Spaceman (Nick Jonas album)

Jonas first dropped hints about his upcoming album on his social media in early February 2021.[2] On February 20, 2021, it was announced that he would appear on Saturday Night Live on February 27 to perform his new single.[3][4] The singer officially kicked off the era on February 25 by releasing the lead single, the title track.[5] The lyrics were widely considered to be about the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6] When asked about the title during an interview with Zane Lowe, he explained, "The key for me was trying to find a way to give this idea a persona, give it a name. So 'Spaceman' kind of came into my mind as I was thinking, 'What's the one thing that all of us have felt during this time? Completely disconnected from the world."[7] Regarding the recording process of the album, he revealed, "I made this album while doing what most of us have been doing this past year, sitting at home and hoping for better days ahead". Thematically, the album explores four themes: distance, indulgence, euphoria and commitment.[8] The second and final single, "This Is Heaven", was released on March 4. On March 14, Jonas announced that the deluxe version of the record would be released the following day. This version includes the songs "Dangerous", "Selfish" (featuring the Jonas Brothers) as well as "Chill Versions" of the songs "Don't Give Up on Us", "2Drunk", and "This Is Heaven."[9] On March 18, the deluxe video album was released.[10]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	61/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
auspOp	[12]
Clash	7/10[13]
i	[14]
The Independent	[15]
Pitchfork	5.8/10[16]
PopMatters	6/10[17]

Spaceman garnered positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 61, based on 6 reviews.[11]

Robin Murray of Clash wrote that despite the sonic influences being too obvious throughout the record, he praised its honest lyricism and effective jams, singling out "Don't Give Up On Us" for being one of Jonas' "best solo performances to date", concluding that: "One of his most rounded and adult statements to date, 'Spaceman' is certainly worth exploring - as lockdown hobbies go, it's up there with banana bread as one of the most tasteful."[13] PopMatters contributor Jeffrey Davies commended Kurstin's production for being "captivating and refined" and Jonas being able to sell the album's theme of isolation, but felt the lyrical content comes across as "immature and tone-deaf" when compared to the title track, saying that "he has the ability to be audibly subversive and memorable, delivering sounds that could easily transport the pop music fan to an imaginary dancefloor. It’s just the words that still need some work, perhaps by beginning to hold male pop stars to a bit of a higher standard."[17] Oliva Horn of Pitchfork wrote that: "[T]he album's interstellar concept is interesting enough to get it off the ground, but too quickly Jonas retreats to his domestic comforts, without really probing the relationship that so inspires him, or charting any new territory in the pop universe. It's hard to imagine anyone who wasn't already a Nick Jonas fan playing this album on repeat. His brand may sell, but this music is less desirable."[16]

Track numbers refer to the deluxe edition.