Off The Charts

Few teen heartthrobs have made it to adulthood unscathed—much less while generating more career momentum. But Nick Jonas seems to be following the Timberlake model: Make your second act so strong that your first becomes a Wiki footnote.

- Rachel Reilich

The day is bright and balmy, and the bustling crowd at Sweet Butter Kitchen, Café and Market, a country-style bistro in Sherman Oaks, Calif., is dressed for the heat: guys in shorts and flip-flops, girls in tanks and topknots. And then there’s Nick Jonas, in a charcoal wool Rag & Bone hat, a longsleeve Ann Demeulemeester shirt, and Nudie Jeans. “Last night was kind of chilly,” he explains of his weather-defying look with a small laugh. “I woke up today thinking it would be the same temperature, but it’s clearly not.” How much overnight change can one guy take? Seemingly, one minute Jonas is a cherub-faced boy-bander with a head of soft curls, and the next he’s this man, a full-fledged sex symbol with a buzz cut. As an actor, he’s drawn to more mature roles. In this fall’s frat-hazing drama, Goat, he plays a morally conflicted fraternity brother. And his new album, Last Year Was Complicated, mines a transformative breakup. Still, he exudes an essential sweetness, and it’s this duality—the interplay of light and dark, pop and pathos—that makes him so exciting to watch.

You’re touring with your new album. Just how much does your onstage look match your personal look?