Nick Jonas: Child star transition is challenging

Nick Jonas thinks it's "cheesy" when stars try too hard to show the public something.

The 22-year-old grew up with siblings Joe and Kevin in band Jonas Brothers and also appeared on the Disney Channel.

Disney has helped launch the careers of many young stars, including Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande, who have now embraced a sexier image. Nick doesn't necessarily think coming of age in the spotlight is tougher for girls though.

"It comes with its own set of challenges," he reasoned to British magazine Very. "They're different but equally challenging. It's just a matter of how you handle it.

"I tried to make my transition really natural, not forced. Any time it feels like you're trying to show people something, it feels cheesy. So hopefully it's apparent that each step I've taken has been intentional to set up the next chapter."

Since the dissolution of the Jonas Brothers, Nick has signed to a modelling agency, appeared in TV show Kingdom, produced solo music and expressed an interest in designing.

He spoke a little about his self-titled album, which was released earlier this month.

"I think the biggest thing is going to be my transparency," he shared. "As for specifics of who [lyrics] are about, I like to leave it to the imagination and have it be a bit mysterious. But the subject matter spans from relationships to family and how that's change for me over the last year and a half, two years.

"We live in a world now where it's so easy to gain access to people and their lives. You kinda have to be transparent because people will know if it's bulls**t or not."