Joe Jonas' solo debut album, Fastlife, enters The Billboard 200 at #15, with sales of just 18K copies. That's a far cry from Jonas Brothers' fastest-selling album, A Little Bit Longer, which blew through 525,000 copies in its first week in June 2008. Simple math tells us that for every 29 fans who bought that album, just one die-hard loyalist sprung for this album.

The tally for Fastlife is about one-quarter of that rung up by Nick Jonas & the Administration's Who I Am, which debuted at #3 in February 2010 with sales of 82K. (The third member of the trio, Kevin Jonas, has yet to release his first post-JoBros album.)

Nobody ever said graduating from teen idol stardom to mainstream pop success was easy.

JoBros reached their peak in 2007 and 2008 with the hits "S.O.S.," "When You Look Me In The Eyes" and "Burnin' Up." In June 2008, the group was featured alongside Demi Lovato in the Disney Channel TV movie Camp Rock. Eight months later, the group starred in a theatrical release, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience.

In June 2009, the group released Lines, Vines And Trying Times. It sold fewer than half as many copies in its first week (247,000) as A Little Bit Longer had just 10 months earlier. That's how fast teen-idol stardom can start to fade. The very next month, the inevitable happened. Someone came along who was even younger and cuter. Justin Bieber was 15 when he launched a string of hits with "One Time."

Justin Timberlake, who was 17 when *NSYNC first hit the chart in April 1998, is a rare example of a boy band alumni who went on to a successful solo career. Timberlake's first solo album, Justified, debuted at #2 in November 2002, with first-week sales of 439,000.

In a feature on Jonas in last week's Billboard, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd observed, "Transforming a charmed teenhood career into a viable adult one is possibly one of the entertainment industry's most difficult feats. For every Justin Timberlake, there are 10 former boy-band members whose post-group disinterest led them to hang up their hats."

Case in point: JC Chasez, who was also in *NSYNC. Chasez's first solo album, Schizophrenic, debuted and peaked at #17 in March 2004, with first-week sales of 52K.

Two members of New Kids on the Block also experienced modest sales with their solo debut albums, which were released a decade after the group's heyday. Joey McIntyre's Stay The Same debuted and peaked at #49 in March 1999, with first-week sales of 31K. An eponymous album by Jordan Knight debuted and peaked at #29 that June, with first-week sales of 42K.

Even Michael Jackson faced some bumps in the road making the transition from teen idol to mainstream pop star. His first two solo albums, Got To Be There and Ben, were big hits in 1972 (the year he turned 14), but his next two studio albums didn't go far. Music & Me, released in 1973, peaked at #92. Forever, Michael, released in 1975 when he was a no-longer-cute 16, stalled at #101. (Things fell into place for him in 1979 with Off The Wall, which was released just before his 21st birthday.)

It's tough going for yesterday's teen idols, as their young fans move on to other acts and other interests. But opportunities come around again-eventually. The NKOTBSB tour, featuring New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys, has been a big hit. (Their NKOTBSB album has sold 113K copies since its release in May.) It's possible that a JoBros reunion tour will also be a hit down the line.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/74424/week-ending-oct-16-2011-albums-after-teen-stardom/

Joe Jonas isn't no Michael, hell he ain't even Timberlake lol and I say that as far as "longevity" and "becoming successful as an adult artist", not musically lol

It was inevitable: the ascension of Justin Bieber spelled immediate doomed for the brothers Jonas, who by the way, I think are so-so singers. Matinee good looks can only get you so far. Soak up the adoration while it lasts, Justin.

Identity said:

It was inevitable: the ascension of Justin Bieber spelled immediate doomed for the brothers Jonas, who by the way, I think are so-so singers. Matinee good looks can only get you so far. Soak up the adoration while it lasts, Justin.

Yep he's next lol

^I was just thinking about him. He hasn't been on the scene in years, Floptina is now a judge...Britney's all by herself.

The bad news for Joe Jonas is that he's Joe Jonas.

duccichucka said:

The bad news for Joe Jonas is that he's Joe Jonas.

duccichucka said:

The bad news for Joe Jonas is that he's Joe Jonas.