Nick Jonas Performs Emotional ‘Gut Punch’ on ‘Tonight Show’ Accompanied By Ballet Dancer, Taiko Drummers

Nick Jonas was definitely feeling all the feels on Wednesday night (Feb. 4) during an emotional performance of “Gut Punch,” the first single from his first solo album in five years, Sunday Best. Taking to the Tonight Show stage to hype the LP that drops on Friday (Feb. 6), Jonas began the performance seated at a white upright piano covered in colorful handprints.

“I think my hair stopped growing, is that even a thing?/ Haven’t lost any of it, but something ain’t the same/ Maybe it’s a metaphor, is it even that deep?/ I think my hair stopped growing, or is it me?,” he sang in a soft voice as he gently played the keys while a ballet dancer spun and dipped beside him, giving a visual to the lyrics about giving yourself a break when you feel stuck.

By the time the full-throated chorus came around for the first time, Jonas hopped up and crooned it as the studio audience howled in delight. “Hit me like a gut punch, I hurt my own feelings/ How did I get so good at being mean to myself?/ I should turn the heat down, tell myself to chill out/ Damn, I really hate the way I talk to myself,” Jonas sang emotionally as a pair of Taiko drummers punctuated the punchy refrain with thwacks at their instruments and a pianist took over on the keys.

“Gut Punch” dropped on New Year’s Day after an intimate preview at Toronto's Powder Room, and in a video accompanying the track he said, “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.” In a statement about the song he said tackles his feelings of self-doubt, Jonas, 33, added, “I tend to by hyper critical of myself, not typically about my appearance or getting older, but I was wondering, ‘Am I doing everything to be the best version of myself? Am I a present and thoughtful husband? Am I a good father?”

Watch Jonas perform “Gut Punch” on The Tonight Show below.