Joe Jonas has opened up about the pressure surrounding his debut solo album, Fastlife, and how the project’s performance affected his mental health.
The singer reflected on the 2011 album during Tuesday’s (Aug. 4) episode of the Hey Jonas! podcast, which he co-hosts with his brothers and Jonas Brothers bandmates Kevin and Nick.
Fastlife, which marked Joe’s final solo release for nearly 15 years, sold 18,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 before falling to No. 122 in its second week. His follow-up solo album, Music for People Who Believe in Love, arrived last May.
“The reason I started doing therapy is because of the first taste of like not achieving success,” Joe said around the 24-minute mark of the podcast. “I released a solo album when I was about 21, 22, and it didn’t do as well as I thought it would do, because everything the Jonas Brothers touched back then it would be like gold.”
Jonas explained that he had placed a lot of pressure on himself to achieve success, believing it was tied to his sense of worth. When the album failed to meet those expectations, he said the disappointment began affecting him both mentally and physically.
“I started having panic attacks and experiencing physical pain, and I found myself going to the doctor frequently for full-body checkups and blood tests,” he shared.
Joe explained that his endocrinologist reassured him that he was “physically fine” but suggested that he consider therapy, a recommendation the singer eventually decided to follow.
“I finally talked to someone. After crying through the first question for an hour, I realized how helpful it was,” he said. “I can definitely improve when it comes to being consistent, but it was incredibly beneficial during that period of my life and has continued to help me through other major moments I’ve experienced.”
