Let me explain.

If you're old enough to be a parent, you may not have heard of the Jonas Brothers. But it's a sure bet that your tween or teen daughter has. In fact, she probably has one or two or 20 of their songs on her iPod. And at least one of their names is already written in conjunction with hers in the margin of her math notebook. Jonas Brothers are a seemingly overnight sensation whose latest CD, A Little Bit Longer, debuted at No. 1 on the charts and is shaping up to be one of the year's best-selling pop/rock releases—and that doesn't even take into account the three huge hits from the album that have generated more than 100,000 downloads each at the iTunes store.

All of which is why those Columbia Records guys, with their dwindling sales numbers, are so distraught. You see, early last year they cut loose the JoBros, as they're sometimes called, from their recording contract, saying, "The indicators are not there." Ooops.

JoBio
So who are these Jonas guys and how did they become so popular? Well, they're a trio of cute, dark-haired heartthrobs—Kevin, the guitar player, has a bashful charm and is the oldest at 20; Joe, 19, is the one with model good looks who sings smooth rocker vocals; and Nick, 15, is the talented-beyond-his-years songwriter the others look to as their group leader. In fact, the whole shebang started with him.

Back when Nick was but a tyke, a lady with curlers in her hair and connections in her address book overheard him singing while waiting for his mom at the hair salon. And those fateful words, "He needs a manager," were spoken. Quicker than he could ask for a skateboard for his birthday, 7-year-old Nick was landing roles in Broadway shows such as A Christmas Carol, Annie Get Your Gun and Beauty and the Beast. By the ripe old age of 10 the seasoned spotlight stealer caught the eye (and ear) of a record producer with a Christmas song he co-wrote with his pastor dad.

The young prodigy soon created a self-titled solo album of mostly spiritual songs that nobody paid much attention to. But it got him in the door. And when he presented Columbia Records with a song he had written and sung with his two brothers, the execs (still a few years away from the big oops) sat up and smiled. One became three, a record was made (It's About Time), and the Jonas boys and their parents (along with baby brother Frankie—the "bonus Jonas") loaded up a passenger van and a trailer full of gear and set out on the road to fame and fortune.

Saved by the Mouse
Just like any good Hollywood script, however, things didn't go so well at first for the JoBros. The performing venues were small. The sales were smaller. Then Nick found out he had diabetes and his family worried that the road might not be the best place to deal with his new diet and insulin regimen. And when the other shoe dropped by way of Columbia backing away, it seemed like the dream was over.

But wait. Who's in the business of wishing on stars and making dreams come true? Disney, of course. Disney-owned Hollywood Records signed the boys and the rest suddenly became House of Mouse history. Mickey's well-oiled media machine—which includes Hollywood Records, Disney Channel and Radio Disney—started cranking up the magic.

Hannah Montana made the guys a hottie sensation. Radio Disney boosted their first new label release, Jonas Brothers, up to a No. 5 slot on the Billboard 200—selling over 1.4 million copies. They graced teen mag covers and talk shows. And the trio took to the road, only this time with the Magic Kingdom's blessings (read: money) and crowds of cheering kids. By the time their Disney Channel movie, Camp Rock, hit the airwaves earlier this year, the fan fever was burning hot.

While on the road, Nick started pumping out tunes that the brothers recorded on their converted tour bus. The skyrocketing A Little Bit Longer is the result. And it all happened in about a year and a half. (A 3-D rock concert film, a Disney TV series called J.O.N.A.S.! and a behind-the-scenes book will be offered up to allowance-toting fans in the very near future.)

Catching the Love Bug
So with all this product aimed at young consumers, what do teenyboppers think of what the Jonases are selling? Thumbs-up. I happened upon a teen and mom in the supermarket and, on a whim, asked if they had heard of the Jonas Brothers.

Mom, no.

Daughter, you bet. "They're just so cute," she purred. "And they ... did you know they play their own music? It's like they hypnotized everybody. My friends and I love their songs!"

And it's easy to see why. The tunes on A Little Bit Longer are infectious and hooky bubblegum pop with lots of fizzy harmonies and a bit of Avril Lavigne rockiness. Lyrics focus on love-struck anthems which certainly ring true to the typical teen ear.

The ecstasy of a pretty girl's smile ("Love Bug"). The death-like dog days of breaking up and living without love ("Can't Have You") or turning from a flirting girlfriend ("Shelf"). But then there's always the heart-thumping hope of finding someone true ("BB Good"). The only "edge" comes from a couple of references to kissing and/or youthful longing for kissing. The one "off topic" song is an inspirational ballad about Nick's dealings with diabetes on which he reminds his fellow youths that "You don't know what you got till it's gone." (Supermarket girl said that song made her cry.)

It Has That Ring of ... Purity
These days, though, when you hear a band of boys—one of them already 20 years old—sticking to singing sweet nothings, you start asking why:

"The boys made a decision when they turned 12 years old to put those [purity] rings on their fingers," says Dad, also known as Kevin Jonas Sr. "We didn't give them these rings as a pledge of perfection, but as a reminder of values. Our hope is that they'll always know that there's a good, right way to treat the opposite sex."

But in this case, there's a bit more to it than just taking a moral stand when it comes to sex. "Even songs we write today, if you really listen to the lyrics, it can be about love songs, but it's also about our relationship with God," middle Jonas, Joe, told USA Today. "It's simple. We're Christian guys in a rock 'n' roll band."

Which means that while you won't find any praise and worship masterpieces on A Little Bit Longer, neither will you find any Jesse McCartney junk.

Put the Jonases Back in the CD Changer!
So, Mom and Dad, it looks like there might not be any reason to be startled by that ecstatic wail drifting on the digital breeze. Now you know it's just the Jonases in a stadium, movie house, music store, bookstore or Web site near you. Maybe you won't even mind when you feel that tap on your shoulder as a cute set of stone-melting baby-blues known as your daughter pleads for the ticket price for the complete set. Besides, you might actually like what you hear if you take the time to listen:

"A Little Bit Longer could be a significant generation-gap closer," Entertainment Weekly's music critic Chris Willman writes. "It's not difficult to imagine a scenario where Dad is demanding that Sissy put the Jonases back in the CD changer, right after he's chucked less-deserving labelmate Jesse McCartney out the car window."

Willman's talking about musical style and raw talent. But he might as well be also discussing what the JoBros sing about and how they've so far handled themselves as role models.

CHECK OUT THE OCTOBER 2008 ISSUE OF PLUGGED IN MAGAZINE FOR OUR EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF A JONAS BROTHERS CONCERT.

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