Built around the talents of 15-year-old Nick Jonas, the youngest of the three, the Jonas Brothers languished briefly at Columbia Records before signing in late 2006 with Hollywood Records, the Disney-owned label. The siblings' self-titled debut for the company was released last August and sold more than a million copies, thanks to Disney's aggressive promotion of such fizzy, catchy singles as "S.O.S" and "When You Look Me in the Eyes."
Starting late last year, Disney moved the brothers beyond the recording studio and onto TV. While the Hannah Montana craze was at its peak, Disney placed the Jonases on the highly rated show. Last August, they appeared on an episode performing with Cyrus; it was seen by 10.7 million viewers.
This summer's Camp Rock - a TV movie starring the brothers and Disney's new "it" girl, Demi Lovato - scored 8.9 million viewers to become Disney's second-most-watched original movie of all time. A Camp Rock sequel is already in the works and a new Jonas album, A Little Longer, will land in stores Aug. 12.
"There are accepted formulas for what works with this [market]," says Bobbie Carlton, director of marketing at B*tween Productions, which publishes the popular Beacon Street Girls young-adult book series. "But tweens are still defining their likes and dislikes and have years of being a consumer ahead of them."
And that makes the tween scene even more fickle than the general pop market. So in a few months, another Disney act will likely sweep away the Jonas Brothers.
Some of Disney's pop prodigies manage to stay in the public eye, for better or worse, for years. But to survive the almost instant turn-around of the Disney tween machine, acts have to be incredibly savvy.
"There are only - what? - three good years in this market, so you have to work hard really fast, and some have to grow up even faster," says singer and actress Raven-Symone, the star of several Disney Channel shows, including Cheetah Girls.
Next week, she'll host the Disney Music Block Party Tour, a concert featuring kid-friendly acts including They Might Be Giants and Choo Choo Soul, at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia.
Although she resists the title "tween star," referring to call herself a "family star," Symone has made a smooth transition into movies. This spring, she co-starred with comedian Martin Lawrence in College Road Trip.
A performer since age 3, when she played sassy Olivia Kendall on The Cosby Show, Symone credits her parents for grounding her and teaching her about the business early on.
"I was able to take my breaks here and there and have a personal life," says the actress from her Los Angeles home. "My parents had been sitting me down in [business] meetings all along, so I knew what was going on."
Symone, whose personal worth is estimated to be close to $50 million, offers sage advice to her younger peers: "Make sure you're professional and make sure you understand that it's a business."
Almost as an afterthought, she adds. "Have fun and enjoy your life."
rashod.ollison@baltsun.com
Sun reporter Joe Burris contributed to this article.
