Nick Jonas Explains What Surprises Him Most About Taylor Swift

POPSUGAR: We've seen you a lot with Taylor Swift lately. You were at her Fourth of July BBQ, and you just took the stage with her! Do you remember how you two first met?

Nick Jonas: Interestingly enough, we met through my brother. He and Taylor dated I think back in, like, 2008 or something. So we met then, and she kind of came out to a bunch of shows and came out on stage with us. I think she posted that picture actually . . .

PS: Yes! The throwback!

NJ: Yeah. That's the first time we met, and we just kind of stayed in contact over the years. This last year, I've kind of been back at the award shows and other things, and we've seen a lot of each other. We've been spending more time and hanging out. Now, Joe is dating a mutual friend of all of ours, so it's all kind of one big happy situation. It's good, she's great, and getting on stage with her the other day was a real highlight for me.

PS: So, you had a good Fourth of July? Was there a specific inflatable animal that was, like, all yours?

NJ: I didn't really partake in the animal inflatables! But I had a great Fourth of July. I ate a lot of food; I took a nice cigar break. It was perfect. A good, good time.

PS: What's one thing about Taylor Swift that really surprised you?

NJ: I think, in getting to know her more and more, she surrounds herself with great people. She kind of curates an environment of people who genuinely care about the friendship, the community, and being positive. You meet a lot of people who aren't so great in this business, that have had different intentions, but it seems to me all the people she keeps in her circle are cool. And cool with each other.

PS: Is there something you think that everyone gets wrong about her?

NJ: Um, no. I mean, I think that she's very vocal about who she is in her music, and obviously her music is speaking. That's kind of the key for her, and I respect that. I loved being at the show and getting to experience it firsthand.

PS: What's coming up for you musically? Are you working on a new album, or is there anything else that you're excited about?

NJ: Yeah, I've got a pretty exciting announcement coming up very soon about the music stuff. I'm currently working on new music, and I'm going to let people know what that is very soon. But I'm so excited. I feel like I'm in a really interesting moment creatively, where I'm kind of tapping into some things that I haven't for a while. I'm just trying to continue to push myself and go just a little bit deeper, and that's not even getting dramatic or anything. I'm more just saying things I haven't before and finding new ways of saying things.

PS: What kind of new direction are you going into? Is it more emotional or musical?

NJ: It's kind of a balance of both. You know, I'd say it's actually about addressing the way I feel. Less emotional stuff, but more just the current state of mind that I'm in. Which is really specific. I want to save it for when people hear the music, because I feel like it's important. That, and also being inspired by new music and working with really great people. Just pushing it a little bit further

PS: What's next for you in terms of acting? How do you think you want to challenge yourself?

NJ: I think the next thing for me is landing a small role in a big feature . . . something in a big feature film with a small little role, so I can come in and hopefully showcase a new side of me. That would be great.

PS: Are you connecting more to music or acting right now? Or does it not really work that way for you?

NJ: It doesn't really work that way for me, because I feel like I'm kind of able to balance both. You know, I've been shooting Kingdom but jumping on the weekends to play shows. I feel like a lot of people have to split them up. I'm loving that I'm able to do both.

PS: Let's talk about the Think It Up campaign. What was the moment you were first inspired to pursue your passion?

NJ: My journey with education was interesting, because I was in regular school for the first couple of years, then I tried homeschooling. But I was doing musical theater at the time I was in regular school, learning a lot in the classroom but also a lot in my job every day. I feel like both played a really important part in shaping who I became as a person. Between directors in the shows and my dad being a big inspiration, and then schoolteachers, it was all very important.

PS: Why do you think it's so important to follow your passion?

NJ: I think that's kind of the American Dream: to be able to follow your passion and build a life around that. The goal is to end up in something that you love. If you're going to do it for the rest of your life, if you're going to do a good job, it usually works out better if you enjoy what you're doing.

PS: What subject would you teach?

NJ: I think that I've had enough experience now in music and acting that I could probably be a music teacher. Even though when I was in regular school, I was working a job in New York City as an actor or singer. Music class was kind of getting frustrating because it was so formulaic, and I wasn't loving it. I like more the imagination of the music, but eventually I grew to appreciate the format and reading music and all the rest. But it took time.

PS: Obviously, you have a lot of life experiences that you've gained in the past five or 10 years. If you could tell your former self something, what would it be?

NJ: To chill out. To calm down and enjoy the ride. I'm now like 10 to 11 years into my career, and I'm trying to really appreciate the ride and the journey I've been on.

PS: It's hard to not get stuck in your head sometimes.

NJ: It's very hard. You can get very stressed very easily. But you can also look at it in a different way. As long as you stay in your art and focus on that, you're going to be OK.

PS: I like that. At the end of the day, as long as you're focusing on what your passionate about, then you can be happy.

NJ: Absolutely.