Upon hearing the first chords of Levels, my heart fluttered with a kind of happiness I can only imagine is similar to how a parent feels when they see their child accomplish something great. Nick Jonas may have ditched his purity ring long ago, but he still managed to become a fine (emphasis on the fine) young gentleman. His growth is remarkable, and it only registered for the first time when I saw him doing his thing at the RenCo.
From dance jams like Jealous, Chains and Close to more emotional songs like Numb and Remember I Told You, there was something for everyone. Even the day-one fans were appeased with acoustical renditions of Love Bug (which he admitted to writing at the age of 14 in a bathroom) and Burnin Up.
The man I witnessed hardly resembled the Disney-whipped, little boy from Camp Rock. He was fashionable, confident, clearly felt comfortable riffing with the audience (claiming he saw a group of guys at a house party earlier) and genuinely seemed to be enjoying Bradley.
Needless to say, this was not the same guy I clipped pictures of from J-14 magazines. His stage presence and performance completely erased the awkward, pre-pubescent image of Nick Jonas I so voraciously admired in middle school. But there was still plenty to idolize about his former self.
Early on, it was obvious that he was the superior Jonas Brother. He was the cutest, had the best vocals and is proficient in several instruments. It was clear that his brothers were just along for the ride. Nick held all the talent, as evident by the atrocity known as Cake By The Ocean and the E! reality show snore-fest known as Married to Jonas, some of the endeavors pursued by his older brothers.
And now, it has all paid off, as Nick has made a successful solo career for himself not only in music, but film, television, theater and modeling as well. In fact, if you were to look up the definition of gloing up, it would say the evolution of Nick Jonas.
I believe the outcry from the male population was simply because they had a pre-conceived notion of who Nick Jonas was, and thats a damn shame. Perhaps they still even had some pent-up resentment from when they found out their first crush only had eyes for one guy, and it was Nicky J.
However, those who did attend the concert seemed to recognize the transformation and appreciate the performance.
Nick Jonas was awesome, it was a great time, he played some great songs. Nick McMurray, junior finance major, said. Im glad I went, and thats 100 percent sincere.
His friend from another school echoed this sentiment and was a clear fan of Jonas.
Nick Jonas has the voice of an angel. I dont know why God sent him down for us to listen to him at Bradley University, Andrew Helm said. Very talented. Bradley University got to witness an angel, and it was amazing.
Fellow peers can pretend to be huge fans of *NSYNC or Backstreet Boys, but in reality, that was ahead of our time. Conversely, One Direction came about after our prime boy band days, so the Jonas Brothers was truly all we had, and for that, I am grateful.
