Only Human (Jonas Brothers song)
"Only Human" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Jonas Brothers | ||||
from the album Happiness Begins | ||||
Released | July 2, 2019 | |||
Genre | Reggae-pop | |||
Length | 3:03 | |||
Label | Republic | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Shellback | |||
Jonas Brothers singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Only Human" on YouTube |
"Only Human" is a song by American pop rock group the Jonas Brothers. It was released on July 2, 2019, through Republic Records as the third single from their fifth studio album Happiness Begins (2019). The group co-wrote the song with its producer Shellback. "Only Human" is a reggae-pop song that features twinkling keys, groovy bass, brass and percussive cadences in its production.
Upon release, "Only Human" was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics, who praised its music style and "textured" production. Commercially, the song peaked at number 18 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100. The song reached top 40 in charts of numerous territories including Australia, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Flanders and Wallonia regions of Belgium. It was certified gold in Belgium and France and double platinum in Canada.
An accompanying '80s-themed music video directed by Anthony Mandler was released on August 13, 2019. It depicts the Jonas Brothers singing and dancing in a crowded nightclub. To promote the song, the Jonas Brothers performed "Only Human" on several occasions and also included it on the set list for their Happiness Begins Tour (2019-2020).
Background and composition
Following the success of the singles "Sucker" and "Cool", "Only Human" was serviced to the US contemporary radio format by Republic Records, on July 2, 2019, as the third single from the Jonas Brothers' fifth studio album Happiness Begins.[1][2] On July 5, it was released to Italy's contemporary hit radio. The group wrote "Only Human" with its producer Shellback. Shellback also played bass guitar, drums, keyboards and tambourines. It was mixed by Serban Ghenea and John Hanes who also served as studio personnel.[3] "Only Human" was the last song written for Happiness Begins after the album's songwriters and producers Max Martin and Shellback approached the band. During an interview with Apple Music, Joe Jonas recalled writing and recording the track mostly via FaceTime.[4][5]
"Only Human" is a reggae-pop song[6][7] featuring an '80s tropical groove[8] and lasts for three minutes and three seconds.[3] Its production includes "twinkling keys", "groovy bass line", brass and percussive cadences.[9][10] In terms of musical notation, the song is composed in 4
4 time and the key of D minor at moderately slow tempo varying between 92 and 96 beats per minute. The band's vocals span a range of G4 to D6.[11] Lyrically, the song is about the "only human" instinct to "having harmless fun": "It's only human, you know that it's real / So why would you fight or try to deny the way that you feel?", urging the listeners to stop thinking about anything else and just dance.[12][7][9]
Reception
Upon release, "Only Human" was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. In a positive review, Olivia Horn of Pitchfork praised the composition of the song, noting that "the reggae beat [...] works surprisingly well".[10] Chloe Gilke of Uproxx wrote that the "textured" production was like a "perfectly-fit puzzle" and deemed the song as an album highlight.[9] Christopher Thiessen of Consequence of Sound criticized the lyrical content and wrote that "the sincerity in performance and deep devotion to melody-crafting" made up for it.[8] Mike Nied at Idolator described the song as "another banger" and that it has potential to be song of the summer.[13] Billboard magazine ranked it 40th on their 2019 year-end list.[14]
Commercially, "Only Human" peaked at number 18 on both the US Billboard Hot 100[15] and the Canadian Hot 100.[16] The song quickly became pop radio's most added song of the week dated July 2, 2019, picked up by 61 Mediabase-monitored pop stations.[17] Two weeks later, the song returned again to the top of the add board, picked up by 42 pop stations.[18] The song reached the top 10 of the Mediabase Hot AC chart on the week dated August 12, 2019.[19] The song debuted atop the Canada Hot AC chart and charted on the Canada AC chart at number 11.[20][21] In addition, the song peaked at number three on the Billboard Pop Songs and Adult Pop Songs charts.[22][23] It also entered the US Adult Contemporary Chart at number 10 and Dance/Mix Show Airplay at number 12.[24][25] The song charted at number 38 in Australia,[26] number 64 in the UK,[27] number four in Spain[28] and number ten in both the Flanders and Wallonia regions of Belgium.[29][30] In Europe, the song impacted the airplay charts in numerous territories, reaching top ten peaks in Germany,[31] Netherlands,[32] Poland,[33] Romania[34] and Slovakia.[35] It was certified gold both in Belgium[36] and France[37] and double platinum in Canada.[38]
Promotion and music video
An accompanying music video was uploaded to Jonas Brothers' official YouTube channel on August 13, 2019. The '80s-themed video was directed by Anthony Mandler and produced by Kim Bradshaw of Black Hand Cinema.[39][40] The music video was filmed in New York.[5] The visual opens inside a nightclub having a giant disco-ball and ceramic horse statues where the Jonas Brothers are performing on stage wearing opaque sunglasses and colourful retro outfits.[40][41][42] They are surrounded by a crowd of enthusiastic club-goers who are "head-bopping", "finger-snapping" and singing along to the group.[1] The clip is interspersed with grainy footage of the group playing with rotary telephones and synchronized dancing of the audience beneath the neon disco lights.[6] Over the course of the video, the brothers and the crowd take to the streets where Joe Jonas dances and sings, standing on top of a vintage yellow NYC taxi.[40][6][43] The entire video alternates between filmy, hazy filtered shots at the club and the street.[1] The final scene sees the driver of the cab shouting at them for blocking the traffic.[41] Katrina Rees of Celemix praised the video's "nostalgic take on a classic era" which she felt "fit[ted] in perfectly with the old school vibe of the song."[43]
The Jonas Brothers performed "Only Human" for the first time on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on June 13, 2019.[44][45] On July 18, 2019, they performed the song on Late Night with Seth Meyers.[46] On August 26, 2019, the band performed the song at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, which marked their first performance at the awards show in 10 years.[47] They performed the song again on October 8, 2019 on The Ellen Show.[48] "Only Human" was included in the set list of the band's tenth concert tour Happiness Begins Tour (2019-2020).[49]
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.[3]
- Nick Jonas – vocals, songwriter
- Joe Jonas – vocals, songwriter
- Kevin Jonas – vocals, songwriter
- Shellback – backing vocals, producer, songwriter, programmer, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, tambourine
- Peter Karlsson – vocal producer
- Michael Engström – bass guitar
- Wojtek Goral – alto saxophone, flute
- Tomas Jonsson – baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
- Mattias Bylund – bassoon, horn
- Mia Samuelsson – flugelhorn
- Nils-Petter Ankarblom – horn, horn arranger
- Jason McNab – tambourine
- Jimmy Carr – tambourine
- Kasper Komar – tambourine
- Robert Mollard – tambourine
- Peter Noos Johansson – trombone
- Janne Bjerger – trumpet
- Magnus Johansson – trumpet
- Serban Ghenea – mixer
- John Hanes – mix engineer
Charts
Weekly charts |
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Belgium (BEA)[36] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
France (SNEP)[37] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada)[38] | 2× Platinum | 160,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Country | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | July 2, 2019 | Contemporary hit radio | Republic | [2] |
Italy | July 5, 2019 | [81] |
References
- ^ a b c "Jonas Brothers Get Their Groove On in '80s-Inspired 'Only Human' Video: Watch". Billboard. August 13, 2019. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- ^ a b "Top 40/M Future Releases | Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates ..." All Access. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Happiness Begins / Jonas Brothers - Tidal". Tidal. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Happiness Begins by Jonas Brothers". Apple Music. June 7, 2019. Archived from the original on May 14, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- ^ a b Vicente, Juan (July 7, 2019). "JONAS BROTHERS GRABA EL VÍDEO DE ONLY HUMAN EN NUEVA YORK" [JONAS BROTHERS SHOOTS ONLY HUMAN VIDEO IN NEW YORK] (in Spanish). Los 40. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c Hermata, Claudia (August 14, 2019). "The Jonas Brothers Go Back to the '80s in Fun New Music Video for 'Only Human'". People. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ a b Mamo, Heran (September 4, 2019). "Here Are the Lyrics to Jonas Brothers' 'Only Human'". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ a b Thiessen, Christopher (June 10, 2019). "Jonas Brothers Return with the Refreshingly Intimate Happiness Begins". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ a b c Gilke, Chloe (June 10, 2019). "The Jonas Brothers' 'Happiness Begins' Is A Nostalgic Ode To Growing Up". Uproxx. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ a b Horn, Olivia (June 13, 2019). "Jonas Brothers: Happiness Begins Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 14, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ "Jonas Brothers "Only Human" Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- ^ Sims, Brittany (June 7, 2019). ""Happiness Begins" by the Jonas Brothers: Track by Track Review". Celebmix. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ Nied, Mike (June 11, 2019). "Album Review: Jonas Brothers' 'Happiness Begins'". Idolator. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ Billboard Staff (December 11, 2019). "The 100 Best Songs of 2019: Staff List". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
- ^ a b "Jonas Brothers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ a b "Jonas Brothers Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ Brian, Cantor (July 2, 2019). "Jonas Brothers' "Only Human" Ranks As Pop Radio's Most Added Song". Headline Planet. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ Brian, Cantor (July 16, 2019). "Jonas Brothers' "Only Human" Again Ranks As Pop Radio's Most Added Song". Headline Planet. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ Brian, Cantor (August 2, 2019). "Kaskade & Meghan Trainor's "With You" Ranks As Hot AC Radio's Most Added Song". Headline Planet. Archived from the original on November 30, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ a b "Jonas Brothers Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ a b "Jonas Brothers Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- ^ a b "Jonas Brothers Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
- ^ a b "Jonas Brothers Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ a b "Jonas Brothers Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
- ^ a b "Jonas Brothers Chart History (Dance Mix/Show Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
- ^ a b "Jonas Brothers – Only Human". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ a b "Jonas Brothers – Only Human" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved January 20,2020.
- ^ a b "Jonas Brothers – Only Human" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
- ^ a b "Jonas Brothers – Only Human" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
- ^ a b "Airplay Charts Deutschland – Woche 39/2019". German Charts. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 46, 2019" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- ^ a b "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ a b Arvunescu, Victor (March 1, 2020). "Top Airplay 100 - Primăvară în „ritmo" latino!" [Top Airplay 100 – Spring in latin "ritmo"] (in Romanian). Un site de muzică. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
- ^ a b "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 202005 into search. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
- ^ a b "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2020". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
- ^ a b "French single certifications – Jonas Brothers – Only Human" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ a b "Canadian single certifications – Jonas Brothers – Only Human". Music Canada. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ Jonas Brothers - Only Human (Official Video). YouTube. August 13, 2019. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c Roth, Madeline (August 13, 2019). "Jonas Brothers Serve Up '80s Hotness In Their Super-Suave 'Only Human' Video". MTV News. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ a b Brittany, Spanos (August 13, 2019). "Watch Jonas Brothers Host Retro Club Show in 'Only Human' Video". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ Kelsey, Gibsen (August 13, 2019). "Get Ready to Dance in Your Living Room as You Watch the Jonas Brothers' "Only Human" Video". PopSugar. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ a b Katrina, Rees (August 13, 2019). "Jonas Brothers get their groove on in retro visual for 'Only Human'". Celebmix. Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (June 13, 2019). "Jonas Brothers Talk Bachelor Party Hijinks, Perform 'Only Human' on 'Fallon'". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- ^ Zemler, Emily (June 13, 2019). "Watch Jonas Brothers Play 'Know Your Bro' on Fallon". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- ^ "Watch The Jonas Brothers Catch An Island Groove With Funky 'Only Human' on 'Late Night with Seth Meyers'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2019-07-20. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
- ^ Schaffstall, Katherine (August 26, 2019). "Jonas Brothers Perform "Sucker" and "Only Human" at MTV Video Music Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ Shaffer, Claire (October 8, 2019). "The Jonas Brothers Call Their Career a 'Full Circle Redemption' on 'Ellen'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ Cardenas, Patricia (August 8, 2019). "Jonas Brothers Kick Off Comeback Tour With Cameos by Daddy Yankee, Natti Natasha, and Sebastián Yatra". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on November 28, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ "Jonas Brothers Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^ "China Airplay Chart/Foreign Language - 15/07/2019". Billboard China (in Chinese). Archived from the original on July 25, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
- ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 02. týden 2020 in the date selector. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
- ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 25. týden 2019 in the date selector. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ "EESTI TIPP-40 MUUSIKAS: Suur Papa on tagasi!". Eesti Ekspress (in Estonian). Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- ^ "Top Singles (Week 2, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
- ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
- ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Jonas Brothers". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- ^ "Mūzikas Patēriņa Tops/ 27. nedēļa" (in Latvian). LAIPA. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
- ^ "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. July 5, 2019. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- ^ "Mexico Airplay". Billboard. February 1, 2020. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- ^ "Mexico Ingles Airplay". Billboard. February 1, 2020. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- ^ "Jonas Brothers – Only Human" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- ^ "Jonas Brothers – Only Human". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ^ "Jonas Brothers – Only Human". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
- ^ "Puerto Rico General" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201926 into search. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". slotop50.si. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ "Jonas Brothers – Only Human". Singles Top 100. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ^ "Jonas Brothers – Only Human". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
- ^ "Top 100 Songs". Rolling Stone. July 2, 2019. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2019". Ultratop. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2019". Dutch Top 40. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
- ^ "Najpopularniejsze albumy i single 2019 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ "Top AFP - Audiogest - Top 3000 Singles + EPs Digitais" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ "Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ "Pop Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ "JONAS BROTHERS "Only Human" | (Radio Date: 05/07/2019)". radiodate.it. Archived from the original on 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2019-07-29.