Who I Am - Nick Jonas And The Administration
Metascore
54 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 10
  2. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Very accomplished, vaguely surprising--and a wee bit dull.
  2. Who I Am all feels a bit tentative. Recorded, supposedly, in just two weeks, think of it as "Camp Soul."
  3. In this side project, he's not trying to be too different from the Bros, just going for a more retro-soul vibe with a band of old Prince alumni.
  4. Nick has a great pop voice--high and clear and strong. It isn't a great rock voice though, and his desire to smash it into shape by spirited bellowing alone can curdle things, just as they should really start cooking.
  5. Who I Am is so polished and adult-sounding -trading teen pop moxie for organ and slide guitar-that one is left wondering whether the same songs about love, heartbreak and political curiosity wouldn't be a more satisfying evolutionary step in the hands of a scrappier troupe.
  6. While it's easy to admire his well-cultivated classicism, Who I Am is an awkward growth spurt, relying on songs designed as grooves but given performances too hemmed-in to be soulful and often undone by Nick's thin teenage yelps.
  7. What's surprising is that when he's cut loose from the chaff of his brothers, the result is an album that's all chaff.
  8. Should his solo career continue, this record could stand as an in between point between his teen past and his adult future, but as it stands now, it's just a muddled, occasionally interesting but often baffling pop-rock album.
  9. It's still a too-polished, kid-friendly approximation of a rock record, splitting the difference between the ill-fitting maturity of 2009's "Lines, Vines and Trying Times" and the lukewarm soul affectation of John Mayer's "Battle Studies."
  10. N Jo's fan base doesn't care about calculation. They're just the right age to buy into the workmanlike quasi-genuine rock of Who I Am. And there's still enough of that original Jonas flavour to keep them interested.
User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 2 out of 5
  1. 0
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. This is just garbage.... just that.... don't waste your time.... seriously............................... disgusting Full Review »
  2. TimOff
    1
    Boring, cliched drivel that barely passes as music. Don't waste your time.
  3. Art
    10
    This is really good. Hopfully with time, he will grow as a musical artist. People need to give him more credit. He is REALLY talented. As for the haters, they don't know what they are missing. They really don't, and they may regret it someday. Nick, keep doing what you are doing. Best of luck!! Full Review »