It took seven people to write a song that doesn’t have a single original idea…
What are we doing? I thought pop stars going “country” would be a trend we left back in 2024 but lo and behold here we are with one of the Jonas Brothers trying to cash in on country music’s new status as a dominant genre.
Joe Jonas and Ashley Cooke (who I once, and still kind of do, have high hopes for) released “All I Forgot” today and while it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever heard, it’s so bland and empty I’m honestly wondering why it was released at all.
Written by Joe, Ashley, Charlie Puth (?), David Alexander, Griff Clawson, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, and Naliya (I can’t even fathom how 7 people write one song), it’s a basic lyric on the trope of drinking after a break-up to forget the other person, but instead of forgetting them you forget that you were supposed to be forgetting them.
I need a mind eraser
‘Nother shot, no chaser
Need a heart-replacer on my tab
Got a stool I’m savin’
Like a fool, I’m waitin’
And the music’s takin’ me right back
…
‘Cause I just killed a bottle
And all that I forgot was I was movin’ on, I was stayin’ strong
I’ll feel it tomorrow
‘Cause all that I forgot was everyone except for you
That ain’t what this drink’s supposed to do
All I forgot was everythin’ except for you
Probably won’t be entered in the Library of Congress as a culturally significant work…
I’ll stop beating around the bush; the lyrics pretty bad. None of the seven adults in the room could come up with an interesting play on words or new turn of phrase? This truly proves that the more people you add to a project the more it sinks to the lowest common denominator. I’ve listened and read through the lyrics a few times to try and find the best line and I’m actually struggling.
I guess the best would be:
Every sip I’m sippin’ got me reminiscin’
I remember kissin’ on your lips
Pretty low bar…
Okay, but is it at least catchy?
Well, the guitar intro sounds pretty close to Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night”, but flatter. The melody has its moments (“I was movin’ on, I was stayin’ strong” is probably the high point) but again, nothing too great… Certainly not close to “Drink A Beer”, which is also a poorly written song (though on purpose) but the melody makes it a certified banger.
Overall, people are going to forget this song exists in about 4 months, if not sooner.
Very rarely can a pop star go country and make it believable. In the past few years it’s basically just been Post Malone that’s pulled it off, but he started out playing country and southern rock songs in Texas, and took time to ingratiate himself with the Nashville scene before hopping in, which is something artists such as Lil Nas X, Beyonce, Machine Gun Kelly, Yung Gravy, and Lana Del Ray should have done had they actually wanted to be part of the scene and not just score quick cash by tossing on a Stetson and dropping “country” music.
Safe to say, I don’t think Joe Jonas is going to be a mainstay in country music anytime soon.
While were talking about one Jonas Brother, let’s not forget the time Nick Jonas joined Kelsea Ballerini on stage at the 2016 ACMs and tried to rip a guitar solo… Key word tried. Not saying I could do better, because I can’t, but it was so bad that Nick actually went to therapy afterwards…
