At the risk of losing all credibility in one sentence, I'll say it.The Jonas Brothers/Stevie Wonder "thing" at the Grammy's was not that bad. It was actually a bit good.
There's a number of reasons for this, but lets take them one at a time. First off, my niece, who is 12, has NO clue who Stevie Wonder is. Which is shocking, to me. My niece IS, however, familiar with the musical stylings of Joe, Kevin, and Nick Jonas. What some saw as an atrocity of music at the Grammys, I found to be enlightening to a younger generation of music fans. When my niece called me the next day, to ask more about the "Guy with the glasses that was singing 'Burnin' Up'", I was thrilled. I don't expect her to dive head first into Songs In The Key Of Life, but lets face it. Stevie Wonder has been getting a critical and commercial BEATING since the 80's. Detractors call this just another lame attempt by Wonder to latch onto something relevant again, much like he did by performing with John Legend just a couple years ago at the same awards (which included the wince-worthy moment of suck-upishness when Stevie stammered while declaring Legend's "Ordinary People" was his "Favorite Song Of The Decade"....cringe....), but let's not forget. This is Stevie Wonder. Stevie. Wonder. I'm not a big fan of just repeating an artists name for instant credibility purposes, but listen. All those kids that think the Jonas kids are so cool? Take 5 years off of the youngest one. Take away his vision. Add another 6 levels of talent. That WAS Stevie Wonder. Young stars in music often get criticized, due to the Disney machine that cranked out the Duff/Montana/Jonas stuff....but lest we forget, Motown WAS the Disney of music 50 years ago. Mass produced, young, pop stars. Was the quality better? well, yeah, but the FORMULA is what I'm poking at here. So, if Stevie Wonder wants to (for lack of a better word. Actually, there's probably a better word, but I just want to use this one...) whore himself out to the Grammys, and every new pop sensation he can latch onto, so be it. Wonder's got 25 Grammy awards, not to mention, do yourself a favor, get "The 12 year old Genius", put it on, and listen to Wonder sing "Fingertips".
I know that all I'm doing here is using an artists past to justify the fact that they're slowly fizzling out, and not doing so with much dignity. I understand that almost every career move since Hotter Than July has been poor from Wonder (Even though, I liked his last record...), but the overall point I'm making is that THIS isn't the performance to be outraged about. Yes, him sucking up to John Legend is pathetic. His hero worship of Alicia Keys is also a bit sad to see. And the fact that he's stayed loyal to Motown seems good from the outside, until you realize that Sylvia Rhone is probably a demon who sucks the life out of every act she can. But this Jonas Brothers thing? Not that bad. Why?
Because it was good. I am not a Jonas Brothers fan. I am a 25 year old man. And I don't date teenage girls. So, I'm not their demographic. But, and I may regret saying this, there's talent there. I know they're the Disney freak show of the hour (And the South Park joke of the minute), but there is talent there. Nick Jonas is 16....yes I had to look that up.....16! sure, he's not polished, and his guitar playing is chunky and error spotted, but the kid has pop sensibility. I don't think he's a "prodigy", as he's been labeled, but there's a future there. I mean, Kevin Jonas, at 21, might just want to cut his losses at this point...but Nick and Joe could do something. I'm not giving one of those Jon Landau, "I've seen the future of rock" speeches. And I'm not saying that the Jonas Brothers are Jersey's next big "thing" (Landau, in that case, would die, be buried, and then roll over in his grave.)...I am saying, though, that after the Grammy performance, I gave their CD a fair, and unbiased listen. And I hated it. BUT, I hated it not because of the packaging, the image, or the general lameness of it. I hated it purely because the songs were horrible. But, there was potential. There were bad lyrics, but catchy hooks. Bad instrumentation, but solid melody. Take the Grammy performed "Burnin' Up"...I mean, come on... 'I'm slipping into the lava/tryin to keep from goin under/you turn the temperature hotter/and I'm burnin up for you'??? No way. But, is that melody/hook catchy, or what?
Point is, they've got the bones. I'll take Nick Jonas in ten years over a lot of mainstream pop acts right now. I read an article where I was shocked to find that he is not only their primary writer, but he also dropped all the right names. Prince, Springsteen, and Bonnie Raitt. Now, the skeptic would just say that some exec at Disney is telling him all the right things, but I don't totally buy it. Why would a 16 year old, currently wearing a ring professing his love for being a virgin be told by an smart disney exec to name drop Prince? Yes, Prince. He of albums such as Lovesexy and Dirty Mind. The kid's got chops. He needs to turn 18 and jump out of the Disney umbrella. Fast. Just remember when N'Sync was out, and Justin Timberlake looked like the next cardboard cutout? John Mayer when he was just another whiny acoustic dude? Mark my words...Nick Jonas may be an unpolished, lamely annoying pop tart for the mass consumption of tweens right now....But give him 8 years or so.
Not to mention, the performance with Wonder wasn't horrific at all. They sung their catchy song, and then took on one of his, and it was exciting to watch. There were corny parts. Clumsy parts, as well. Namely when Stevie takes lead vocals on Burinin' Up, and Joe Jonas thinks it a bright idea to bang loudly and slightly off beat on some waiting bongos in the corner of the stage. Or, when Wonder goes into a harmonica solo, and all 3 brothers surround him on his tiny piano stage, gesturing and yelling....as if he could see them....Not that it was awkward or anything. But, as far as musical disasters the night of the Grammys, it was mild compared to Katy Perry shaming herself in front of everyone with her aerobics act disguised as a performance, Coldplay's shameless drooling over Sir McCartney ("Hey Paul!! We're wearing costumes similar to those in Sgt Pepper, if you hadn't noticed!!!!" Chris Martin...seriously, man? You're Chris freaking Martin. Get a grip...), and the Grammy committee's general makeout session with Plant and Krauss. I mean the album was good...but really....THAT good?
So, when compared with that, I, personally will play devil's advocate, and say that I enjoyed the youthful expression that I saw onstage that night. And let's give Stevie Wonder a break. I mean, I know I'm a huge Wonder fan, but if all else fails....just get every album he made in the 70's, and act like they all came out last week. That's how I get to sleep at night.
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