Biography
The eldest of the three Jonas Brothers, Kevin (born Paul Kevin) Jonas was one of the biggest teen-pop sensations of the 2000s. Kevin grew up with his brothers Joe and Nick in Little Falls, NJ, the sons of an Assembly of God minister and a sign-language teacher (a fourth brother, Frankie, was too young to join the group). Kevin was the first brother to pursue music, getting a guitar and writing songs at age 12. However brother Nick was the one who initially got a record deal; when Columbia wasn't satisfied with his demos they suggested the three brothers record as a group. The first album It's About Time wasn't a huge hit, but a hookup with Disney changed everything. Their self-titled 2007 album was released on the Disney-associated Hollywood label, which heavily promoted the brothers with enough TV appearances to turn them into teen idols. The album replaced the debut's punk and R&B influences with a shiny bubblegum pop sound, and included a co-written song by Kevin, the ballad "Hello Beautiful." After guesting with Miley Cyrus on Hannah Montana and then starring in their own vehicles, Camp Rock and Jonas, the brothers' career was truly underway. The TV shows usually put Kevin in the Mike Nesmith role, as the older and more sensible (but still crushworthy) one. The next album A Little Bit Longer was a #1 Billboard debut, and the singles "Burnin' Up" and "Lovebug" gave writing credits to all three brothers. By 2010 they were being handpicked by Paul McCartney to play "Drive My Car" at a White House ceremony honoring him. The brothers took a couple of separations during their hitmaking heyday, and during August 2012 the E! channel launched Married to Jonas, a reality show focused on Kevin and his wife Danielle. The show ran two seasons and wound up documenting the brothers' final world tour. Unspecified differences between the brother sprung up afterward, and in 2013 the three split up for good, abandoning an in-progress album called V. Following the brothers' split, Kevin made some more TV appearances, guesting on Celebrity ApprenticeThe Real Housewives of New Jersey. However he opted not to follow Joe and Nick in pursuing a solo music career. Instead he concentrated largely on raising his and his wife's two daughters, and launched an app-making studio. The first release in 2015 was Yood, a Yelp-type app that displayed restaurant options and ratings for different types of food in the user's area.
