Levels

Album: Last Year Was Complicated (2015)
Charted: 46 44
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This funky song finds Jonas avowing to climb to a higher level with the object of his affection. The song was penned by Sean Douglas (Jason DeRulo's "Talk Dirty" and "Wiggle"), Ian Kirkpatrick (Jason DeRulo's "Want to Want Me" and "Cheyenne"), Sam Martin (David Guetta's "Lovers On The Sun" and "Dangerous") and Talay Riley (Iggy Azalea's "Bounce," Austin Mahone's "Dirty Work"). "I think that the thing that will surprise people the most about the song is the dance element to it," Nick Jonas told MTV News before the song's release. "With 'Jealous' and even 'Chains' there was an ability to dance to them, but it was very specific. For this one I feel like it's a no-brainer dance, get up and have a good-time jam."
  • The synthy beat was supplied by The Monsters and The Strangerz songwriting and production team, whose other credits include Flo Rida's "Turn Around (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)" and Pitbull's "Fun."
  • The Colin Tilley-directed video finds Jonas strutting his stuff on top of oil barrels and mixing it up with some models in a concrete warehouse space. "The concept for the video - basically, we are in this big space, lot of really interesting art decoration, some tires, some barrels, some beautiful women," the singer told MTV News.
  • Ian Kirkpatrick recalled to Spin how the song's "Rooftop" hook came to life. "I think I made a joke, like I yelled out 'PENTHOUSE!' And Sean [Douglas, co-writer] was like 'ROOFTOP!' and we're like "Yeah, 'ROOFTOP,' that's it!"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Eric Clapton

Eric ClaptonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really write "Cocaine" while on cocaine? This question and more in the Clapton edition of Fact or Fiction.

Name the Character in the Song

Name the Character in the SongMusic Quiz

With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?

Eric Burdon

Eric BurdonSongwriter Interviews

The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum

Dave Pirner of Soul AsylumSongwriter Interviews

Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.

Rock Stars of Horror

Rock Stars of HorrorMusic Quiz

Rock Stars - especially those in the metal realm - are often enlisted for horror movies. See if you know can match the rocker to the role.

Grunge Bands Quiz

Grunge Bands QuizMusic Quiz

If the name Citizen Dick means anything to you, there's a chance you'll get some of these right.