Joe Jonas paid tribute to one of his fellow early-aughts Disney Channel legends, Hilary Duff, with DNCE sharing a cover of the actress/singer’s 2004 hit, “Come Clean.”
The performance was about as unplugged as you can get, with guitarist JinJoo Lee strumming an acoustic guitar and drummer Jack Lawless using jazz brushes to keep an incredibly inventive beat on a tissue box. Meanwhile, Jonas uses his phone as a makeshift microphone, leaping into his falsetto to hit all the classic high notes on the “Come Clean” chorus.
DNCE formed in 2015 — a couple of years after the Jonas Brothers first split — and scored a breakthrough hit with “Cake By the Ocean.” An EP, Swaay, arrived in 2015, their self-titled debut dropped the following year, and a second EP, People to People, was released in 2018. But the group was put on the back-burner when the Jonas Brothers reunited in 2019.
Earlier this year, however, DNCE confirmed their return. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jonas said that in early 2021, he’d written a bunch of songs with the likes of Ryan Tedder, Jason Evigan, Mike Elizondo, and Mikky Ekko that he felt were perfect for the dance-rock group. He also explained that he was beginning to envision a slightly different future for the group, describing it as more of a “living, breathing” entity with various members and collaborators.
“I can kind of force it becoming this E Street Band where members come and go,” he said, adding, “It could be a great opportunity to have some special guests, like obviously Ryan [Tedder] who is a fantastic musician. I can totally see him hopping up onstage here and there. He’s kind of busy, but I think it would be a fun concept.”
DNCE have released two songs so far this year, “Move” and “Got Me Good.” They also teamed with Kygo for a new track, “Dancing Feet.”