Franklin (Frankie) Jonas just debuted his first-ever single, “Cocaine,” and is ready to put the “bonus Jonas” nickname to bed.
“Cocaine,” details some significant struggles that Jonas had dealt with in the past, largely straying outside the “radio-friendly” music that his older brothers credit their successes to.
The psychedelic-inspired track, co-written and produced with Charlie Brand, exhibits the 22-year-old’s impressive vocals and perceptive songwriting skills. The song accompanies a retro music video directed by Henry Kornaro, flaunting Vermont’s stunning fall foliage in a laid-back and leisurely ambience. When Jonas isn’t driving down roads to nowhere in a 70s SUV, he is impressing his blonde love interest in scenes of him singing to her in a diner, a theater and an open field.
“‘Cocaine’ is about longing for the coping mechanisms you don’t have or can’t do anymore. It’s the point where you become nostalgic for the bad times because even the bad times had good distractions,” he said in a press release about the song.
Listen To Franklin Jonas’ Debut Single “Cocaine” Below.
Jonas has communicated on his battle with addiction in the past, sharing with his TikTok fans, “This is by no means the eloquent explanation I hope to give in a much more serious mode than this. However, from a very young age I struggled with drinking and drugging as an escape because I hated life, and I didn’t want to be here.”
He continued, “I eventually, after many years of trying to kill myself accidentally, came to a point where I was going to do it for real. Something intervened, and my life was saved.”
‘”I went to treatment, and it saved me [and] I couldn’t be more grateful for the fact that I’m alive today because my world has changed so beautifully and so astronomically, and I am not that person anymore. I couldn’t be more grateful that I’m alive and happy,” he concluded.
This is Franklin Jonas’ first official music release, not counting the theme for the 2009 film, Ponyo, sung alongside Noah Cyrus. His interest in creating music stemmed back to college, where he learned to produce his own beats. Jonas then studied audio engineering with John McBride (Martina McBride’s husband and owner of Blackbird Studio in Nashville) and was encouraged to start writing and releasing his own songs.
Franklin Shared That His Brothers Have Offered Him Advice
When it comes to his original music, the youngest Jonas brother is transparent in his gratitude for having successful older siblings in the business.
“They’ve been a big sounding board for me. I mean obviously, they’re pretty established musicians. So, it’s been amazing to have them in my corner, and as some advice-givers along the way,” he told Entertainment Tonight.
When asked about his own music in comparison to the Jonas Brothers’ iconic sound, he recalled, “It lives on its own, it really does. I think that there’s not a lot of crossover, but there’s a lot of influence. So I think that it’ll be my thing and they’ll be doing theirs and we’ll be cheering each other on.”
Additionally, Frankie Jonas shared his debut project on Instagram and wrote, “I hope you enjoy ‘Cocaine.’ The song and the video and the piece of myself that I give away with this project. There are so many people who worked so hard on this. I owe each of you my life. You’ve taken my sickly infant and given your time and energy to help make something beautiful. Thank you for believing in this.”
