Behind the Jonas Brothers' World Tour 2009: Photos, Video and More

The Jonas Brothers have promised their World Tour 2009 will be their biggest spectacle yet — a massive trek featuring an in-the-round stage, a host of additional musicians and a few stunning surprises — so with just two weeks to go before the June 20th launch in Arlington, Texas, Rolling Stone popped into the band's Dallas rehearsals to get a first-hand look. (Click above to watch the band chat about their eye-popping plans and a first glimpse at the new stage.)

"Putting this show together is so much different than anything we've ever done before," Nick Jonas tells us. "We wanted a great way for everyone to have a front-row seat," Kevin adds, noting, "You might have to come more than once to see it all because you might not catch it all." Joe says that "Much Better" is a definite highlight: "It's like a dance party onstage." Get the full story behind the show in our rehearsal report here.

Plus, check out photos of the Jonas Brothers onstage and backstage in their little rehearsal space — the American Airlines Arena. Our cameras captured the band singing and testing out special new light effects (the show boasts 350 lighting units and requires 19 trucks to cart all the gear around), and more relaxed candid moments of the Jonas Brothers just being themselves — Nick chatting with bodyguard Big Rob and playing ping-pong; Joe trolling around on a Segway; Kevin hopping up and down on a trampoline; the band's spread of healthy munchies. It's also your first look at the band's new stage, which practically stretches from one end of the arena to the other.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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