Former teeny boppers, the Jonas Brothers, have amassed many setbacks and daring moments during their nearly two decades in the spotlight (remember their purity rings?). Now, Nick Jonas, the youngest of the trio, recounts a “tragic” event that propelled him into therapy at an awards ceremony.
In the latest episode of the Armchair Expert podcast featuring Nick and his siblings Joe and Kevin, the 30-year-old actor recalled his infamous guitar solo at the 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards. Performing solo at the time, Nick joined country singer Kelsea Balleri on stage to perform a duet with her hit song “Peter Pan.” While his vocals were solid, his guitar playing was noticeably bad.
“Kelsea and I did a few performances together,” he explained on the podcast. “And this was one of them. I’m dating for my job. I’ve rehearsed a million times. I’m really confident about it, I don’t even think about it as something that would really cause trouble.
“As I walked towards him, I was completely ejaculated,” she continued. “And I hit a wrong note and I basically fainted and I realized it was wrong and I couldn’t stop.”
Nick said he was “put into a car and boarded a plane” right after the disastrous performance, but he couldn’t escape the rapidly rising criticism on the internet. As with most awards, the guitar solo immediately went viral; an “Expectation Vs. The “Reality” video made by someone performing a performance has been viewed more than 4.2 million times on YouTube.
On the podcast, Nick said he “still hasn’t figured out exactly what happened” that would cause the performance to go awry, but apparently that was traumatic enough for him to seek mental health treatment.
“I looked at my manager and said, ‘I think that was bad. I was kind of in shock. It was a truly traumatic moment that shaped the pressure I put on myself to be perfect and always keep going.
She added: “Looking back, I might laugh a little about how great I thought it was. But it’s traveled more than I wished it had been. And it got me going to therapy.
In retrospect, the guitar solo could definitely have been worse. On the other hand, Nick has previously admitted to having stage fright and is described as the “shy” brother among his older brothers, so his initial reaction makes sense. It’s good to know that a certain performance no longer hurts him.