Joe Jonas: Solo star

Jonas felt right at home,though. When he is with his brothers Nick (the cute one) and Kevin (the married one),the JoBro are a juggernaut of tween fandom. But solo,Joe has an entirely different persona. He is the sultry one: a man—O.K. a guy—with a sharper edge,sophisticated tastes. “I want to start a food blog eventually,” Jonas,22,announced.

Once a mop-topped,purity-ring-wearing Disney star alongside his brothers,Joe is moving into sleeker territory,from his physique to his piqued interest in fashion,food and other epicurean pursuits. He was a judge on Top Chef. With a debut solo album,Fastlife,due out this month and a sudden burst of 5 o’clock shadow,he is hoping to make the transition from a boy band to an adult artist. Let’s call it Timberlaking.

But Justin Timberlake is the rare performer to emerge from the Disney cocoon a fully formed,multi-platform talent. Blame changing tastes or Biebermania: the Jonas’s popularity has shrunk. A 3-D concert film in 2009 was considered a box office disappointment,and their last Disney Channel series,Jonas L.A. was cancelled last year.

“They become so identified as a group and so identified as a teen and tween brand,it’s hard to prove to people that you’ve grown up,” said Joe Zee,the creative director of Elle. If he wants to be the Beyoncé of Destiny’s Child,Jonas has got to really show that he can grow and mature. Maybe that means growing stubble,but it also means maturing in his style and in his sound.”

Designers are already eager to help Jonas outfit his new look. Italo Zucchelli,the creative director for Calvin Klein men’s wear,dressed him on several occasions. He was impressed with Jonas’s aesthetic: wearing sneakers with suits or a denim jacket with a blazer,asking about runway wear.

Jonas’s growing fashion clout was evident during the recent New York Fashion Week,when he performed at Saks Fifth Avenue during Fashion’s Night Out,dressed by Simon Spurr,a young British designer.

Fastlife years in production,is,Jonas acknowledged,a “coming of age” album. In lieu of the lightweight pop that made the Jonas Brothers multimillionaires (they earned about $35 million annually in the last few years),the songs have a slicker,darker feel. Jonas said he approached his brothers with the idea of doing a solo record in 2009. “I wouldn’t have done it if they weren’t supportive,” he said.

“I want to write something that people can dance to,” he said. “I want to dance.” Thanks to a choreographer,his moves have improved since he parodied Beyoncé’s Single Ladies in a widely seen video The Jonas boys (there are four; Frankie,the “bonus Jonas,” is 11) grew up in New Jersey,where the oldest began performing at amusement parks as teenagers. Their father,Kevin Jonas Sr.,was an evangelical pastor before he became a manager of his sons’ group; their mother,Denise,home-schooled them. “My mom always trained us to eat as though one day we’ll be at the president’s table,” he said. “And we eventually sat and ate at the White House.” (They brought mom; she cried.) “And my dad always said this,which we always lived by,which was: Live like you’re at the bottom,even if you’re at the top.”

During Fashion’s Night Out, Jonas’s fashion credentials were cemented when he met Anna Wintour of Vogue. Wintour did not stay for the performance,but her visit made an impression.

“I wish I had a list of questions to ask her,” Jonas gushed afterward. “She’s a legend.” Thus anointed,he made way for a more typical fan,a little girl in a T-shirt with a big heart on it. Blushing furiously,she was barely able to stammer out her age: 8.

Soon enough Jonas was out on stage,singing with his eyes closed,his hips stopping just short of a thrust above the heads of hundreds of shrieking girls.