The Chaotic Story Behind The Jonas Brothers Helping Joe Audition For Camp Rock, And The Blunt Way Disney Execs Reacted

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As a huge fan, I was so excited to see the Jonas Brothers back at Disney with their new Christmas special, A Very Jonas Christmas Movie! It seriously gave me all the feels, bringing back so many memories of their Disney Channel days with Jonas and Camp Rock. And the best part? They’re making Camp Rock 3! It feels like a full-circle moment, considering how much that franchise helped launch their careers. They recently shared the crazy story of Joe’s original Camp Rock audition, and honestly, it sounds like they barely scraped by to even get a second look!

Many people believe Disney created the Jonas Brothers, a notion often highlighted in shows like South Park that joked about their wholesome image and commitment to chastity. However, the truth is the brothers worked hard and spent almost two years performing independently before signing with Walt Disney Records. Their early efforts were quite chaotic, leading to a particularly bad audition tape for Disney, as Nick Jonas shared with Entertainment Weekly. Here’s how the whole story unfolded:

We’d been touring as a band for a couple of years, playing anywhere we could – mostly theme parks and free shows. Things were starting to pick up, and our song ‘Year 3000’ was gaining traction, but we needed a big break. That’s when Joe got a call to audition for the Disney movie Camp Rock. I remember we all helped him record his audition tape in a hotel room – it was probably a Holiday Inn somewhere like Albuquerque.

The Jonas Brothers’ documentary, Chasing Happiness on Prime Video, is a really great look behind the scenes of their career. It covers everything from how they started performing as kids to the band’s split and eventual reunion in 2019. What’s amazing is the amount of childhood footage they have – starting when they were around three years old – it’s almost as if they predicted their future fame.

Keep in mind this footage is from the late ’90s and early 2000s, when the Jonas Brothers were at the height of their popularity and actively documenting their lives, especially on MySpace. The video quality wasn’t always ideal – Nick Jonas even mentioned it wasn’t helpful for his brother Joe’s Camp Rock audition.

We tried using an early digital video camera – something like the first generation with a USB connection for uploading videos. But the quality wasn’t very good.

Kevin Jonas remembers shining a hotel lamp directly at his brother, likely while Nick was recording, and he suspects it negatively impacted the video’s quality. He then pictured sending that poorly-made home video, shot in a hotel room, to Disney Channel executives. Unsurprisingly, the Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle actor said the network’s leaders initially believed it was a joke.

Disney contacted our dad, who was also our manager, and were really unhappy with the video quality of the audition tape. They thought it looked terrible! We quickly sent them a better version, and he ended up getting the job.

I’d love to see the original audition tape for Camp Rock! The host of Cup of Joe joked to EW that Disney has it locked away somewhere. Until then, I’ll just have to wait for Camp Rock 3 to come out on Disney+, hopefully sometime next year as part of their 2026 movie lineup.

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2025-11-24 17:11