Nick Jonas' New Song Sounds Like "Jealous Part 2"

On Thursday afternoon, rising pop star Nick Jonas teased his new single, "Levels," in two promo videos for the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. The upcoming song sounds like it could be "Jealous Part 2"! "Jealous" is, of course, Jonas' funky and infectious breakthrough solo hit. The tune topped the pop radio airplay chart at the beginning of 2015 and climbed all the way to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. So, in other words, I completely understand why the 22-year-old singer may have wanted to record something similar for his new release. You know what they say: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Jonas announced Thursday that "Levels" drops on Aug. 21. He'll perform it live for the first time a little over a week later during the VMA pre-show on Aug. 30. (I'm not sure why MTV didn't think Jonas was a big enough draw for the main stage... but I digress.)

Now, the first "Levels"/VMA promo clip is fairly straightforward: Jonas strolls down the sidewalk with a group of "moonbabes" (you know, the "sexy" female version of MTV's iconic "moonman" *eye roll*) holding a boombox blaring "Levels" in one hand and a Starbucks Frappuccino in the other. Jonas is wearing a strange designer sweat suit of some sort (I want one really badly, I think?), but otherwise, there's nothing too out of the ordinary here.

The second promo clip, however, is very weird: Jonas smokes a cigar while floating on a large inflatable swan in the middle of a pool while the members of his cosmic entourage sit along the perimeter, eerily bouncing their shoulders in unison to the beat. I have no idea what to make of the bizarre scene, to be honest. It does remind me a BIT of the creepy footage found on that killer VHS tape from The Ring, though, so if I mysteriously disappear in a week... promise me you'll tell my story.

I realize we don't really have a sense of "Levels'" melody yet, but compare what we hear in the two videos above to the opening of "Jealous":

Pretty similar, right? "Levels" could easily go in a completely different direction from here — but I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up sounding reminiscent of Jonas' first big single. I don't know about you, but I'm counting down the days to the premiere.