Finneas Talks About How The Jonas Brothers Inspired Him

Finneas and Joe Jonas were both a part of The Hollywood Reporter’s Songwriters Roundtable this year. The other participants were oscar winners David Byrne and Diane Warren and singer-songwriter Ruth B.

Finneas told Joe Jonas that ‘Camp Rock’ made him want to learn to play the guitar. Camp Rock is a Disney musical film, featuring the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato. The film came out in 2008 and was directed by Matthew Diamond. 

Finneas has lately worked on making the track, ‘Nobody Like U’ for fictional boy band ‘4*TOWN’,  alongside his sister Billie Eilish for Pixar’s ‘Turning Red’. He said about the process, “The preamble was that the working titles of the songs were what the songs needed to accomplish in relationship to the character”. 

“So [director] Domee [Shi] would be like, ‘This song specifically, “Nobody Like U,” is called The Confidence Booster.’ That was what it needed to accomplish. It was fun to have the characters internalizing the lyrics during these moments in this narrative. I mean, we did want them to have a three-dimensionality.”

When Jonas, a member of a boy band himself, was asked what he thought of the track, Finneas quickly interrupted him and said, “Jonas Brothers wrote all of those great songs, which are great,” and went on to note that the sibling trio’s songwriting abilities are what separate them from the traditional boy band. 

Joe responded with encouragement, saying,  “Well, I love the film… I think he crushed it. And I’m a fan. I’m a big fan of Finneas, and the sister and what they’ve been able to accomplish. And naturally, that the soundtrack is great. And yeah, it definitely brought me back.” 

The Jonas Brothers were formed in 2005 and enjoyed a successful career as a band before splitting up to explore solo careers. They reunited in 2019 and delivered hits, such as ‘Sucker’ and ‘What’s A Man Gotta Do’.

Riya Vivek