Nick Jonas solo album 'Spaceman' is a love letter to real-world connections

Nick Jonas doesn't want his space, man. 

With his third major-label album "Spaceman," out now, the pop singer/actor beams up a collection of R&B-lite love songs, which are largely inspired by his wife of two years, "The White Tiger" star Priyanka Chopra.

Much like his steamy 2016 hit "Close" with Tove Lo, many of the record's breezy 11 songs find Jonas longing to be nearer to his other half. He admits "I should be there" on falsetto-laden opener "Don't Give Up on Us," and mulls whether to send that late-night text on the cheeky "2Drunk" ("I miss that sex quite a lot / It's 5 o'clock somewhere, maybe you're somewhere thinkin' 'bout me"). 

The theme of space is most prevalent on the album's throbbing title track, with lyrics about the yearlong pandemic that are both painfully on the nose and deeply relatable ("Mask off minute I get home / All safe now that I'm alone, almost like a spaceman"). The Jonas Brother also gets the closest to social commentary we've heard in his music, seemingly calling out politicians for the unconscionable deaths and long-term damage of COVID-19 on our country ("They say it's a phase, it'll change if we vote / And I pray that it will, but I know that it won't"). 

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Highlights of the album, which was recorded during quarantine, include "Delicious" – a freaky, funky bop about carnal pleasures – and the similarly bedroom-ready "Deeper Love." And while the swoony, cliché-ridden "Nervous" is the most obvious declaration to Chopra, we're actually more taken with the grimly romantic "Death Do Us Part," about navigating whatever comes next together ("You can put me in a coffin / I'm always going to find your love"). 

Chopra, 38, got engaged to Jonas in summer 2018 after just two months of dating. She spoke recently about how the couple got closer during lockdown. 

“We didn't really have the time to get to know each other very much because of our individual careers," Chopra told USA TODAY. "Our teams – and us – are always trying to just play catch-up with our schedules. But having this time and this year to be with each other and understand each other's likes/dislikes/habits, has been a real gift. I love the fact that at the end of quarantine, we still liked each other. So that's great,” she said with a chuckle.

Contributing: Andrea Mandell