Jonas Brothers

You might not have heard of the Jonas Brothers, but your little sister probably loves them. The teen rock band from Wyckoff, New Jersey is currently the hottest thing in Disney-owned Hollywood Records' lineup right now, serving as a male counterpart to equally squeaky-clean and starry eyed teen queens like Vanessa Hudgens and Miley Cyrus, better known for her role as the loveable title character on Disney's kid-friendly sitcom Hannah Montana. But where did the crooning, guitar playing Jonas Brothers - surprisingly stoic 15 year old Nick, dreamy 18 year old lead singer Joe, and shaggy-haired 20 year old backup singer Kevin - come from?

The band has their origins in their youngest brother Nick, who began his professional singing career at the tender age of seven when he began performing on Broadway musicals. Though he put out a few pre-pubescent solo records, Nick's big break occurred in 2005 when the president of Columbia Records, Steve Greenberg, invited Nick and his brothers to audition for him in his office, offering the trio a record deal on the spot. Initially naming their group "Sons of Jonas", the brothers eventually decided to name their trio the Jonas Brothers, the name they still use today. The Jonas Brothers released one unsuccessful album on Columbia Records, 2006's It's About Time, before being dropped by the label. Though the brothers hadn't received the amount of mainstream success Greenberg (who had discovered and produced notable kiddie-targeted acts like Hanson and The Baha Men) had expected, some of their songs - including "Year 3000" and "Mandy" - began receiving heavy rotation on Radio Disney. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Jonas Brothers signed a deal with Disney's Hollywood Records (Hilary Duff, The Cheetah Girls) in early 2007, and soon grew to become the label's most sought-after act. After producing songs for a number of Disney movies and shows throughout the early half of 2007, The Jonas Brothers released their second full-length album Jonas Brothers in August 2007. The album was an instant success, debuting at #5 on the Billboard 200 and producing hit singles "S.O.S." and "Hold On". The Jonas Brothers' success was compounded by their appearance on a special episode of the popular Disney series Hannah Montana, shown right before the premier of the network-powerhouse TV movie High School Musical 2. The show broke national viewing records, drawing an audience of well over 10 million viewers - and firmly establishing the Jonas Brothers as the hottest boy band around in the hearts and minds of youngsters across America.

Since then the sky has been the limit for the Jonas Brothers, who are set to release their third album A Little Bit Longer in August 2008. So far, the Jonas Brothers have starred in one wildly successful Disney Channel movie, Camp Rock, and have plans to star in another. In addition to the Camp Rock sequel, the Jonas Brothers have signed to do a number of other projects with Disney, including a 3-D Concert movie, a book, and two television series. If you hadn't yet heard of the Jonas Brothers, get acquainted - it looks like they're gonna be around for awhile.

From Lastfm:

Jonas Brothers are an American pop band. Hailing from New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas.

From Wikipedia:

The Jonas Brothers are an American pop boy band. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network. From the shore region of New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Paul Kevin Jonas II (Kevin Jonas), Joseph Adam Jonas (Joe Jonas), and Nicholas Jerry Jonas (Nick Jonas). In the summer of 2008, they starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock. The band has released four albums: It's About Time, Jonas Brothers, A Little Bit Longer, and Lines, Vines and Trying Times. In 2008, the group was nominated for the Best New Artist award at the 51st Grammy Awards and won the award for Breakthrough Artist at the American Music Awards. As of May 2009, before the release of Lines, Vines and Trying Times, they have sold over eight million albums worldwide.