New Interview

“I’m kind of now friends with Italo Zucchelli,” Joe Jonas tells GQ.com in the penthouse suite of the Marylebone Hotel. Which explains why he’s looking a lot sharper these days. One third of the currently on-hiatus Jonas Brothers, the 21-year-old is now ready to shed his Disneyfied, purity ring-wearing past and head in a more “mature direction”, which involves suiting up in Calvin Klein, intense workout routines and a hip-hop-tinged solo album Fastlife. Here the middle Jobro talks about clubbing with oompa-loompas in LA, his Mexican hangover cure and the Tinie Tempah song on his gym playlist…

What was it like sitting on the front row at Calvin Klein?
To experience what they can fit in seven minutes is pretty amazing. The look of the night for me was the suit with pixelated blocks on it. I loved the shoes with the spongy soles. I told Italo, “if you’re missing a pair tomorrow, you’ll know who took them.”

You’re wearing a lot more suits now…
I love a good fitted suit. England is known for men who can wear good suits. Savile Row is unbelievable. Simon Spurr makes some great stuff; he’s one of my favourite designers at the moment.

What’s the worst outfit you’ve ever worn?
A lot of people look back ten years ago and go, “Why was I wearing that!?” I look back a year ago and say the same thing. The craziest outfit I ever wore was this white suit that I wore to an awards show in LA that I teamed with yellow shoes. It was interesting. It popped. I think I styled myself that day…

What’s the worst haircut you’ve ever had?
I had a faux-hawk for a while and I used to buzz the sides and design it. It was really bad. I had everything. I let the lady who did my hair go to town. Back then it seemed really cool. It always does at the time. I didn’t put my name in the back of my head though at least…

What was the last stylish thing you bought?
I got this awesome hoodie from Calvin Klein’s CK One Line with about a thousand zips on it which I really like.

What music are you into that might surprise people?
I love Swedish House Mafia, DeadMau5, Tiesto and I like dubstep too. I try to get into what people are getting into out [in the UK] here because I feel like you’re just so up to date with music.

What can we expect from your album?
I wanted a more mature sound. I worked with Danga and Rob Knox and Danga has worked with Britney, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Mary J Blige - you name it and he’s worked with them. There’s some hip-hop, dance and dubstep tracks in there.

When have you been most starstruck?
It was quite funny because I was in the same room as President Obama, Stevie Wonder andSir Paul McCartney and I didn’t know who to be more nervous about. I remember talking to Sir Paul and he caught me staring at President Obama over his shoulder and he said “It’s the president. Isn’t that awesome?” To see Sir Paul McCartney starstruck was really cool.

Who would be your dream collaboration?
Adele’s amazing, I think the world of her and her music and I think Tinie Tempah is cool. To work with someone like Kanye West would be awesome. He’s a very fashionable guy these days too.

What’s your favourite Tinie Tempah song?
I like his new song “Hitz” with Chase & Status but I’ve got to say “Pass Out” still gets me hyped. If I go to the gym and listen to that, it’s over.

What’s your workout regime like?
I do 30 minutes on the bike, 30 minutes on the treadmill, 30 minutes on the elliptical cross trainer and 30 minutes in the sauna so two hours of just sweating, all while wearing two T-shirts, a sweat suit -which is like this garbage bag-type thing that just makes you sweat like crazy - and then a hoodie on top.

What’s your karaoke song?
Anything from Grease, “You’re the one that I want” is usually the go-to. A lot of my friends are singers but there are always a few people who aren’t and they don’t want to embarrass themselves so we flip-flop so that I take the girl part and they take the guy part. It’s really high for me…

You recently went to Coachella. What are your festival survival tips?
Hydrate before you dehydrate. Bring some Advil and don’t forget sun block. Me and my buddies forgot to bring sun block, we thought we were stronger than the sun and that never works! Bring a digital camera and food and drink with you because once you’re in there, you’re on your own.

Speaking of drinks, what’s your favourite?
I love good red wine with dinner and a vodka tonic if I’m out. Patrón tequilla is my shot of choice.

What’s your best hangover cure?
Pedialyte. It’s pretty much like Gatorade to the max. Coke is apparently the new thing for hangovers too but usually I’d just say eating a massive breakfast. I go to this place in LA called King’s Road Cafe and have their huevos rancheros which is an amazing fried Mexican dish filled with eggs, beans and guacamole. It’s everything you need to get over a hangover.

Where else should we go next time we’re in LA?
There are some amazing hikes in Malibu. There’s also the Runyon Canyon which is a famous hill that everybody runs where you can see the ocean. If you’re going to go out to a club, check out Jeff Beacher’s Madhouse. It’s crazy. There are literally oompa-loompas and people dressed in Star Trek costumes every night and they have on-stage performances every Wednesday which are hilarious. For food, go to Street on the Highland Melrose: it’s street vendor food from around the world that chef Susan Feniger brings back from her travels and makes gourmet.

What should every man know about women?
That they don’t know anything about them! It takes a long time to learn. My mum once gave me a book that was titled Everything A Man Knows About Women and it was totally empty. [laughs]  

What’s the most important item on your rider?
I really love peanut butter M&Ms. If they’re in the area, they’ll be gone in no time.

What do you compete against your brothers in apart from music?
Sport is the biggest thing. When it comes down to a soccer game or when we’re betting against two separate teams, we can’t even watch in the same room, it’ll be that aggressive. For the NBA finals, I was rooting for Miami and they were going for Dallas and we were literally texting hate mail to each other the entire time…

Fastlife by Joe Jonas is out on 5 September.

Click here to see the Calvin Klein spring/summer 2012 collection.