Joe Jonas: ‘Delta and I are like brother and sister’
SINGER and The Voice newbie Joe Jonas reveals his biggest regret, future wedding plans, and why there’s no awkwardness between him and his brother’s ex, Delta Goodrem.
Stellar
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SINGER and The Voice newbie Joe Jonas reveals his biggest regret, future wedding plans, and why there’s no awkwardness between him and his brother’s ex, Delta Goodrem.
As the newest guest judge on The Voice, you are currently living by the beach here in Australia. How long after moving here were you walking around barefoot, throwing the shaka sign?
It hit me about two weeks in. Now I’m definitely hanging loose and walking barefoot everywhere. It feels like this has become a second home. I’m usually travelling — flying somewhere new, playing a show and heading off again. That alone can be exhausting. So to put my bag somewhere, to unpack and have a normal-ish life... it’s the best feeling.
You are the second of four boys. Was it hard on your mother being the only woman in the house?
My parents tried four times for a girl — and never got it. But one of the cool things about my mum is that she ended up loving having all boys. She’s a really big personality; I would be nervous if there had been another girl in the house, because I’m not sure how the two of them would have done together. My mum’s enough!
Three of you — yourself, Kevin and Nick — formed the pop band Jonas Brothers in 2005. When you see pictures from that era, what stands out as your biggest regret?
Oooh, I had a pretty strong phase of flat-iron long hair. There is this group from Germany called Tokio Hotel and we just loved their style and slowly began to emulate it, which was probably not the smartest idea. They are basically a hair metal band.
Do you have permanent hearing damage from all those years spent in the presence of screaming tween girls?
Absolutely. And I’ve realised I’ve gotten used to it. Yesterday somebody in the audience [at The Voice] had a high-pitched scream and the other judges sort of winced. I was just over there like, “Oh, yep — I’m familiar with that one.”
Why did you decide to take on The Voice, anyway? And you can’t say “the money”.
It was nice to know that I would have a friend here — I’ve known Delta [Goodrem] for many years. I get to share a stage every day with Boy George. I get to know Kelly Rowland. It was the chance to work with these artists that I appreciate — and then to see how much talent Australia has. I’m dumbfounded. You’re sitting there like, “Why are these not the biggest stars in the world right now?”
So it wasn’t awkward, given your brother Nick dated Delta a few years ago?
Delta and I go way back [laughs]. I met her when I was probably 13 or 14. We’ve never had an opportunity to collaborate, to make music, to perform together. She is the princess of Australia so it’s nice to have her on my side. And on this show, of course, we go back and forth, like any brother and sister might.
On that note, Miss Piggy once tried to weasel her way into your group as the long-lost “Jonas sister” — aka Joan S. Jonas. What can you say about working with her that won’t get you sued?
I didn’t appreciate it then as much as I do now. I’ve gotten older and look back and it’s like: “Oh my god, we got to work with Miss Piggy!” She had some sass, we had to occasionally check her contract to ensure it was all good. She’s definitely an… aggressive sister. But we are still her brothers — and we’ll protect her from any guy that tries to mess with her.
A few years ago, you opened up about the media training you received as a boy, and how you were taught to avoid uncomfortable topics. Does that instinct still bubble up from time to time?
You know, I’ve heard it all. I’ve been asked it all. Working with, say, Disney, or just being young... I got taught to divert. And I ended up disliking that, because musicians write songs and speak about what we’re going through. I don’t ever want to feel like I’m guarded again.
You and Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner got engaged in October. Given you don’t have nine-to-five jobs where you can come home and organise seating charts, how do you plan for the wedding?
A lot of help. I don’t know the first thing about weddings. We got engaged knowing we are both busy and have our own careers — we know what we signed up for. So we’re taking our sweet, sweet time and are in no rush.
Your band DNCE had a global hit in 2015 with the song ‘Cake By The Ocean’ — a phrase with explanations both innocent and raunchy. Are you prepared to be asked about it for the rest of your life?
I never thought that song would have the life it had. I hope I keep talking about and singing it for the rest of my life. We try to explain to little kids, to grandmas... [laughs] and I just say: “Whatever version works for you.” And I feel like the sky is the limit with songwriting now, because we know what we can get away with lyrically.
Have you, in fact, ever eaten cake by the ocean?
[Laughs.] Well, there’s always inspiration behind songs.
The Voice premieres 7.30pm tonight, on the Nine Network.