Spaceman

Album: Spaceman (2021)
Charted: 124
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Nick Jonas wrote his third solo album, Spaceman, while locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic. During its title track, he reflects on his fear of isolation and feeling disconnected from the world.

    And I'm talking to you
    But it never feels like it comes through
    Out on my own, I'm a spaceman


    Jonas is mourning how communication during the Coranavirus era is done through a screen instead of human interaction. He compares his feelings of being separated in body from his fellow humans to an astronaut thousands of miles away in space.
  • The uptempo ballad is also an homage to Jonas' Bollywood actress wife, Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Because of professional commitments and the COVID travel restrictions, the couple could not be together during much of 2020, and the singer is lamenting their separation.

    Jonas explained to Apple Music's Zane Lowe that most of the songs on the album are love letters to his wife. "When I can't articulate the way I feel with my words with no music, I go to the studio," he explained. "And I'm grateful to have that because it makes her happy, and that's most important."
  • Jonas wrote the cosmic rhythmic song with Detroit singer-songwriter Maureen "Mozella" McDonald (Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball") and the track's producer, Greg Kurstin (Kelly Clarkson's "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)," Adele's "Hello," Sia's "Cheap Thrills").

    Jonas, Mozella and Kurstin together wrote four of the tracks on the Jonas Brothers 2019 album, Happiness Begins.
  • Jonas performed the song for the first time when he pulled double duty on the February 27, 2020 episode of Saturday Night Live. It marked his hosting debut and second solo musical guest appearance on the show.
  • Speaking on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Nick Jonas said he started writing the song in July 2020 when Priyanka Chopra was in Germany working on the fourth Matrix movie. "I was like, 'You know, I feel very disconnected from the world, first of all, and, now, my person,'" he said. "And I just dug in writing it."

    That writing session inspired a complete album. "Within a couple of days, I was like, 'Oh, this is a solo album,'" he divulged. "Then a few days later, I was like, 'This is a, kind of like, themed album!'"
  • The otherworldly video follows Jonas as he struggles with isolation on another planet. Jonas navigates the new world while yearning to return home and be reunited with Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who makes an appearance in hologram form.

    Director Anthony Mandler shot the clip in Barstow, California.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

Mac Powell of Third Day

Mac Powell of Third DaySongwriter Interviews

The Third Day frontman talks about some of the classic songs he wrote with the band, and what changed for his solo country album.

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.