Jonas Brothers' video debuts with 'Jukebox' in the mix
The Southern University Marching Band continues to expand its global recognition today with the premiere of the Jonas Brothers, that’s right the Jonas Brothers, new single and video “Pom Poms.”
“This is awesome,” Director of Bands Lawrence Jackson said today on the release of the video that shows the face of SU drum major Kelan Norman on its cover on a number of websites.
Pom Poms, the first video the wildly popular brothers have shot together in nearly four years, is described as “a massive, sing-along pop song that’s straight from a high school halftime show.” The video was shot February 16 on a St. John Parish high school football field.
The video begins with SU drum major blowing his whistle as he would on any of the band’s halftime shows. The band, nicknamed “The Human Jukebox,” is seen in parts of the video and closes out the video with one of its patented dance steps. Then Norman performs the famous SU drum major back bend where he leans back until his head touches the ground.
The past 18 months have been a world wind for all segments of the Human Jukebox. The Dancing Dolls performed with Madonna during halftime of the 2012 Super Bowl. The Marching Band and the Dolls performed during the pregame show of the 2013 Super Bowl.
In the weeks leading up to the Dolls performance with Madonna, everyone connected to the band was legally bound not to make public comments about their participation until halftime. It was the same with the Jonas Brothers.
“It was easy for me to keep it a secret because I signed a confidentiality agreement,” Jackson laughed.
He called the interaction with the Jonas Brothers and the video company “a really good experience for the students. The students were excited to see how videos were shot, what went on backstage of a video shoot and how long they can last.”
The video shoot took about 10 hours in extremely cold and windy weather, Jackson said. “They started shooting in the afternoon and ended at about midnight. Everyone was freezing and ice started to settle on the drums because of dew starting to set in,” he said.
Nonetheless, Jackson said, “the students worked through it like champs.”
The new album will mark the Jonas Brothers' first since 2009's "Lines, Vines and Trying Times" and their first new music since leaving Disney’s Hollywood Records, which released their last 3 LPs.
Chancellor James L. Llorens complimented the band on its growing popularity and the publicity it is building for the university with participation on national stages such as the Super Bowl and entertainment videos.
“First our basketball puts a scare into a top seed in the NCAA basketball tournament two weeks ago and gets a ton of national exposure for us, now our marching band will be seen by a worldwide audience with the Jonas Brothers,” Llorens said. “Southern continues to build its national brand.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/jonas-brothers-watch_n_2992617.html