Happiness Begins
Happiness Begins is the fifth studio album by American pop rock band Jonas Brothers, released on June 7, 2019, by Republic Records. It is their first studio album since Lines, Vines and Trying Times (2009). For the record, the band enlisted producers Ryan Tedder, Greg Kurstin, Justin Tranter, along with Joel Little, Mike Sabath and Shellback to help create a "new and improved sound" with "feel-good tracks" pop album.
Happiness Begins
June 7, 2019
2018–2019
43:44
It marked the first body of work of original material released by the group since their reunion on February 28, 2019, and marked a departure from the more pop rock sound from the previous albums. It was preceded by their comeback single "Sucker", and was supported by the singles "Cool" and "Only Human", all of which achieve commercial success and charted in several countries, with the former debuting atop the Billboard Hot 100.
The record was critically well received, who complimented it for the production values and upbeat, pop-oriented sound. With critics calling it a welcomed reunion for the band and a good pop album, Happiness Begins was regarded as one of the best albums from the Jonas Brothers' catalog, as it captured their mature essence while preserving the charm present since the early years.
The album debuted at number atop the US Billboard 200 and charted on multiple countries. It was a commercial success, having sold over one million units in the United States, being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It has also received gold or higher certification in Canada, Brazil, Denmark, Netherlands, Poland and Singapore. To support the album, the Jonas Brothers embarked on the Happiness Begins Tour, from August 7, 2019 to February 22, 2020, having performed 92 shows in Europe and North America.
Background[edit]
On February 28, 2019, the Jonas Brothers announced their comeback via their social media accounts.[1] On March 1, they released the lead single, "Sucker", their first under Republic Records label.[2] The band announced the album on social media on April 22, 2019. It was set to break their decade-long album drought, after not releasing any new material since 2013's LiVe.[3]
The album was preceded by a documentary titled Chasing Happiness, which premiered on June 4 on Amazon Prime Video.[4] The film chronicles the band's journey since their break up in 2013, until their reunion in early 2019. It shows the process of reunion while the band talks about their journey and their careers.[5]
Writing and recording[edit]
In writing and recording for the album, the brothers said that they wanted a "new and improved sound" with "feel-good tracks", so their A&R at Republic Records, Wendy Goldstein, got in contact with Ryan Tedder, Greg Kurstin and Justin Tranter to help compose and produce songs for them.[6] Tedder stated that they would "write a song in about 90 minutes, [... and] cut it in the second hour. It would be demo'd by dinner".[6] This resulted in the pop-oriented, commercial sound of the album.[7]
Billboard described the resulting sound as containing "hints of everything from '80s new wave to reggae to country", and also said that "Nick describes [album track] 'Hesitate' as Joe's love letter to Sophie, while 'I Believe' is a synth-heavy slow jam that alludes to his own whirlwind romance with Chopra".[6]
Commercial performance[edit]
Happiness Begins debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 414,000 album-equivalent units, of which 357,000 were pure sales, becoming the Jonas Brothers' fourth number-one album in the country.[29]
In Canada, Happiness Begins, also debuted at number one with 36,000 album-equivalent units, being the group's third chart-topping album following A Little Bit Longer and Lines, Vines and Trying Times.[30] It was the 17th best selling album of 2019 with 620,000 copies sold worldwide.[31]