If you were a diehard Jonas Brothers fan back in middle school, you might be glad to hear that Nick Jonas is back to making music, and he sounds better than ever. Sure, there’s no Joe or Kevin, but it’s something, right? Nick released this month the gospel version of his latest single, “Jealous,” from his album Nick Jonas and it’s better than I could have ever hoped for.
I kind of love the gospel version of this song, probably more than I love the original version. I have this thing for choir music, having been in choir for four years and all. It sounds so soulful and magical, it’s hard not to like. And that’s exactly what this version of “Jealous” sounds like.
It starts off with just an organ piano and immediately after the entire choir starts singing jubilantly the words to the song with that sass and soul that all gospel choirs have. Nick is a part of it, although you don’t hear much of his voice in this version, which is unfortunate. There are some parts where the choir stops singing to let Nick have his moment, and when those moments happen, they’re beautiful. The only sounds you hear throughout this song are the organ piano, the steady claps of the choir keeping rhythm, and the beautiful voices of the group and Nick Jonas. It has a very natural, acoustic sound to it, which I love.
Nick’s vocal range has definitely come a long way since I last heard him singing songs during his Jonas Brothers days, and he sounds incredible. When he hits those crazy high notes, he sounds like a mix between Frank Ocean and Ne-Yo. He sounds the same as he did all those years ago, and yet, still different. I welcome the change, though. He’s been working hard on that range of his.
One of the main reasons I love this song is due to the lyrics. This is a song about jealousy, finally being sung by a guy. When Nick sings, “It’s my right to be hellish / I still get jealous,” you know he’s saying that guys get jealous, too. It’s refreshing to hear those words coming from a guy every now and again! It means us girls aren’t that psycho after all. I also love the line, “I don’t like the way he’s looking at you / Am I crazy, have I lost ya?” because Nick found a sophisticated way of describing the way guys feel when they feel threatened or jealous of their girl around other guys. No slang, no derogatory language, just fear about losing someone translated into words. I love it.
Definitely give the gospel version of “Jealous” a listen; I don’t think you’ll hate it at all (even if you aren’t into choir/gospel music). Although I wish I could have heard more of Nick’s voice alone in this version, he still was able to showcase his obviously larger vocal range in this song, and it blends seamlessly with the sound of the choir. It’s a happier, more soulful-sounding version of his latest single, and I think you’ll all really like it.