Back when the Jonas Brothers first announced their reunion with the release of Sucker, I was skeptical of its success, the need for their reunion, or whether they’d last at all. I even posed the question, “are we really going to still be talking about the Jo Bros by the time the summer comes around?” Oh, me of little faith. How wrong I was. 

The Jonas Brothers are hot right now, and I don’t just mean in the way Nick Jonas makes me feel. Yesterday, “Sucker” won Best Pop at the VMAs. It also hit Number 1 on the Hot 100. It’s my three year old nephew’s favourite song, and he’s learned how to ask Google Home to play it for him on Spotify. The JBs are on tour right now for their album Happiness Begins. It was pretty fitting, then, that the cherry on top of the proverbial cake was their live performanc at the event yesterday.

The last time the Jonas Brothers performed at the VMAs was back in 2008. This is what they looked like:

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We were still talking about their purity rings at that point. Now THAT is a glow up.

The JoBros are originally from New Jersey. But instead of performing in the Prudential Center like the other the artists, they performed offsite at the Stone Pony, an iconic venue in Asbury Park on the Jersey Shore, home to legends like Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi. 

It’s a good performance. They start on the small Stone Pony stage, and transition through a huge crowd of fans over to a larger stage on the beach to continue their concert. It’s a well-planned performance that cleverly makes use of the space while providing facetime with the fans, linking themselves to famous musicians, and highlighting their rise from teen boy band to legit, beach stage performers. With fireworks. 

The Jonas Six wasn’t in full attendance last night, even though the "Sucker" video features all of them. Priyanka Chopra was notably missing from the group, although I have yet to see an explanation for why. She could just be busy but maybe she’s laying low while the storm blows over? I can’t get over this one photo of Nick Jonas standing by himself while his two brothers kiss their respective wives. That image there is the perfect representation of when you’re the ugliest in your friend group and you all decide to go out to the club together, but they immediately start making out with someone and you’re just there like…

Instead of Priyanka though, the conversation is about whether or not they lip synched their performance. Is that something we even care about at this point? Doesn’t everyone lip sync now? Or at least sing along to a backing track? This person gets it:

It’s true. I know my role here is Professional Nick Jonas Thirster, but Joe’s jean jacket with the cutoff sleeves had me feeling some type of way. I think Joe might be the hottest brother. I need some time to process.

This VMA performance was a big one for them, both as recently (re)emerging artists (even a reunion still needs to gain momentum), and nostalgic artists. In an interview with MTV, Joe explains what performing at the VMAs n as a group again meant to them:

"In a different way for us, we're going back to our roots. We're playing The Stone Pony here in New Jersey. We just waited for the right VMA to show up again.”

That last line made me think. The venue for the VMAs was first announced on April 29, almost two months after the release of Sucker. When the announcement came out, I was admittedly a little confused. For a show that had been held mostly in LA and most recently in NYC, Newark was an interesting choice. But the VMAs being held in Jersey THE VERY SAME YEAR the JoBros reunited is quite a coincidence, no? I’m not sure if it’s fate or a really good publicist who worked this out, but it certainly worked in the Jonas Brothers’ favour. As a former non-fan of the JoBros, I’ve now become the girl who almost faints after shaking Nick Jonas’s hand (1:08).