Spaceman (Nick Jonas album)

Last updated

Spaceman
Nick Jonas - Spaceman.png
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 12, 2021 (2021-03-12)
StudioNo Expectations Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Length35:31
Label Island
Producer Greg Kurstin
Nick Jonas chronology
Last Year Was Complicated
(2016)
Spaceman
(2021)
Singles from Spaceman
  1. "Spaceman"
    Released: February 25, 2021
  2. "This Is Heaven"
    Released: March 4, 2021

Spaceman is the fourth studio album by American singer Nick Jonas, released on March 12, 2021, through Island. [1] The album marks the first solo release of the singer since Last Year Was Complicated (2016) and the first solo project to be released since the reunion of the Jonas Brothers (with his older brothers Joe and Kevin) in 2019. The deluxe edition of the album was released on March 15, 2021, three days after the release of the standard edition. It features a sole guest appearance from the Jonas Brothers, who appear on the track "Selfish", with Joe providing vocals and Kevin playing guitar on the song.

Contents

Background

Jonas first dropped hints about his upcoming album on his social media in early February 2021. [2] On February 20, 2021, it was announced that he would appear on Saturday Night Live on February 27 to perform his new single. [3] [4] The singer officially kicked off the era on February 25 by releasing the lead single, the title track. [5] The lyrics were widely considered to be about the COVID-19 pandemic. [5] [6] When asked about the title during an interview with Zane Lowe, he explained, "The key for me was trying to find a way to give this idea a persona, give it a name. So 'Spaceman' kind of came into my mind as I was thinking, 'What's the one thing that all of us have felt during this time? Completely disconnected from the world." [7] Regarding the recording process of the album, he revealed, "I made this album while doing what most of us have been doing this past year, sitting at home and hoping for better days ahead". Thematically, the album explores four themes: distance, indulgence, euphoria and commitment. [8] The second and final single, "This Is Heaven", was released on March 4. On March 14, Jonas announced that the deluxe version of the record would be released the following day. This version includes the songs "Dangerous", "Selfish" (featuring the Jonas Brothers) as well as "Chill Versions" of the songs "Don't Give Up on Us", "2Drunk", and "This Is Heaven." [9] On March 18, the deluxe video album was released. [10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 61/100 [11]
Review scores
SourceRating
auspOpStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [12]
Clash 7/10 [13]
i Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Pitchfork 5.8/10 [16]
PopMatters 6/10 [17]

Spaceman garnered positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 61, based on 6 reviews. [11]

Robin Murray of Clash wrote that despite the sonic influences being too obvious throughout the record, he praised its honest lyricism and effective jams, singling out "Don't Give Up On Us" for being one of Jonas' "best solo performances to date", concluding that: "One of his most rounded and adult statements to date, 'Spaceman' is certainly worth exploring - as lockdown hobbies go, it's up there with banana bread as one of the most tasteful." [13] PopMatters contributor Jeffrey Davies commended Kurstin's production for being "captivating and refined" and Jonas being able to sell the album's theme of isolation, but felt the lyrical content comes across as "immature and tone-deaf" when compared to the title track, saying that "he has the ability to be audibly subversive and memorable, delivering sounds that could easily transport the pop music fan to an imaginary dancefloor. It’s just the words that still need some work, perhaps by beginning to hold male pop stars to a bit of a higher standard." [17] Oliva Horn of Pitchfork wrote that: "[T]he album's interstellar concept is interesting enough to get it off the ground, but too quickly Jonas retreats to his domestic comforts, without really probing the relationship that so inspires him, or charting any new territory in the pop universe. It's hard to imagine anyone who wasn't already a Nick Jonas fan playing this album on repeat. His brand may sell, but this music is less desirable." [16]

Track listing

Spaceman track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Don't Give Up On Us"Kurstin3:22
2."Heights"
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin3:37
3."Spaceman"
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin3:17
4."2Drunk"
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin3:12
5."Delicious"
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin2:58
6."This Is Heaven"
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin3:35
7."Sexual"
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin3:36
8."Deeper Love"
Kurstin2:55
9."If I Fall"
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin3:59
10."Death Do Us Part"
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin2:09
11."Nervous"
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin2:55
Total length:35:35
SpacemanDigital deluxe edition [18]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Selfish" (featuring Jonas Brothers)3:07
13."Dangerous"
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin3:31
14."Don't Give Up On Us" (chill version)
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin3:24
15."2Drunk" (chill version)
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin3:19
16."This Is Heaven" (chill version)
  • Jonas
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin3:39
Total length:52:37
SpacemanDeluxe video album [19]
No.TitleLength
17."This Is Heaven" (music video)3:53
18."Spaceman" (music video)4:15
19."2Drunk" (lyric video)3:12
20."This Is Heaven" (lyric video)3:34
21."Spaceman" (lyric video)3:17
Total length:71:00
SpacemanTarget edition [20]
No.TitleLength
12."Heights" (chill version)3:33
13."Nervous" (chill version)3:01

Classics Edition

On March 11, 2021, a day before the official album released, the Classics Edition of the record was released online. It contains the complete Spaceman tracks and the singles "Chains", "Jealous", "Levels" and "Close" featuring Swedish singer Tove Lo. [21]

All tracks are written by Nick Jonas, Greg Kurstin and Maureen "Mozella" McDonald except for track 10, "Deeper Love", which was also co-written by Mick Jones and the four previous released singles

SpacemanClassics Edition [22] [23]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Don't Give Up On Us"  3:21
2."Heights"  3:37
3."Spaceman"  3:17
4."Close" (featuring Tove Lo) Robin Fredriksson, Mattias Larsson, Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter, Tove Nilsson Mattman & Robin [24] 3:54
5."2Drunk"  3:12
6."Delicious"  2:58
7."Levels" Sean Douglas, Stefan Johnson, Marcus Lomax, Ian Kirkpatrick, Sam Martin, Talay Riley, Jordan Johnson Ian Kirkpatrick, The Monsters and the Strangerz 2:47
8."This Is Heaven"  3:34
9."Sexual"  3:35
10."Deeper Love"  2:55
11."Jealous" Nick Jonas, Nolan Lambroza, Simon Wilcox Nolan Lambroza 3:42
12."Chains" Jason Evigan, Ammar Malik, Danny Parker Jason Evigan3:23
13."If I Fall"  3:58
14."Death Do Us Part"  2:09
15."Nervous"  2:55
Total length:49:22

Personnel

Track numbers refer to the deluxe edition.

Charts

Chart performance for Spaceman
Chart (2021)Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [25] 55
Scottish Albums (OCC) [26] 27
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [27] 74
UK Albums (OCC) [28] 69
US Billboard 200 [29] 12
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) [30] 8

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