The Real-Life Diet of Joe Jonas, Who Avoids Doomscrolling by Doing HIIT Workouts

Last week, at a packed bar in Manhattan’s Soho, Joe Jonas took the stage to a decidedly more intimate crowd than he’s probably accustomed to. He is, of course, one-third of the Jonas Brothers, who played two sold-out shows at Yankee Stadium just a couple years ago. That’s not to say the second-eldest JoBro couldn’t fill a massive venue on his own. But that night, at Bleecker Street Bar, Jonas was debuting a new song as a solo artist to a select group of fans.

The third single off his upcoming second album Music for People Who Believe in Love, “Heart by Heart” nearly didn’t happen. The album was supposed to be released in October 2024, before Jonas postponed it to give himself more time to “find inspiration.” (It’s now coming on May 23). The result is this upbeat acoustic pop song about meaningful, long-lasting connections. It’s why Jonas partnered with Heineken on a campaign for people to “get social off social,” or take a break from their phones to actually connect with others in real life. And while attendees were strongly encouraged to not record the show, which was also being filmed for the upcoming music video, phones were very much still out.

Logging off and touching grass are, of course, cornerstones of any modern health routine. be joining the rest of his brothers, Nick and Kevin, on a 43-day North American tour that kicks off August 10. Ahead of his Bleecker Street Bar performance, Jonas caught up with GQ to talk about his new music, how he manages to find time to disconnect, and how he’s been staying swole these days.

GQ: Would you say you’re chronically online?

Joe Jonas: Yeah, that’s why this [Heineken partnership] is a good fit—a healthy reminder to check out sometimes and just be present.

Can you tell me more about the partnership?

The idea [of the commercial that was shot last year] essentially revolved around taking a break from your phone, and how we can all at some point start to doomscroll to the point where you’re not even really computing what you’re seeing. You’ll see from the promo that we shot how nice it is to just turn those devices off for a second and get together and just be.

I would imagine you’re fairly busy. How do you find times to disconnect?

I think it’s a choice, right? You have to find times where you just go: OK, I’m gonna put my phone down to put it on Do Not Disturb for a minute. I’ve been taking certain [workout] classes where you can’t bring your phone in, whether it be pilates, yoga, or hot yoga, which I don’t think you want your phone in there anyway. Stuff like that is always nice because then it resets you.

You’ve been looking pretty swole recently. Is that the pilates?

Oh, wow, thanks. I guess maybe? But I only went to one class, so that would be pretty impressive. I walked into a class that’s not far from my apartment in New York, and they were like, “Have you been to pilates before?” I said, “Yeah,” and I started asking questions like, “Do I need to wear these special socks?” and they’re like, “Technically, yeah. You’ve done this before? This is an advanced class, just making sure you’re aware.” I haven’t been back since.

So then what is your regular workout routine?

Well, it varies. I want to get outside, so I’ve been running a lot more. I have a trainer who sends me mostly HIIT-style workouts. I can get so easily bored at the gym, especially when I’m by myself. And with the amount of travel that I do, it’s nice to know that I can go to a class. I’m not being paid to say this, but ClassPass is great, so I use that quite a bit. Raw Fit out [in Miami] is really good, and this place called SOL Yoga. Those are some places that I love and I’m a frequent at.

What’s your diet like?

It depends on the day, but I think in my life now I try not to be too particular. Like I work out and I exercise so I can enjoy life and eat food and have a drink. I love to travel, and I’m a bit of a foodie. So I like going to fancy spots and finding wine bars around the world. I feel like wine bars nowadays have the best little snacks. But on a normal day, I usually like to make breakfast at home. I make some pour-over coffee, and I’m pretty basic with my breakfast. It’s usually scrambled eggs, avocado, and sometimes I spice it up with some fun additions like a truffle sauce. But I’m always bouncing around for lunches and dinners. I try to cook. I like to cook. But I’m realizing my kitchen was lacking recently when I tried to cook over Easter weekend, because I usually go out to eat quite a bit.

How would you say your diet changes when you’re on tour? Or are you still just pretty much eating whatever?

My diet changes quite a bit on tour. I eat pretty clean and strict. I’ll still have moments where I indulge. For the last US tour, I didn’t drink until after the show, which was funny because I kept seeing these memes of me, and they’re like, “He’s so drunk on stage!” But I was just trying to keep professional because there’s a lot of moving parts [when you’re performing], like there’s [pyrotechnics], and you have to take it seriously. But now I’ll maybe have a drink before the show. You can kind of eat more because you’re burning quite a good amount of calories. Our drummer used his Apple Watch one day [during the show] and he got up to like 30,000 steps, and he’s in one seat the whole time!

How would you compare your solo music compared to the music that you do with your brothers or DNCE?

DNCE is, at the core, fun and funky and sexy and kind of wild—and we can be crazy on and off stage, and musically, kind of tap into this party band. And with my solo music, it started with a song that I felt was way more emotional, and it was talking about some things that were really personal to me. And I felt like, you know what? Like I already have this great band that I love being a part of, but I don’t feel like these songs are for that project. I kind of want to put this somewhere else and have an experience where I’m going to test the waters and maybe put myself back out there and have a solo album that showcases more of these songs, which gave me the opportunity to dive even deeper emotionally. Sometimes in a band and even in the [Jonas Brothers], you may not be in the same place mentally as you would be all together. So it’s nice to just kind of say, “OK, I can be selfish for a second and really speak to some personal experiences.”

What are some of your musical influences for this solo album?

It’s kind of all over the map. I went on a road trip last year that inspired me to do some songwriting. And I was listening to everything from country western stuff that my grandfather and my dad were playing me—honky talk stuff to alternative music. So from some of the classic music that I grew up listening to then to the music I was discovering living out in California then living out in New York.

I know you said you wanted to do something outside of working with your brothers, but did they have any insight into helping you craft the music?

The brothers definitely listen to this stuff. We have this respect where we give each other the space we need when it comes time to find new music for each other. We don’t give advice unless advice is asked for. When we’re in the [Jonas Brothers], there’s free reign [for criticism]—all parties make [the music] stronger. But when it’s us individually, we want to be respectful. But Nick actually gave me some good ideas on this album. I have a song “What We Are”—that’s his favorite, I think. And he kept saying to me that he was jealous of that one, which is the goal. If you have a friend or counterpart musician friend who’s like “Damn, I wish that was my song,” that’s the goal.

Did you have any of that jealousy when Nick released his solo album?

Definitely. “Teacher” was always one where I had that feeling. That’s my jam.

How did you choose who to collaborate with on the album?

A lot of friends. I think some of the material is very personal to me, and you don’t want to just walk into the room with a stranger. Also, some people that I really look up to, like Josette [Maskin] from Muna—they’re incredible. And we wrote two songs on the album. Also my friend Paris [Carney], who’s a great songwriter. She also happens to be married to one of the former bass players of the band for the [Jonas] Brothers. And a bunch of wonderful people just fell into my lap. One of the coolest songwriting experiences was with Feist, who I’m a superfan of, and [producer] Dan Nigro. Both were available on the same day, and I was able to get them in the studio together, and it was kind of amazing for all of us. We wrote this single called “What This Could Be” together, and shortly after Dan won Best Producer of the Year [at the Grammys], which is pretty cool.