Throwback Thursday: Jonas Brothers

           The Jonas Brothers were an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from the Disney Channel children’s television network and consists of three brothers from Wyckoff, New Jersey; Paul Kevin Jonas II, Joseph Adam Jonas, and Nicholas Jerry Jonas. In the summer of 2008 they starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock and its sequel, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. They also starred as Kevin, Joe, and Nick Lucas, the band JONAS, in their own Disney Channel series JONAS, which was later re-branded for its second season as Jonas L.A. The show was eventually cancelled after two seasons. The band released four albums: It’s About Time (2006), Jonas Brothers (2007), A Little Bit Longer (2008), and Lines, Vines and Trying Times (2009).

           In 2008, the group was nominated for the Best New Artist award at the 51st Grammy Awards and won the award for Breakthrough Artist at the American Music Awards. As of May 2009, before the release of Lines, Vines and Trying Times, they have sold over eight million albums worldwide. After a hiatus during 2010 and 2011 to pursue solo-projects, the group reconciled in 2012 to record a new album, which was cancelled following their break-up on October 29, 2013. They have sold over 17 million albums worldwide.

           The band started as a solo project for Nick Jonas. At the age of 7, Nicholas began performing on Broadway. He has acted in several plays, including A Christmas Carol (in 2000 as Tiny Tim and as Scrooge at eight), Annie Get Your Gun (in 2001 as Little Jake), Beauty and the Beast (in 2002 as Chip), and Les Misérables (in 2003 as Gavroche). After Les Misérables closed, he performed in The Sound of Music (as Kurt) at the Paper Mill Playhouse.

           In 2002 while performing in Beauty and the Beast, Nick had written a song with his father called “Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)“. With background vocals from the Beauty and the Beast cast, Nick performed the song on the 2002 annual Broadway “Equity Fights AIDS” album, Broadway’s Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure, Vol. 4. In November 2003, INO Records received a demo copy of “Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)“. The label released the song to Christian radio, where it quickly became popular on Record & Radio’s Christian Adult Contemporary Chart. While Nick was working on his solo project, Joe followed in his footsteps to Broadway, appearing in Baz Luhrmann‘s production of La bohème. According to Nick, this was also the first year the brothers started writing songs together.

          By September 2004, an executive at Columbia Records found out about Nick‘s song. Nick was soon jointly signed to INO Records and Columbia Records and released the single “Dear God“. A second single, a new solo recording of “Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)“, was released on November 16. It was supposed to be followed by a December release of a self-titled solo album Nicholas Jonas, but the album had been pushed back; it did, however, get a limited release. Nick, along with his brothers, Kevin and Joe, had written several other songs for the album. In early 2005, Columbia Records‘ new president, Steve Greenberg, listened to Nick‘s record. Greenberg liked Nick‘s voice. After meeting with Nick and hearing the song “Please Be Mine“, written and performed by the brothers, Daylight/Columbia Records decided to sign the three as a group act.

To know more about Jonas Brothers, just go here: http://jonasbrothers.com/

Woman Crush Wednesday: Ariana Grande

           She is Ariana Grande- Butera, also known as Ariana Grande. She is an American singer and actress. She began her career singing on a cruise ship, at sporting events and with various orchestras in South Florida. She appeared in the Broadway musical 13, before landing the role of Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon television series Victorious in 2009. After the show ended, Grande rose to prominence as a teen idol on her own spinoff, Sam & Cat, along with iCarly actress Jennette McCurdy.

          As she kept herself busy with television, Grande began to pursue a musical career appearing on the soundtrack, Music from Victorious (2011), and subsequently signed a recording contract with Republic Records. She launched a music career after the release of her debut studio album, Yours Truly (2013), which debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album’s lead single, “The Way“, became a top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with critics comparing her wide vocal range to Mariah Carey.

         Grande developed a maturing image while promoting her second studio album, My Everything (2014), which became her second consecutive number-one album in the United States. The album produced the successful tracks “Problem” and “Break Free“. Some of her achievements include New Artist Of The Year at the 2013 American Music Awards, Favorite Breakout Artist at the 40th People’s Choice Awards and Breakthrough Artist of the Year by the Music Business Association.

         She was in a relationship with Jai Brooks, a member of the Australian YouTube group The Janoskians, from August 2012 to July 2013. On May 1, 2014, Grande was photographed kissing Brooks and confirmed that they were back together. On August 5, 2014, Grande was reported to have split with Brooks for the second time. And now, he is now dating Big Sean.

          Grande is a vegan and has adopted four dogs. She was raised a Roman Catholic but abandoned Christianity after Pope Benedict reportedly labeled homosexuality and working women as sins. Grande stated, “I lost faith when the Pope decided to tell me that everything I loved and believed in was wrong. I needed something else to believe in.” She has since started following Kabbalah‘s teachings, believing “the basis lies in the idea that if you’re kind to others, good things will happen to you.”

          On July 5, 2014, Grande halted her plans when she heard that her grandfather was dying and went to be by his side. Her grandfather died twenty days later, and she received supportive messages on her Twitter page from her manager Scooter Braun, Jennette McCurdy, and other fans.

To know more about Ariana Grande, just go here: http://www.arianagrande.com/