Sunday Worst: Released on February 6th, Nick Jonas’s album “Sunday Best," falls short due to its lack of originality and uniqueness 

For an artist who once dominated pop culture, Nick Jonas' new album Sunday Best, released on Feb. 6, should feel like a triumphant return. Instead, “Sunday Best” sounds like a step backward, filled with polished production, but lacking the originality that made his earlier music stand out.

From watching Jonas in movies like “Camp Rock” and “Jumanji” to blasting in my car "Jealous” and listening to “Burnin 'Up” in second grade, he was always a monumental part of my childhood. 

All of his songs were catchy and full of personality, and I still love them to this day, which immediately gave me high expectations for his new album.

Artists who stay relevant like Jonas don't just repeat once worked—they refine it, challenge themselves, and surprise their audience. 

Going into Sunday Best, I expected that kind of growth, but as soon as I pressed play on the opening song, “Sweet To Me,” I was disappointed to hear heavy autotune and similar background music.

This background beat quickly became a major issue for me because I wasn't even able to tell them apart. There were some catchy songs like “ Seeing Ghosts” and “Hope,” but certainly nothing worth jamming to on the way to school.

For an artist who has been in the industry for years, listeners expect a deeper level of storytelling and creative elements.

Unfortunately, this project feels more like a repetition of past formals than artistic growth.

Many of my favorite artists, like Rihanna and Bruno Mars, in recent years have done an amazing job experimenting with new sounds and lyrical patterns that actually turn out good. This, though, was still giving me Disney Channel vibes. The songs aren’t connecting to listeners, and as a result, the album feels more like awful music at TJ Maxx.

Jonas is clearly talented, with his top song, “Jealous”, having over seven million listeners, according to Spotify.com. But in this album, his vocals are covered up with such horrible tunes, it wasn't even his voice.

At the same time, pop music is constantly evolving — from the stripped-down vulnerability dominating today’s charts to experimental production styles that reward risk taking. Every artistic era comes with strenghts and weaknesses, but growth usually requires stepping outside of what once worked.

To me, though, Jonas should skip this era, which is “Sunday Best”, and revert back to what worked well in his old music.