By Jae-Ha Kim
Tribune Media Services
February 17, 2009
The Jonas Brothers are burning up. Just a couple years ago, the sibling trio was best known as Miley Cyrus’ cute boy band opening act. These days, 16-year-old Nick (who once dated Cyrus) and his brothers Joe, 19, and Kevin, 21, are bona-fide heartthrobs with millions of fans worldwide. With their film “The Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience” rolling into theaters on Feb. 27 and an upcoming Disney series called “J.O.N.A.S.,” in which the brothers portray rock star secret agents, the group is smoking hot.
As a precursor to their upcoming 2009 tour, the Jonas Brothers will head to the Bahamas this spring to play three concert dates at the Atlantis. Kevin, Joe and Nick talk about why that resort in particular and Paradise Island in general hold such special memories for them.
Though they participated as a group for this column, Joe says that for his ideal vacation, “All I need is a comfortable beach chair, a good book and a smoothie! Oh, and, of course, some good music.”
FAVORITE DESTINATION: We mostly like to hang out by the beach or poolside. Paradise Island is one of our favorite vacation spots because it offers both.
WHY PARADISE ISLAND? Who wouldn’t want to go to a place named “Paradise”? We like going to the Atlantis because it’s a place our entire family really enjoys. We came here on a family vacation in 2007 and had a great time. We came back almost immediately a few months later when we made a musical guest performance on “Live! With Regis & Kelly.” Since then we have gone back several times. We had a fantastic vacation there this summer. We just did nothing but relax for a solid week. It was amazing!
THINGS TO DO THERE: The water park is fun for everybody, especially our little brother Frankie. He has gone on every slide here at least 10 times! And the river ride, The Current, is a great way to just relax as you float around — until you hit a rapid. And we all love Dolphin Cay. You can get in the water and swim with the Katrina dolphins, rescued after their old aquarium in Mississippi was destroyed in the hurricane. There are so many sad stories from that storm, and it’s just so nice to hear and even experience something positive from that sad event. There are some sea lions at Dolphin Cay too. When they speak, it sounds like a really loud honk, and getting a high five from one is really great.
MORE WATER FUN: Atlantis has a cool water park called Aquaventure. You just keep sitting in your tube and enjoy the scenery, while you go down whichever slide you want. It’s pretty cool!
ON BEING RECOGNIZED: It’s great to get to interact with fans in a different setting. We get recognized a lot but we don’t mind, because we are extremely thankful to our fans and love them very much.
FEEDING FRENZY: We also never stop eating when we’re here! There is a Nobu, Mesa Grill, Carmine’s … everything is so good! And they have some of our favorite chains from home: Johnny Rockets, Starbucks, Jamba Juice and Ben & Jerry’s!
BEST PART OF TRAVELING: We love traveling to different parts of the world. We love to discover the history of each place, along with the different music scenes they have happening. And to try new food.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE BAHAMAS:
OFFICIAL NAME: Independent Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
CAPITAL: Nassau.
COUNTRY CODE: 242.
LANGUAGE: English.
CURRENCY: Bahamian dollar (BSD). BS$1 equals USD$1.
TIME ZONE: EST, the same as New York City.
FAMOUS BAHAMIANS: Sidney Poitier, Baha Men, track star Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie.
FYI: The Atlantis is giving away three Jonas Brothers Weekend in Paradise packages, including air transportation and meals for four people. One winner will be chosen for each of the three concert dates on March 14, April 18 and May 9. To enter the sweepstakes, go to www.atlantis.com.
To read more about the Bahamas, check out www.bahamas.com. To get more information about the Jonas Brothers, check out their Website at www.jonasbrothers.com.
© 2009 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
