Nick Jonas Is 'Amused' by “Camp Rock” Clips Going Viral on Social Media: 'None of It Made Any Sense' (Exclusive)
Nick Jonas and his ‘The Good Half’ costar Alexandra Shipp weigh in on the resurgence of ‘Camp Rock’
Yes, Nick Jonas has seen Camp Rock’s resurgence on social media.
The 2008 Disney Channel original movie, starring Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers as young aspiring rockers, has been rediscovered by new generations of fans online. Clips from the teen classic have gone viral, especially a scene in which Lovato’s character leads a group of campers dancing, clapping and stomping in a marching formation.
“I understand the impact the film had and has had,” Jonas, 31, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “And I am super amused, I would say, by the clips from it that have since gone viral now on TikTok and other places.”
He adds with a smile, “I'm going to say 'amusing' because I also think it's hilarious. I remember thinking of that one in particular, the sort of stomp moment. I remember thinking while we were shooting, ‘This is really strange.’ ”
Jonas’ acting career has come a long way since Camp Rock and his Disney debut in a 2007 episode of Miley Cyrus’ Hannah Montana. In his new movie The Good Half (in theaters now), the musician shows off his dramatic bona fides as Renn Wheeland, a writer returning to his hometown of Cleveland to attend the funeral of his mother (played by Elisabeth Shue).
Alexandra Shipp, who plays Jonas’ onscreen love interest Zoey Abbot in director Robert Schwartzman’s comedy-drama, chimes in on what she calls the “incredible” Camp Rock viral moment. “It’s a lot,” the actress, 33, teases. However, she remembers seeing the movie “and being like, ‘Whoa, I really want to go to music camp!’ ”
“You didn't care that none of it made any sense?" questions Jonas.
“None of it made any sense,” confirms the Barbie star. “Also, there were moments where you're just walking around with drumsticks. And I was like, ‘That's cool.’ ”
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“You just kind of go with it … it doesn't have to make sense,” says Jonas of Camp Rock’s more bemusing moments. “And you expect to sort of be protected by the fact that the primary audience for something like that is adolescents and they won't care as much.”
He adds, “But then, of course, they all grow up! And it's probably the same thing as if anybody else went back and watched their home videos from high school and college. It's that, but for us, it's pretty public.”
The actor-rocker — and his brothers Joe and Kevin — returned as fictional band Connect 3 in 2010’s Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, which also starred Lovato.
The Good Half features musical moments of its own, with both Jonas and Shipp rocking vocals in a karaoke bar. Shipp, a musician in her own right who sang in Tick, Tick... Boom! and as Aaliyah in the 2014 biopic Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, has a go-to karaoke song: “I like ‘My Way’ by Usher. And I prefer to crawl while I do it.”
Jonas — whose karaoke move is singing both Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston’s parts in “When You Believe” — says it was cathartic to express emotion through song in The Good Half, a movie about “how we deal with loss and who we lean on in these moments that challenge us.”
Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty
The cast of 'The Gold Half' at the film's Aug. 13, 2024, premiere in Beverly HillsJonas will next appear on screen in the upcoming Power Ballad costarring Paul Rudd; 2025’s You're Cordially Invited starring Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell; and on Broadway in The Last Five Years opposite Adrienne Warren. Shipp next stars in the movies Violent Ends, Kung Fury 2 and Midnight.
The Good Half is in theaters now and will have its digital release Sept. 6.
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