Jesse McCartney is grateful for the Jonas Brothers‘ beautiful souls.
After all, the “Beautiful Soul” singer couldn’t help but praise Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas after being invited to sing the track on the first night of the Jonas20: Greetings From Your Hometown tour on Aug. 10.
“I’m really grateful the Jonas Brothers asked me to join them for their opening show at MetLife Stadium,” Jesse told E! News exclusively. “It was a humble gesture of them to acknowledge me as the first artist to take them on tour (2005 Beautiful Soul tour) and very emotional for me to reunite with them, like long lost brothers.”
“I am both proud of them and overwhelmed with the outpouring of love from the audience,” he continued. “Nick gave me a look onstage at one point and I thought, ‘Dude, do not make me cry in the middle of this song!'”
The Jonas Brothers’ tour, which kicked off in their home state of New Jersey, is a love letter to their 20 years as a band. So, as they took the stage, the group brought out different artists who helped them along the way.
The crowd erupted as Jesse—donning an all-black ensemble featuring a floral accent and a gold and pearl Gabriel & Co. pendant necklace—walked onto the stage to sing “Beautiful Soul” alongside the brothers. Fans joined in too, as the entire stadium belted out the 2004 song.
And Joe was sure to thank Jesse for taking a chance on them two decades earlier.
“At the time, we were literally just finishing up school tours,” he recalled before announcing the surprise appearance. “We were playing in front of malls and anybody that would listen to us. There was this person who was very kind enough to just allow us on the opening slot and we quickly became friends. He’s an incredible talent.”
But the “Leavin'” singer wasn’t the only surprise cameo at the concert. Switchfoot—whom the Jonas Brothers credit as inspiration for their early days of music—came on stage to sing “Meant to Live” and “Hold On.” Additionally, Dean Lewis hopped on the piano to “Love You Better.”
As for the biggest surprise of the evening? Demi Lovato sang Camp Rock‘s“Gotta Find You” and “This Is Me” alongside Joe, her costar and ex-boyfriend.
“Joe got the job, and then somehow our dad figured it out to get me and Kevin to be involved in the movie too,” Nick said onstage moments before Demi came onstage. “I think it’s time that we all walk down this memory lane to celebrate a little movie called Camp Rock.”
As the Jonas Brothers continue to celebrate on tour, keep reading for a closer look at the best boy bands and girl groups of all time.
Backstreet Boys
Backstreet’s back, alright! The Backstreet Boys released their first album in 1996, and redefined the turn of the century with 1999 record Millennium. Thankfully, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson are still touring and belting our favorite hits over two decades later.
Destiny’s Child
All hail the girl group that gave us Beyoncé! Don’t “Bug a Boo” when it comes to Destiny’s Child because Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams are still icons in their own right to this day as well.
‘NSYNC
Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick made up the iconic boy band group, ‘NSYNC. We’re still holding out for another reunion performance, and we promise, no strings attached because we aren’t ready to say “Bye, Bye, Bye” just yet.
Spice Girls
If you wanna be their lover, you’ve gotta get with their friends…and they sure have a lot! The Spice Girls rocked the U.K. with their ’90s fashion and catchy lyrics. Mel C, Victoria Beckham, Mel B, Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton were the Brit girl group of our dreams.
Hanson
Far out, man. The Hanson brothers joined the ranks of fellow ’90s boy bands with hit song, “MMMBop.” Hanson released an album together in 2013 before brothers Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson and Zac Hanson went their separate ways for solo careers—and in Taylor’s case, raising seven kids! Thankfully, our favorite bros reunited in 2018 for album String Theory and have continued touring since then.
TLC
Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozanda “Chilli” Thomas still make up ’90s rap group TLC, after original member Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes tragically died in 2002. Lil Mama performed with TLC in 2013, before the “Waterfalls” singers announced their new album in 2017.
BTS
Since 2017, Korean boy band BTS has been writing, producing and performing most of their songs as international superstars. The K-pop groups loyal Army of fans are some of the most passionate in music history.
B*Witched
For nearly four years, Keavy Lynch, Edele Lynch, Sinéad O’Carroll, and Lindsay Armaou were all over the airwaves with 1998 breakout hits like “C’est La Vie” and “Blame it on the Weatherman”—songs featured in everything from Smart House to Dawson’s Creek. But in 2002, they parted ways after two albums… that is until reforming for 2013’s The Big Reunion. And reunite they did as they’ve continued touring and even releasing new music, like EP Ripped Jeans in 2024.
98 Degrees
Yep, Nick Lachey was in a boy band and we’re burning up way past 98 Degrees just thinking about it. Joined by Drew Lachey and Justin Jeffre, music producers Lachey and Jeff Timmons formed the group after leaving college to pursue music careers in the ’90s.
New Kids On the Block
New Kids On the Block skyrocketed to fame in the late 1980s and the group reunited in 2011 for a throwback tour with The Backstreet Boys.
Original NKOTB members were brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood. The group broke up in 1994 but then reunited several years later and went on tour with the Backstreet Boys in 2011. Not surprisingly, that tour announcement pretty much broke the Internet. They are still performing today.
The Jonas Brothers
Thank god the JoBros are back! The Jonas Brothers gave us Nick Jonas‘ sweet smile, Joe Jonas‘ swagger and Kevin Jonas‘ big brother charisma. Oh, did we mention they can all sing and play instruments too? Excuse us while we’re still swooning over these A-listers since their band debuted in 2006.
One Direction
One of the best bands to ever come out of a singing competition series, One Direction took over the planet in the 2010s. And, the boy band has birthed plenty of successful solo careers, with Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and the late Liam Payne all solidifying their place in music (and fashion and film) history.
Little Mix
The X Factor-formed group are princesses of pop and sing about body positivity, feminism, the pressures of social media and juggling it all as young moms.
BLACKPINK
Lisa, Rosé, Jennie and Jisoo make up K-pop group BLACKPINK, who released their first album—aptly titled, THE ALBUM—in October 2020. “BLACKPINK is—we kind of felt like there’s two colors that represented us the most ‘cause we’re very girly but at the same time we’re very savage too,” Rosé explained on Jimmy Kimmel Live at the time. “We have a song called ‘Pretty Savage’ and it kind of goes with ‘black pink’ and so we thought it described us the best.”
Fifth Harmony
Before the world experienced “Work From Home” life due to the coronavirus pandemic, Fifth Harmony gave fans an upbeat (and sexy) anthem to any WFH woes. Breakout singer Camila Cabello went on to have a successful solo career—including even playing Cinderella!—after the girl group went on hiatus in 2018 and other members have also released solo projects.
Five Seconds of Summer
Australian rockers 5 Seconds of Summer first started on YouTube before singles “She Looks So Perfect” and “Girls Talk Boys” got radio play. Eventually 5SOS opened on tour for One Direction, and the rest is history.
Boyz II Men
Still performing as a trio, Boyz II Men‘s Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris have been rocking the charts with hits like “I’ll Make Love to You” and “One Sweet Day” for over 30 years.
The Wanted
The bad boy counterpart to One Direction, U.K.-based The Wanted hit it big stateside with 2012 banger “Glad You Came,” before starring in their own E! reality series, The Wanted Life. The group went on hiatus in 2014 before reuniting in 2021, but sadly, founding member Tom Parker died of brain cancer the following year.
CNCO
CNCO formed in 2016 with members Joel Pimentel, Richard Camacho, Erick Brian Colón, Christopher Vélez and Zabdiel De Jesús but gave their last performance as a five-some on May 14 after Pimental announced he was exiting the group.
Big Time Rush
From Nickelodeon to national tours, Big Time Rush rocked hard for five years before parting ways in 2014. Good thing all four members—Kendall Schmidt, Logan Henderson, Carlos PenaVega and James Maslow—reunited for two new shows in Dec. 2021.
Girls Aloud
British pop group Girls Aloud made history as one of the first bands formed from a reality competition series. The year was 2002, the show was Popstars: The Rivals and the powerhouse vocalists were Sarah Harding, Cheryl (then known as Cheryl Cole), Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. Girls Aloud recorded 20 consecutive top 10 singles and four number ones, including “Sound of the Underground,” during their reign.
