Once upon a time, “JB” stood for the Jonas Brothers and not Justin Bieber. In the mid- to late 2000s, these musical siblings were a sensation, especially with the Disney Channel-watching crowd. First, they appeared on the radio; then they entered the world of movies and TV with Camp Rock and their own sitcom, appropriately titled Jonas. Now, Nick has a successful career as a solo artist, Joe is a member of chart-topping band DNCE, and Kevin is happily married, but the JoBros will never be forgotten. While we keep our fingers crossed for a reunion tour someday, why don’t we rank their music videos?
17. “Kids of the Future” (2007)
The Jonas Brothers play to a large crowd. Also, Joe breaks the fourth wall and sings to the camera a few times.
16. “Hold On” (2007)
The Jonas Brothers play in a windy room. Also, Joe breaks the fourth wall and sings to the camera a few times. And there’s a sudden location switch to a desert.
15. “I Wanna Be Like You” (2007)
Most of this video consists of either a) The Jonas Brothers playing in some kind of warehouse with jungle-themed decorations or b) footage from The Jungle Book. There are also some shots of girls putting accessories on a cardboard cutout of King Louie from The Jungle Book. And of course, it wouldn’t be an early Jonas Brothers video without Joe breaking the fourth wall.
14. Theme song for “American Dragon: Jake Long” (2006)
This is kind of the same deal as the “I Wanna Be Like You” video. A lot of it is just shots of the Jonas Brothers performing—this time on a skate ramp, though. There are also some clips from the titular Disney TV show. The video gets bonus points for some cute moments of interaction between the band and the show’s cartoon characters (e.g. Jake Long high-fiving Joe and tossing him a mic).
13. “Mandy” (2006)
A typical 2000s video that includes shots of the band playing their instruments in the city and subsequently running from a cop who finds them a nuisance. Inexplicably, black and white shots start appearing in the video about 3/4 of the way through. It’s fun, but simple.
12. “Fly With Me” (2009)
The “Fly With Me” video is a compilation of footage of the Jonas Brothers rehearsing and performing. As with the band’s other behind-the-scenes style videos, it includes plenty of moments that make the Jonas Brothers seem like affable, laid-back guys—e.g. the boys playing ping-pong with Big Rob (a.k.a. the world’s coolest security guard), Nick tossing an autographed baseball to fans, and little brother Frankie (“the Bonus Jonas”) chasing Joe as he rides around on a Segway.
11. “When You Look Me In the Eyes” (2008)
This is the first ballad that the Jonas Brothers released as a single, and the music video reflects that. It’s filmed entirely in black and white, and mostly comprises footage from the JoBros’ massive arena shows, including details like girls holding up signs with such slogans as “Your Real Dream Girl Lives in Wisconsin!” Be on the lookout for a Frankie cameo.
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10. “Send It On” (from “Disney’s Friends for Change”) (2009)
If you watched Disney Channel in 2009, this video was a big deal. I mean, it showed the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez teaming up to promote environmentalism through the power of song. What more could you ask for?
9. “Poor Unfortunate Souls” (2006)
The video for the Jonas Brothers’ pop-punk cover of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from The Little Mermaid is exactly what you would expect the video for a pop-punk cover of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” to be. (That’s a good thing!) At a pool where adults look on judgmentally and a sign reads “No Fun Allowed,” the boys jam out and, well, have fun. Their silly antics are entertaining, but not quite as entertaining as the antics that would appear in later videos (see #1 and #2 on this list).
8. “S.O.S.” (2007)
Rico from Hannah Montana (Moises Arias at approximately 13 years old) steal’s Joe’s girl. Also, Kevin copes with rejection by angrily throwing a phone in the trash. In other words, don’t miss out on this one.
7. “Pom Poms” (2013)
“Pom Poms” was the big comeback song for the brothers who were once the homecoming kings of pop for a certain demographic. It’s fitting, then, that the music video puts them in the middle of a larger-than-life pep rally featuring the Southern University Marching Band. Some scenes are pretty standard for pop videos (e.g. lots of shots of dancing women), while others are creative and unique (e.g. Nick Jonas participating in a dance-off).
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6. “First Time” (2013)
Ironically, “First Time” is the last music video the Jonas Brothers ever made. It was a good note for them to go out on. Filmed in Las Vegas, featuring both endearing GoPro shots of the guys and artsy footage of city lights, it shows that even though the Jonas Brothers might have been frequenting casinos and parties instead of Disney Channel sets in 2013, they were still the same fun-loving guys.
5. “Paranoid” (2009)
The video for “Paranoid” shows off different symbolic representations of paranoia. Each JoBro finds himself in a unique prison: Kevin’s room suddenly becomes populated with other Kevins, whereas Joe ends up in a boxing ring and Nick is seemingly stalked while driving through the desert. At the end, there’s a hilarious moment involving some banter between the guys, reminding viewers that the brothers wouldn’t lose their sense of humor as they matured.
4. “Year 3000” (2007)
The music video for their cover of British band Busted’s “Year 3000” is the literal interpretation that the song deserved. We see “the neighbor called Peter” and watch the boys jump in the flux capacitor. We then get to check out the future, which involves pink-haired girls who travel in bubbles. There are some brightly colored animated shots, too. It’s wholesome, goofy entertainment.
3. “Lovebug” (2008)
This elegant music video begins with a scene of little girls opening their grandparents’ photo album, labeled “1938-1945.” Then we get to go into the world of the pictures and travel back in time, where we see the Jonas Brothers playing a concert while dressed in period attire. When the delightfully anachronistic guitar solo arrives, we see a room full of couples dancing in the style of the 1940s, and confetti rains down. The cinematography is especially beautiful, too.
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2. “Bounce” (feat. Demi Lovato) (2009)
Bounce shows the Jonas Brothers at peak goofiness, in an era when they could be as silly as they wanted to and still be on top of the world. Wearing the weirdest outfits imaginable, with an equally strangely dressed Demi Lovato by their side, they do all kinds of things just for laughs. Joe plays at a playground, Nick gets up close to the camera and raps about having a pet mouse, and Big Rob carries a boom box. (Kevin’s not there for some reason.) There’s also a dance montage that can only be described as “interesting.” It’s a parody taken to the extreme.
1. “Burnin’ Up” (2008)
Come on, you knew this was going to be number one. The intro shows some casual banter between the guys, with Nick and Kevin trying to tell Joe that no, that girl over there is not checking him out. Then Big Rob steps in to hand the boys a script for their next music video. After that, the music starts, and we get to see Nick, Joe, and Kevin playing superheroes. Nick’s a spy who rescues Selena Gomez (then his girlfriend) in a scene that created much excitement for the band’s Disney-watching fans at the time. Joe’s an undercover cop in a fictional show called Hot Tropic, Kevin’s a martial arts hero, and Big Rob teams up with the band for a call-and-response rap interlude. This was the golden era of the Jonas brothers, and it was glorious. Never forget.
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