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Pop

Nick Jonas Says ‘Gut Punch’ Solo Single Is Response to Pressure to ‘Be the Perfect Version of Yourself’

In a New Year's message, though, the JoBros singer promised fans that they are enough and that their mistakes don't define them.

Nick Jonas Says ‘Gut Punch’ Solo Single Is Response to Pressure to ‘Be the Perfect Version of Yourself’

Nick Jonas

Billy Kidd

By just about any measure, Nick Jonas had a very big 2025. He released a new album with his siblings, Greetings From Your Hometown, and then went on the road for their 20th anniversary tour, starred in a Christmas movie and, at the very tail end of the year, dropped an emotional new solo single, “Gut Punch.”

“Wow, what a year 2025 was,” Jonas said in a video that dropped on Thursday (Jan. 1) in which he recapped a whirlwind 365 days and looked forward to the next adventure. “One of my favorite years of my life, to be honest.” As the new year begins, Jonas said he’s feeling all of the start-of-the-new-calendar feelings: reflective and definitely a little anxious (which he said he was going to try to “curb” for now).


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But despite that trepidation, the singer said he wanted to start the new year with “Gut Punch” specifically because of those feelings, not just for himself, but for all his fans as well. “There’s a lot of pressure to be the perfect version of yourself at the start of the year, and that’s just not possible and that’s okay,” he said.

Despite those anxious feelings, Jonas said he was preparing to go into the next room and hug his loved ones — wife actress Priyanka Chopra and daughter Malti — and give thanks for the simple things, such as the quiet moments with the people you love and looking yourself in the mirror and saying, “hey, you’re enough. It’s okay… you’re not defined by your hurt or your mistakes. And 2026, I believe, will be a great year for all of us.”

Jonas had been performed the song during his solo segment on the JoBros’ Jonas20: Greetings From Your Hometown anniversary tour, which wrapped up in Brooklyn on Dec. 22. “Hit me like a gut punch/ I hurt my own feelings/ How did I get so good at being mean to myself?” he sings on the song’s upbeat chorus.

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The track will appear on Jonas’ upcoming first full-length solo album in five years, Sunday Best, which is due out on Feb. 6.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.

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Charlotte Day Wilson
Jessica Foley
Charlotte Day Wilson
Concerts

CNE 2026 Bell SOUNDSTAGE Lineup: Charlotte Day Wilson, JoJo, Finger Eleven and More

As part of its partnership with NXNE and a renewed focus on live music, CNE will also welcome a special soon-to-be revealed global headliner presented by Billboard Canada on Aug. 28.

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is embracing its musical roots with a high-profile lineup for 2026.

The beloved long-running fair, baptized The Ex by Torontonians, has unveiled the full list of artists who will be headlining the newly-named Bell SOUNDSTAGE at the Bandshell to celebrate the event's 147th edition. Canadian stars like Charlotte Day Wilson and Finger Eleven as well as international pop star JoJo have been added to this year's programming, which reflects a diverse mix of renowned names and rising stars across a multitude of genres including pop, hip-hop, Punjabi music and soca, among others. They join previously announced acts like Lights, Lupe Fiasco, Shaggy and more.

This year, the exhibition is partnering with Toronto music festival NXNE, to modernize its musical programming with chart-topping artists and newer acts, and revamping the Bandshell as the Bell SOUNDSTAGE. “Music is such a massive part of who we are,” Mark Holland, CEO of the CNE, told Billboard Canada in April during his Executive of the Week interview. "Connecting everybody to that is a democratic mission that we are really invested in."

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