PopWatchers, I had my first encounter with the Jonas Brothers and Ilived to tell the tale (the slight headache and popping eardrumsnotwithstanding). The uber-popular trio capped off an astonishinglybusy week — one that included stops at Saturday Night Live,David Letterman and, of course, the Grammys (with Stevie Wonder, noless) — by cheering on their good friends Honor Society at a sold-out show at The Fillmore in New York last night.
So, who are Honor Society, you ask? They are four well-dressed, well-coiffed guys originally from New Jersey who were fortunate enough to have their EP, A Tale of Risky Business, catch the eye of Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas last summer. Since then, Honor Society have opened up shows for the mega-star siblings, and are now managed by the Jonas Group, which of course also manages the brothers and fellow Disney star Demi Lovato. "We’ve been lucky to be able to cowrite songs for ournew album with the Jonases, and we’ve created this cool,creative environment between the four of us and the three of them,"bassist Andrew Lee tells EW backstage. "They have completely welcomed us into theentire Jonas family, and we have all become fast friends."
The band’s sound — something lead singer Michael Bruno (no, not the EW staffer) characterizes as "if Justin Timberlake had a rock band" — certainly fits the mold of its famous friends: catchy, unassuming, inoffensive pop. So, the question begs to be asked: Are Honor Society the next Jonas Brothers? Read on after the jump to find out…
• Celebrity Endorsement: Clearly, the Jonas Brothers like the band. Theyshowed up at The Fillmore just to watch from the balcony, and latereven made a brief cameo on stage, where plenty of man-hugs and sweetnothings like "can we open for you guys someday" and "Honor Societyis the greatest band ever" were dispensed. Young, impressionable teenssimply will not be able to resist.
• MySpace Phenoms: Honor Society is fast approaching two million page views, an astronomical number for a band that has not even released a proper album. "MySpace really became our media outlet, and provided the freedom we needed to share our music and connect with our fans in a rewarding, organic kind of way," Bruno tells me backstage. Judging by the length of the line for the meet-and-greet after the show, catering to their fans is the bands #1 priority.
• Showmanship: They know how to work a crowd. Granted, getting teenage girls to scream who are already extremely prone to screaming anyway isn’t all that tough, but Honor Society were especially adept at getting the crowd all riled up. Fans were singing, clapping, and dancing along while snapping photos and doing all they could to exhaust those poor vocal cords.
Reasons Why Not:
• Tactlessness: Forgive the phrasing, butafter the on-stage collaboration with the Jonas Brothers that literallymade the girl next to me weep, the band started its encore byreplaying "Over You," the Maroon 5-lite song that kicked off the show.To paraphrase: "You’re going to be hearing this song a lot over thenext few months," Bruno explained on stage, "so start learning the words andsing along!" Sure, they have just a handful of songs (and only played for the better part of an hour), but isn’t that like totally not allowed in the concertrulebook?
• Age: Age ain’t nothing but a number, true, but the band is said to be "intheir 20’s." Some of them look well into their 20s, which is a bit older than their colleagues (the oldest Jonas is 21, and Lovato is but 16). But, being grouped with stars from the Disney universe isn’t something Bruno sees as a negative. "Fans are fans, whether they are 13, 33 or 63. When you go into a record store, there isn’t a Disney section, you know?" he tells me. "At the same time, the Jonas Brothers are incredible musicians. You don’t end up on stage playing with Steve Wonder at the Grammys if you aren’t."
• Still Unsigned: While the band says it is currently in the studio recording songs for its first full-length album (due this fall), they skirted around the question of their label status when asked. But really, it’s only a matter of time.
So, what do you think, PopWatchers? Does Honor Society deserve the hype? Are they destined to be the next big thing amongst the Disney set? And is it ever acceptable for a band to play the same song twice at a show? Hit up the comments and weigh in.
Comments (1-15) of 48 Add your comment
i don’t think so!! the jonas are amazing, but honor society it’s new and lets see if in some years they still together…
It’s just HONOR SOCIETY, not THE honor society.
Just a clarification for further publication I know you’ll be doing on these incredibly talented, sweet, humble gentlemen.
of course rhe jonas brothers
are much better than honor society
i like HS but the jonas brothers
will still being the best
band ever
The Jonas Brothers are better looking. That alone will ensure their success over “Honor Society” or whatever it’s called.
Honor Society – what more promise ring prudes? Whatever. Anybody can wear a ring and like a coat take it off when things get too hot.
Honor Society is NOT the next Jonas Brothers. period. HS cannot even compare with the uniqueness of JB.
Honor Society is DEFINATELY NOT the next Jonas Brothers. But i can tell you that they are the defintion of an Honor Society. These men are smart and more than that, they are gentlemen. I hope they dont sign with Disney because i dont want that future for them.
Are they the next Jonas Brothers?…wow…no!
I am sure they can find a fanbase though. I have seen them now in concert at least twice peripherally to the Jonai and I just can’t give in to them. (sorry, no…the Jonas Brothers did get me into Brad Paisley though!)
I think the Jonas Brothers sell themselves short by aligning themselves with these guys. #1 They have that boyband sound…that BSB, NKOTB sound. Which I happen to ABHOR. The Jonases don’t sound like that. It’s the main reason I even like them; because they sound more like britpoprock or very early rock n roll and 70s/80s pop that I like, though they do mix in some ballads (as easy listening as they can get…they are more soft rock and/or country not lame boyband r&b).
#2 HS are clearly way too old for their schoolboy schtick, so it’s gross.
Good luck to HS…but they are far less musically unique and I hope they don’t take up the Jonas Brothers’ songwriting time. Geez.
“You’re going to be hearing this song a lot over the next few months,” Bruno explained on stage, “so start learning the words and sing along!”
wow conceited much…
They lack that something the Jonas have. But Jonas are loyal, drummer used to be with them
I have yet to see a real reason why the JB “like” this band besides the fact that the obnoxious drummer guy used to be in their backing band. :-/ It’s too bad because the Jonases do seem to have good taste in music in general, they recommend some great music – like Benton Paul. That was the best music recommendation I’ve gotten in AGES.
i wouldn’t call the next jonas brothers. i’m a fan of both and both of their sounds are different. jb is just giving the band the chance that they have. also i know you think they’re fast friends but there’s another connection. why can’t artists sign ppl w/o being the next “who ever”
They are MySpace phenoms because of the Jonas Brothers connection, not the other way around.
All I can say is I was at the Filmore last night & Honor Society was really great. Im not a tween or even a 20 something but they had me screaming & singing. Okay they are not the Jonas Brothers, no one is but JB themself. They are helping HS. They are loyal to friends. I Love JB & HS there is enough room for more than one kind of band.
Honor Society deserves everything they get. i’ve been following them since summer last year, and they are a fantastic band. yes they’re kinda old, one of them is even 30 years old, but that doesn’t mean anything. i’m glad that they are finally getting the attention they deserve, and even though people are always going to relate them to JB, that means people are going to be listening to them. people might write them off now as jsut some silly band trying to be like JB, but once they listen to HS, they’ll find that they have their own sound and that it’s actually really good