Call it the "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman" syndrome — the challenges young celebrities face when they transition from teen idols to adult fame, a thorny journey that far predates Britney Spears' early-'00s coming-of-age anthem.
Just as Spears got her start alongside Justin Timberlake on The Mickey Mouse Club, an entire class of today’s pop stars also are Disney alums. The Disney Channel’s '00s slate of original series and made-for-TV movies launched the careers of Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers, the latter of whom captured young fans’ hearts back when "One Direction" was just an unhelpful GPS command.
The members of Disney Channel graduating class generally have chosen one of two potential paths in their post-Mouse years: chase conventional pop stardom (Lovato, Gomez) or shirk cookie-cutter fame and get weird (Cyrus). Perhaps none of his former channel-mates has pursued the first goal with such calculated effort as Nick Jonas, whose new album, Last Year Was Complicated (** our of four stars, out Friday), is the latest milestone in his journey from curly-haired heartthrob into muscled lothario.
While the former boy-next-door’s efforts to woo older audiences haven't all landed perfectly — he’s been accused of gay-baiting after playing closeted characters in numerous TV appearances and making appearances in gay clubs — the music hasn’t disappointed, showing off his penchant for making surprisingly smooth R&B on his 2014 self-titled album, with hits such as Jealous.
As his new album's weighty title suggests, Complicated is a darker affair, with Jonas mining his breakup last year with former Miss USA Olivia Culpo for source material. From Zayn Malik’s debut Mind of Mine to Ariana Grande’s assertively sexy Dangerous Woman, this year’s crop of all-grown-up pop albums shares many sonic cues, pairing R&B swagger with dramatic, club-ready beats. A former One Directioner himself, Malik nodded toward The Weeknd’s more depraved 2 a.m. tales on Mind of Mine, while Jonas looks toward a different boy-band alum as an archetype: Justin Timberlake, who brilliantly articulated a certain svelte sexuality on his albums Justified and FutureSex/LoveSounds.
Jonas is not quite there yet. He's still growing into the muscled persona he’s built over the past few years, and while Complicated boasts its fair share of suggestive moments, its masculine posturing sometimes overshoots its mark. More satisfying are the breakup songs fans were anticipating, postmortems on Jonas' romantic endeavors that alternate between white-hot rage and yearning vulnerability.
Ready to listen? Start with these five highlights.
1. Close
No song better articulates the album's bad-romance mission statement than this Tove Lo collaboration, elevated by hints of steel drum and Jonas' wordless chorus.
2. Touch
Jonas goes all-in on his Timberlake impersonation on this nimble, funky highlight, which also happens to be the album’s least G-rated track. Try not to blush once you pick up on Jonas’ winking “two hands / no hands” wordplay.
3. Chainsaw
Put down the power tools, Nick! Many a great pop song has been written about the destruction of ex-lovers' property, from Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats to Beyonce's Irreplaceable, and Jonas’ vengeance assumes the form of a whirring blade tearing up a sofa.
4. Good Girls
As heard in hits from Blurred Lines to Hold On, We’re Going Home, one of pop music’s favorite subjects is the “good girl,” the object of her male counterpart’s affections who isn’t as promiscuous as her less-desirable peers. It’s too bad Jonas builds one of the album’s catchiest songs on the slightly icky premise, but the track's disco strut and swaggering Big Sean feature are welcome redeeming factors.
5. Unhinged
What would this album be without a piano ballad about conflicted love? Jonas' falsetto gets the heartstring-tugging melody it deserves, accompanied by plainspoken lyrics that stand out among Complicated's best.
