For the first time since 2011, Joe Jonas has a solo album out: Music for People Who Believe in Love was released on May 23, after three singles in the last year.
While the world knows Jonas from his band with his brothers, we’ve seen little solo work from him. He put out Fastlife in 2011, and performed for a stint as part of DNCE.
After a rough couple of years — especially his very public and messy divorce from Sophie Turner — Jonas decided to put out this work, with his brothers’ blessing.
The album defies a single genre: songs like “Parachute” feel like they’re straight off a mid-2000s Jonas Brothers album, while others like “Heart By Heart” lean into a country twang.
He spoke with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about what mixing genres meant for him. Jonas wanted to reimagine what a love song could be — and musically, he experimented with sounds like ’90s country, a nod to his dad, and touches of punk rock. Music for People Who Believe in Love is not “bound to one sound,” he told Rascoe.
It’s clear that some of the new music is inspired by where he is in life. “Hey Beautiful,” for instance, is a lullaby for his two daughters, telling them that he would be there for them forever, whether that be “in the trees or in this song.”
Take “Work It Out,” an upbeat track reminiscent of DNCE’s dance-pop sound. But one lyric stands out as especially poignant: Jonas sings, “Joe, you think you’re too cool to go to therapy, // But look at you, your anxieties got anxieties.” In this and other songs, he doesn’t just speak to himself — he shares deeply meaningful vulnerabilities with the world.
These themes show up in “My Own Best Friend” too. It’s relatively self-evident what this song is about, but he also said of the album as a whole, “Yeah, I think the real lesson for me the last couple years is, like, being able to just be OK with being alone but not lonely and having that healthy relationship with yourself, yes. Show up for you so you can show up for others.”
While some songs on the album are slower or quieter, some songs are more upbeat, angrier, or evoke more intense emotions. So much of the album seems like it was made to sing along with in a car, late at night with your windows down, like “My Own Best Friend,” “Parachute,” or “Only Love.”
Fans on X seemingly love the album; many said they felt Jonas had grown up with them or expressed how proud they are of him. And the album has given Jonas the space to talk about mental health and taking care of yourself in that way. Even Jonas’ ex, Turner, took to social media to show his work some love.
Though the album comes from a deeply personal place, Jonas collaborates with several artists, including the fourth Jonas brother, Frankie Jonas, Sierra Ferrell, Luísa Sonza, and Louane & Tiny Habits. While Jonas shines without the extra musicians, as is evident from the truly solo songs on the album, these musicians bring more to his music.
Finally, while we can jam endlessly to Music for People Who Believe in Love, it seems that the rest of the Jonas Brothers have been just as busy; the trio of brothers is set to drop their seventh studio album (their third since their 2019 comeback), Greetings from Your Hometown, in August.
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