Kevin Jonas is back in the studio with his brothers Nick and Joe, working on new music. The oldest Jonas is also back on TV with the youngest Jonas, Franklin. The TV host and musician teases that Season 3 of ABC's reality competition series “Claim to Fame” (Wednesdays, 9 EDT/PDT) is “definitely more suspenseful than any other season we've had.”
“I think it's super easy for fans to play along at home,” Kevin, 36, tells USA TODAY about the show, which mixes elements of “Big Brother” and “The Masked Singer.” Each contestant is related to a celebrity, but is attempting to keep the famous relative’s identity a secret. The one who keeps the secret the longest wins $100,000. “(Viewers) like to figure it out just like we do when we're on set.”
Franklin, 23, can certainly relate to the participants on some level. He was 7 when his three older brothers became household names. Subsequently, the one brother out of the spotlight became affectionally known as the "bonus Jonas."
“In another life, I was a contestant on this show,” Franklin jokes. “I'm able to connect to the contestants in a way where I've been in their shoes," he says, adding he remembers those days “vividly.”
“My playgrounds shifted from the local school in New Jersey to backstage at arenas and theaters,” he recalls. “And life just changed, but our family kept being the same and we still had dinner together every night. We still had each other at the end of the day, so nothing really changed, but the environment changed.”
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“Franklin is the best with this stuff,” Kevin adds. “I work with other guys almost every single day, so getting to do (this show) is a nice breath of fresh air.”
As for the “other guys,” Nick spent part of his summer overseas filming a new movie. He also just announced that he’ll return to Broadway next spring in "The Last Five Years." And Joe is seemingly teasing a solo music project on social media.
“I’m letting (Joe) talk about that,” Kevin says of the snippet his brother posted on TikTok. “There will be Jonas Brothers stuff (coming), but I think Joe might be doing something.”
The JoBros “stuff” could potentially serve as the follow up to 2023’s “The Album.”
“We've been in the studio for I'd say a year working on the next project,” Kevin says. “But it is a challenge. Sometimes it's a cohesive thought. Sometimes it all happens at one time.”
In the meantime, the family will be watching “Claim to Fame,” although Kevin and Franklin will have to watch their words. Apparently Joe loves the show, so if one of his brothers accidentally spoils anything, he might start “Burnin’ Up.”
