that you watch it if you are feeling hungry.
Nick won another award on 31st July at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards with Choice Style: Male. You will hear no arguments from us about that one!
Then on 23rd September, the movie which Nick had worked on with fellow actors James Franco and Ben Schnetzer was finally released to positive reviews. “Goat,” proved Nick’s acting ability while it seemed to help him a lot in overcoming the shadow of his Disney days. It showed that he had come a long way from the “Camp Rock” era and although you will still catch us bopping along to, “We Rock,” from time to time, we are so happy that he is now being taken seriously as a credible actor.
Nick released the official music video for, “Voodoo,” which was the fifth from his album, on Tidal on 11th October and it is about as trippy as you can get, but we absolutely love it nonetheless.
He then got everyone into the party mood by releasing the official music video for, “Champagne Problems,” which was released through Tidal on 7th November. Although Nick has spoken out about the bittersweet meaning behind the song several times, the video gives off some insane party vibes which always make us want to hit the dance floor and keep on, keep on drinking.
Nick ended the year by racking up some more serious acting credits. In late September, he travelled to the island of Hawaii to star in a reboot of the classic movie, “Jumanji,” alongside The Rock, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black. He spent several weeks there before filming was relocated to Atlanta, Georgia and he only stopped to take a breath once when he spent a few days in New Jersey after his newest niece Valentina was born. And then in December he confirmed that he would be reprising his role as troubled MMA fighter Nate Kulina in the third series of Kingdom.
Nick hasn’t revealed his plans for 2017 yet but after an incredibly crazy 2016, we really hope that his schedule involves a lot of sleeping and lounging around on the sofa in his sweatpants!
What has been your favourite Nick Jonas moment of 2016? Let us know on Twitter, at @CelebMix.