Nick Jonas had a career of his own — both in musical theater and as a recording artist — before the platinum-plus Jonas Brothers machine kicked into gear five years ago.

Now, he’s striking out on his own again.

“I was writing these songs that I didn’t think were necessarily right for the Jonas Brothers sound,” said the youngest Jonas, 17, who releases “Who I Am,” the first album by Nick Jonas & the Administration, on Feb. 2. “So I talked to our producer, John Fields, after talking to my brothers about the possibility of doing a side project and they were so supportive.

“(Fields) was really excited and he said we should make it a band and make it guys who have been around for a long time and we should go to Nashville and record this. And so all that happened; we went to Nashville and we made this record in about eight days and came out with something we were really proud of.”

Jonas said he and the Administration, which includes Fields and members of Prince’s New Power Generation band, gravitate toward “’60s and ’70s funk-rock and, at times, soulful rock. I got a little deeper with that and (influences) like Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, Prince.” The “Who I Am” album includes a different take on “Tonight” from the Jonas Brothers’ “A Little Bit Longer” album. While in concert, the Administration plays the entire album as well as “a couple of covers … and then maybe a couple Jonas Brothers songs that I feel kind of a connection to.”

Jonas Brothers fans needn’t panic, however. Although Jonas said he’s already written “two or three more” songs for the Administration, the sibling trio still has a second season of its Disney Channel show “J.O.N.A.S.,” as well as the “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam” film coming this year. The group also will tour later this year.

But, he added, the Administration will be a going concern as well.

“My thought is the two can definitely exist,” he explained. “(The Jonas Brothers) all have individual things that we’ll be doing and just learning how to balance each one of our individual dreams along with our dreams together.

“I think after releasing four albums in 3-1/2 years … we kinda said, ‘Let’s maybe take it easy.’ There’ll be a lot of (Jonas Brothers) material out there from ‘Camp Rock 2,’ so that’ll work, and I think maybe not this year, but next, we’ll record another album.”

- dailytribune.com

Joe Jonas says he’s “pretty excited” to be returning to RodeoHouston alongside his brothers, for several reasons.

The fans. The fair. The wardrobe.

“I can wear my cowboy boots that I just bought,” he says. “That’s just the appropriate thing to do.”

The sibling trio moved back to Texas just under two years ago, so western wear makes sense. But the Jonas Brothers haven’t spent much time at home.

The group is still pushing its fourth studio album, Lines, Vines and Trying Times; and will soon be seen in new episodes of the Disney Channel’s JONAS series and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (alongside fellow Texan and RodeoHouston performer Demi Lovato).

Nick Jonas and the Administration (a side project) will release Who I Am next month, and Joe guest judges during the Jan. 26 episode of American Idol.

The middle Jonas took time to talk revolving stages, carnival food and “stalker girls.”

Are you really planning to cowboy it up for RodeoHouston?

I’ve got cowboy boots and a cowboy hat I like to wear when I’m home in Texas. I can’t promise that I’m going to be in boots. We’ll see what my brothers say about that. If they’re for it, I’ll be rocking it full-on. I’ll even have the NASCAR sunglasses — I’m going to go there. You’re not even going to recognize me. I’m probably going to ride bulls while I’m there, too, just to fit in.

How about at least a big buckle?

They gave me a huge buckle last time we played (RodeoHouston), and I was pretty pumped. It’s actually in my bedroom, sitting on my mantle, because I love it so much. I’ve just got to figure out how to put it on my belt. And I’ve got to buy a belt.

What’s your most vivid memory of being on the revolving stage?

It is bizarre because they push the stage out, and you’re a little bit away from the audience. I need to connect with the audience, and sometimes I just need to touch them and high-five them and stuff. I jumped off the stage and ran to the audience. I think that might happen again. It’s just a cool thing to be a part of. Being able to say that we’ve done it before and we didn’t get booed off the stage by any cowboys — that makes us happy. That comforts our spirits a little bit. Now we’re just excited for the fair food and leather chaps and stuff.

What’s your must-have carnival cuisine?

Churro-nation. My trainer might hate me the next day, but I will indulge. I go the route of the corn dog and maybe end it with a churro. They have the 8-foot long corn dog that’s just ridiculously good. It’s just such a great thing to be able to go there and see the fair and see the rodeo. It’s so Texas. You feel so proud. You just want to run around wearing an American flag.

Your 2009 show drew 72,475 fans, ahead of Beyoncé and Alicia Keys — and just below Miley Cyrus.

It was very surprising when we heard even the presale numbers. You always wonder, is everybody going to one day be like, ‘All right, I’m done with this band. Let’s move on.’ We are genuinely surprised. Everybody’s in a good mood and wants to just yell and scream and yeehaw.

What advice would you give fellow tween idols and RodeoHouston first-timers Lovato, Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber?

Just kind of remember this moment, because it could only happen once. If you get lucky, it can happen twice. You need to really know that what you’re about to is something that thousands of musicians dream of.

Have you found that everything is really bigger in Texas?

The malls are bigger. You can’t even walk the whole mall. You have to come back the next day to finish the other half. I spent like three weeks there for the holidays. We had a routine where we just woke up, I would go to the gym, we would go to the mall and go see a movie that night. I saw Sherlock Holmes the day it came out. When you have those opportunities, it’s great.

Don’t you still get mobbed by fans?

There were a couple of stalker girls today that followed us into a fast-food place. But we like to have a normal life. We’re not pampered at all. We are from Texas, so there’s a big portion of us that’s just good ol’ boys. All we want to do is drive our cars and trucks and do what we want. If it gets a little crazy, we know how to handle it.

What was it like sitting next to Simon Cowell for a round of Idol auditions?

I’m an Idol fan. My favorite episodes to watch are the first five and the last two. I like both sides of it. There are some situations that people walked in, and I couldn’t stop laughing. I felt horrible, but you can’t help it. America’s going to die laughing. But I did see a couple of people that I had to ask their names. I just would tell people what I learned: ‘Be good to the people on the way up, because there’s always a way down.

- blogs.chron.com

Which Nick Jonas concert fans did a better job of singing along? Was it Dallas with Owl City’s Fireflies or Philadelphia with Taylor Swift’s You Belong With Me?

- clevvertv.com

Nick Jonas’ controversial new song song ‘Stay’ will not appear on his album. Nick told MTV: ‘It might be on a bonus edition. I wrote it a little late to add it to the record now, but you never know what could happen.’

NIck admitted that the song was written in response to a ‘tricky’ situation and claimed that he is delighted that some good managed to come of it: ”Stay’ is a song I wrote that day we had off in Washington. It came after some things that I was going through that really inspired it.. and I’m just in a good place right now and was able to get a song out of it, which is always nice.’

January 8, 2010 in New York City

January 9, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania