In February 2013,
Jonas Brothers announced they were returning to the music scene with a new single called "
Pom Poms". The song received favorable reviews from music critics, but had very moderate success on the charts. Later, the band release the song "
First Time" in June 2013, as the second single from their then-upcoming fifth studio album. A month later, they announced that the album would be called
V. The band also announced a tour, but it was shortly cancelled and later the band announced their split in October, also cancelling the album. Later, in early 2014, Nick Jonas announced he was going to release a solo record, stating: "I've got a lot of things in the pipeline right now and I'm waiting to release some news about my music and my next steps. It isn't quite locked in yet, but I have started making some music and now it's all about lining up the pieces." During an interview for
Time, he commented about the album's musical direction, saying: "I came in really wanting to make a record that was different from anything I'd done in the past, but that was true to my influences:
Stevie Wonder,
Prince,
Bee Gees. And then, more recently,
The Weeknd and
Frank Ocean. That whole vibe of
alternative R&B and
pop. It just fell into a really natural place really early." On July 24, 2014,
Complex premiered "Chains", which was announced as the lead-single from his upcoming solo album. The song was eventually released to
digital download on July 30, 2014. ==Composition==