Bad boy Nick Jonas

7 June 2016

Nick Jonas insists he can be a bad boy.

Nick Jonas

Although the 23-year-old former Disney star has a squeaky clean reputation, he insists he has a dark side but is just better at hiding it than some of his contemporaries.

He said: "I'm not perfect. Perhaps I'm just more low-key than some of my other contemporaries.

"I've tried to toe the line of being authentic to who I am and letting the art speak for itself. I'm less inclined, at times, to use the machine of the media to sell things. I think it's something you can choose to do, or play into, but I don't do it that much. If people want to use that, fuel the fire, that's what works for them."

Nick's new album 'Last Year Was Complicated' was inspired by his break-up with Olivia Culpo and he tried to be honest about his own faults in the relationship while writing the album.

He explained: "The thing that was important to me in the creative process was acknowledging my own faults. I'm not perfect by any means. I had to be willing to get vulnerable and open up; at times that can be uncomfortable but it creates the best work in my experience."

However, Nick admitted he has no idea what Olivia thinks of the record as they no longer speak.

He said: "I don't know. We don't speak. I've heard from a mutual friend that she's heard it and liked it, at least on some level. That's a thought you have while you're writing: the person will hear it, but you have to be willing to go there with it."

And the 'Jealous' singer also called on his peers to embrace their gay fan bases.

When asked about claims he has been "gay-baiting" his fans, Nick said: "I think it's a beautiful thing when you can embrace everybody. I wish more of my peers in a similar position - as a heterosexual male pop singer - would embrace that and be more willing to be more comfortable and open about it.

"I think there's ignorance everywhere, right? It's about acknowledging how much of it you really want to hear. You have control over that. I'm confident and comfortable with who I am, my intentions are pure... I see no difference in any of my fans, no matter who they are."