Feb 23, 2026 11:53pm IST
‘Sunday Best’ by Nick Jonas has vulnerability, but confused intent: Album Review
The storytelling in Nick Jonas’s “Sunday Best” is something that plays out like it’s a family album of his he’s letting you have a peek at: his growing-up years, falling in love, fatherhood et al. It’s part nostalgia-soaked sentimental pop at its best and part sway-ready R&B at its most functional if we’re talking about how this album eventually shapes up.
"Sweet To Me" harks back to simpler times, feels deeply personal, painting pictures in your head. Lyrically though, the syrupiness weighs a little on the thick side. One cannot help but smile a little when the choral refrain begins "life is something like a sugar rush/Not a little baby, not too much".
"Handprints" plays out like "a day in the life of" Jonas's immediate family. There's a sepia-tuned charm to the song, that yearns to relive a moment. Just gotta love how the poignancy behind the words "Nothing ever stays the same" just leans into "If I could slow down time, I'd slow down mine with you." and actually does. Repeat-worthy.
"I Need You" takes you to church, feeling hymnal in its ambition, even though it is a romantic ballad custom-made for lazy weekend afternoons. Word-wise, though, quite middling.
"You Got Me" enumerates the things that go well when coupled. Feels like something that would play at someone's wedding as the first song the bride and groom would dance to.
"Something ain’t the same,” sings Nick on this note-to-self, wondering out loud if the fact that his hair stopped growing is a metaphor. Or is it just him? Something has, clearly. You wonder why lead single "Gut Punch" needed an “Impossible”-inspired chorus (nowhere near the enduring quality of the James Arthur cover, though). The no-brainer popular choice of this lot.
The gospel-inspired ‘Hope’ is an intercession and a prayer that’s also a bit of introspection. You wonder where Jonas's own “silver lining cutting through this smoke” is. Goes on longer than it should.
The uptempo R&B tinged “Seeing Ghosts” is a love song that bodies the out-of-body experience that being in love is. That sax section should have been a little longer in my opinion.
“Aphrodite” feels dated, like a leftover from the 1980s, the lament of an unseen secret admirer, that doesn’t quite sit at ease with the rest of the tracks on this album. “You do what you do”, one guesses.
‘911’ is a call for help from someone who has lost in love and is coping. Another one this album could’ve done without thematically.
“The Greatest” continues on the nostalgia trip of “missing that feeling/of every moment having meaning,” which while quite average, hits hard because Nick’s brothers features on this one.
“Princesses” is an ode to Malti Marie, Nick’s daughter with wife Priyanka Chopra. This song will resonate with anyone who’s a father to a little girl. JP Saxe shares writing credits on this one and that makes a world of difference.
Back when he played Marius in “Les Misérables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary” in London in 2010, he shared the [then] unreleased song for the first time during a livestream. That bit at the start of “London Foolishly” comes from that livestream, after a night of not being able to sleep. While the love letter to the city has its moments, the standout line is undoubtedly, “a change was just, a friend that never called.”
The thing with “While You’re Gone” (about a pining lover waiting in the wings for the absentee other) is, it’s meant to be played on stage. Should’ve been part of another album.
The closer is the live recording of “Gut Punch” that feels mostly unnecessary. It comes alive only in the choral parts but the recording is slightly reminiscent of Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton’s far superior “Say Something”.
The Deluxe edition of “Sunday Best” features three additional tracks that don’t appear in the original release: “London Foolishly,” “While You’re Gone” and “Gut Punch (Live)”.
While the ambition’s there with this one, the intent behind putting out this album seems confused. Vulnerability works with the listener only if there's a coherent thread running through. Just saying, when you’re baring your soul and putting your heart out on display, brevity wouldn’t hurt.
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