Joe Jonas Babysits, Gloria Estefan Rides A Tractor On 'The Next'

You do not have to wait until "The Voice" (September 10) or even the 2013 premiere of "American Idol" to get your reality music show fix. Starting Thursday (August 16), CW's "The Next" gives you Joe Jonas, Gloria Estefan, Nelly and John Rich, who move in with budding singers to mentor them.

MTV News recently caught up with Joe to find out what made him sign on to be a mentor.

"What sold me on this one? This one is a lot different than the other ones," Jonas said of what sets "The Next" apart from other talent shows. "I felt that having this group of artists to work together [with] is so fun. We don't really take ourselves too seriously. We obviously want to find great talent but at the same time, we want to have a great time with it."

The contestants on 'The Next' differ from those on other shows because they are established local acts in cities like Orlando, Baltimore, New York, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles, battling it out for a recording contract with Atlantic Records.

"We jump into these people's lives. Say they work at Subway or a local restaurant, we are working with them at that restaurant while getting them ready to sing," the Jonas Brother said. "You have Gloria Estefan on a tractor, I'm babysitting 15 crazy kids, John Rich is working at Under Armour, the most bizarre situations you can imagine, and we're thrown into these people's lives to get them ready for a live performance that's only 72 hours away. So it puts a lot of pressure on us to make them great, but it can be hard work."

When asked how the live-in situation affects the dynamics between mentee and mentor, Jonas explained that he enjoyed exploring his artists' varied motivations and that he looks for a specific type of drive in a musician.

"I like to sit back and watch these artists and get to know them on their own stage because you want to see what they're like, what drives them as a musician and connects [them] with a crowd," Joe said. "Is it because they want to be famous, or is it because they can't help but sing? That's what I look for, I look for those artists who maybe didn't have that chance they deserved, or got screwed over by a record label — things like that."

Who will you enjoy watching on "The Next" — Joe, Gloria, Nelly, John or all four? Let us know in the comments!