Last Year Was Complicated

Untitled

Last Year Was Complicated is the third solo album by American singer Nick Jonas. It was released on June 10, 2016, by Island and Safehouse Records. The album features collaborations with Tove Lo, Ty Dolla $ign, Big Sean and Daniella Mason. The album's lead single, "Close", was released on March 25, 2016.

Background

"When I first started making I thought I knew what it would be about… Then I had a breakup. It then became very clear what this thing would be about… And that I would need to dig really deep… Shit is too real sometimes… Reliving some of these real life experiences through this music is hard."

—Nick Jonas, on the recording of album.

On August 5, 2015, Jonas debuted and performed a new song, "Under You", at the iHeartRadio Music Summit. In February 2016, Jonas covered the February/March 2016 edition of Complex magazine he mentioned the songs "Chainsaw" and "Don't Make Me Choose", and also revealed a surprising collaboration with Purity Ring’s Corin Roddick. That same month, it was revealed that singer Ty Dolla $ign had a feature on the record and that there was also a female singer on the record which name he didn't reveal. He also revealed that he worked again with Jason Evigan and Sir Nolan.

On March 24, 2016, Jonas announced the album's title, release date and tracklist through a series of tweets. Jonas revealed that work on the album took him a year and a half, tweeting: "Shit is too real sometimes... Reliving some of these real life experiences through this music is hard". During a radio interview with Carson Daly, Jonas noted that the album was supposed to be named Unhinged like the song on the record. However, after a conversation with rapper Jay Z, Jonas changed the title to Last Year Was Complicated.

Promotion

Two songs of the record ("Don't Make Me Choose" and "Under You") were performed on several dates of his Nick Jonas: Live in Concert tour. Jonas is set to promote the record on the Future Now Tour alongside Demi Lovato. On the evening of March 24, 2016, Jonas previewed four tracks from Last Year Was Complicated during a listening party, held for the press and television bookers. Jonas performed the songs "Champagne Problems" and "Close" (with Tove Lo) live on Saturday Night Live on April 16, 2016. On April 24, 2016, Jonas performed the songs "Bacon", "Close" and "Voodoo" during his set at the New Orleans Jazz Fest. He announced also that there will be a music video of "Voodoo".

During the taping of CMT Crossroads he performed the songs "Chainsaw" with Thomas Rhett and "Close" with Thomas Rhett and Danielle Bradbery. He and Tove Lo are set to perform the song live on May 22, 2016 at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. On April 28, Both of them performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He performed a solo version of the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 9, 2016. Jonas is set to perform at the 2016 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards. On June 10th he performed the songs Jealous, Close, Champagne Problems and Bacon live on Today.

Singles

On March 24, 2016, "Close" was announced as the album's lead single. Released the following day, the song features guest vocalist, Swedish singer, Tove Lo.

"Chainsaw" was released as the second single on May 13, 2016 along with the video. The teaser of the video was released on May 9, 2016. The video was released on May 13, 2016, and was directed by Luke Monaghan.

Promotional singles

"Champagne Problems" was released as the first promotional single on April 8, 2016.

"Bacon", featuring Ty Dolla $ign, was released as the second promotional single on June 3, 2016. A music video of the song was released on Tidal on June 6, 2016, with a 30-second teaser available to non-subscribers.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	68/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Consequence of Sound	C–
Entertainment Weekly	B+
Idolator
The Guardian
Pitchfork	6.3/10
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine
Spin	7/10
USA Today

Last Year Was Complicated received positive reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic claimed that the album "feels assured in a way its eponymous 2014 predecessor did not," noting that "the entirety of 'Last Year Was Complicated' walks a fine line between immaculately produced pop confection and personal confession: it may not be heartbreaking but it feels as if it comes from the heart." In his review for Entertainment Weekly, Nolan Feeney declared that it "grows into the neon pop-R&B sound of 2014’s Nick Jonas while adopting a show-don’t-tell approach to maturity on [its] songs." Keith Harris wrote for Rolling Stone that Jonas is "personable and versatile" on the record, while praising his "supple falsetto" for "sounding wounded or seductive as required, allows him to stake out his own patch of territory on the border between pop and R&B." Sam C. Mac of Slant Magazine noted that despite the break-up themes, "'Last Year Was Complicated' offers an even more vibrant collection of colorful, propulsive beats than 'Nick Jonas' did." However, he observed that "as a singer, Jonas isn't always willing to evolve with his music." Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian highlighted that "There are many quirks to this glossy, compelling record, but [...] it’s not savvy or strange enough to stand out."

Track listing

Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Voodoo"	Nick Jonas Jason Evigan Dewain Whitmore, Jr.	Evigan	3:10
2.	"Champagne Problems"	Jonas Evigan Sean Douglas Jonathan Tucker PJ Bianco	Evigan	3:12
3.	"Close" (featuring Tove Lo)	Robin Fredriksson Mattias Larsson Julia Michaels Justin Tranter Tove Nilsson	Mattman & Robin	3:54
4.	"Chainsaw"	Jonas Nolan Lambroza Simon Wilcox Michaels Douglas	Sir Nolan	3:19
5.	"Touch"	Jonas Rico Love Fredriksson Larsson Priscilla Renea Brett James	Mattman & Robin	3:02
6.	"Bacon" (featuring Ty Dolla $ign)	Jonas Lambroza Renea Tyrone Griffin, Jr.	Sir Nolan	3:02
7.	"Good Girls" (featuring Big Sean)	Jonas Evigan Douglas Sean Anderson	Evigan	3:56
8.	"The Difference"	Jonas Whitmore, Jr. Evigan	Evigan	3:41
9.	"Don't Make Me Choose"	Jonas Lambroza Wilcox	Sir Nolan	3:35
10.	"Under You"	Ali Payami Rickard Göransson Savan Kotecha Max Martin Bebe Rexha	Payami Shellback Max Martin	3:17
11.	"Unhinged"	Jonas Lambroza Ilsey Juber	Sir Nolan	3:52
12.	"Comfortable"	Jonas Evigan	Jonas Evigan	4:34
Total length:				42:34

International deluxe edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Testify"	Jonas Greg Bonnick Hayden Chapman Whitmore Jr. Patrick "J. Que" Smith	LDN Noise	3:15
14.	"When We Get Home" (featuring Daniella Mason)	Jonas Mason Chris Young	Jonas	3:04
15.	"That's What They All Say"	Jonas Paul "Phamous" Shelton Magnus "Magnify" Martinsen Petter Walther Walthinsen Alexander Pavlich	Most Wanted Shelton Martinsen Walthinsen Anthony Vasquez	3:03
16.	"Jealous"	Jonas Wilcox Lambroza	Sir Nolan	3:43
17.	"Chains"	Evigan Ammar Malik Daniel Parker	Evigan Jonas[a]	3:23
18.	"Levels"	Douglas Talay Riley Ian Kirkpatrick Marcus Lomax Stefan Johnson Jordan Johnson Sam Martin	Kirkpatrick The Monsters and the Strangerz	2:47
Total length:				61:49

Target deluxe edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Testify"	Jonas Bonnick Chapman Whitmore Jr. Smith	LDN Noise	3:15
14.	"When We Get Home" (featuring Daniella Mason)	Jonas Mason Young	Jonas	3:04
15.	"That's What They All Say"	Jonas Shelton Martinsen Walthinsen Pavlich	Most Wanted Shelton Martinsen Walthinsen Vasquez	3:03
Total length:				51:56

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a vocal producer.

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	13
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	61
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	70
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)	63
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	88
Irish Albums (IRMA)	26
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	8
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)	27
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	45
UK Albums (OCC)	25

Release history

Country	Date	Version	Format	Label	Ref
Worldwide	June 10, 2016	Standard Deluxe	CD digital download Vinyl LP	Island