Jonas Brothers say 20th anniversary hand and footprint ceremony is ‘an honour’
By Casey Cooper-Fiske, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter
Pop trio the Jonas Brothers have said it is “an honour” to have their hands and footprints saved in cement as part of an event to celebrate 20 years since they formed.
In a ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Wednesday, brothers Nick, Kevin and Joe reflected on their career in front of the people they “really love and care about”, with Joe saying he did not know whether to be “happy or terrified”.
Speaking at the ceremony, singer-songwriter Joe said: “We appreciate you being here today, and thank you all, everyone, for being here with us, standing up at this historic ground is totally surreal.
We were just normal kids growing up in New Jersey, we never imagined our hands and feet would be a part of Hollywood historyJoe Jonas
“We were just saying on the way over here, when we first visited Los Angeles, this is the first place we went to, and walking around to see the stars, to see these hand prints, and thinking like, one day, maybe, maybe one day, but never this, I guess, early in our career.
“It’s an honour, we were just normal kids growing up in New Jersey, we never imagined our hands and feet would be a part of Hollywood history.
“Today marks an unbelievable milestone in our journey, a journey that now is 20 years strong.”
Kevin added that 20 years together felt “surreal” and reflected on the band’s break-up in 2013, before they reunited in 2019.
He said: “We’ve been through just about everything a band can go through. We started as teenagers with no idea what we were doing, fell in love with music together and held on during the kind of moments that could have sent us completely different directions.
“And in 2013, they did send us in a different directions, the break-up was painful, but honestly, it was absolutely necessary. We had to step away from being the Jonas Brothers to figure out who we were as individuals, as men and as family.
“But looking back now, that break wasn’t the end of the story, it was the bridge to an even better one.”
Nick said “something clicked” when the group, known for their appearances in Disney TV series and films, reunited, saying their music “felt different, more honest”.
He added: “We’ve become grown men who realise that the thing that makes us strongest is doing this together, and the reason we’re able to stand here stronger than ever is because of the people who lift us up every single day.”
The Jonas Brothers have had one UK top 10 single and four UK top 10 albums, with their best known songs including Sucker, SOS and Only Human.
They made their first TV appearance on the Hannah Montana show, starring Miley Cyrus, before getting a series of their own, Jonas Brothers: Living The Dream, running from 2008 to 2010, then in 2009 they appeared in their first film, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience.
At the end of the ceremony on Wednesday, the trio signed their names and plunged their hands and feet into the wet cement.