From centredaily.com/

By Robin Riglin- For the CDT

Teenage pop stars certainly are nothing new. Like Fabian, Leif Garrett, New Kids on the Bloc and N‘Sync, every generation has its screamworthy teen idols to excite a mostly young and female audience.

On Sept. 2,  the Jonas Brothers, will make the Bryce Jordan Center a stop on their “Burning Up” tour.

At first glance, the Jonas Brothers seem to have no more depth than countless other flavor-of-the-month teenybopper acts; the beneficiaries of relentless promotion by the Disney marketing juggernaut on the Disney Channel TV and satellite radio networks, these three cute young lads with lots of Breck Girl wavy hair sing G-rated songs about young love, self-esteem and rockin’ out. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. During a summer when less than subtle hits such as “I Kissed a Girl” and “Lollipop” rule the airwaves, it can be a comfort for parents to know their kids are listening to safe, uncomplicated music.

A closer look, however, shows there may be more to the Jonas Brothers than first meets the eye. For one thing, unlike artificially manufactured groups such as Menudo or Backstreet Boys, which are assembled by producers searching for specific “types,” they are in fact, brothers and existed as a performing group prior to hitting the Disney lottery. In addition, they write their own songs and play their own instruments. In fact, their songs’ catchy pop hooks bring to mind a prior boy band made up of cute, mop-topped-haired lads who made teenage girls scream.

While it may be both premature and monumentally unfair to compare the Jonas Brothers to the Beatles at this stage in their career, the fact remains that it is not unprecedented for teen acts to evolve into critically acclaimed adult musicians. After all, the current king of the pop charts, Justin Timberlake, was once a Disney Mouseketeer as well as an N’Syncer.

The Jonas Brothers’ most recent CD shows signs that this band is ready to tackle more serious subjects, most notably with the song “A Little Bit Longer.” Written by Nick Jonas, who at 15 is the youngest member of the band but already a veteran of the Broadway stage as well as the group’s acknowledged leader, the song addresses Nick’s diabetes, which he was diagnosed with at age 13. A disease in which the body does not properly process insulin, which is needed to convert sugars into energy, diabetes is a serious condition. But with proper monitoring and management, people with diabetes can live normal lives today. Rather than hiding Nick’s condition, as might have been done in the past, the Jonas Brothers have chosen to publicize it in order to raise awareness about living with diabetes.

In fact, the Jonas Brothers have started their own charity, which supplies funds to the American Diabetes Association, among other causes. In addition, they directly connect with other kids with diabetes by offering free tickets and backstage meet-and-greets with the band to diabetic fans at each tour stop.

At the Bryce Jordan Center concert, that will include Cara Soltys, a sixth-grader at Philipsburg Elementary School, who was diagnosed with diabetes at age 5.

Last year, Cara’s parents, Brian and Stacy, in conjunction with the local chapter of the American Diabetes Association, helped spearhead a fundraiser walk at Cara’s school to benefit diabetes awareness and research. It was through their ADA connections that the Soltyses discovered Cara was to be a lucky beneficiary of Jonas Brothers tickets and backstage passes.

Although Cara, now 11, is playing the situation cool, the opportunity has naturally made her the envy of her friends.

“Every friend I have that’s a girl is a crazy Jonas Brothers fan,” she said.

While many parents like the Jonas Brothers solely for their clean-cut lyrics and vows to remain pure until marriage, Cara’s parents are grateful for the awareness the stars are bringing with regard to diabetes.

“Mary Tyler Moore and Halle Berry have been up front about having diabetes, but a lot of celebrities try to hide it,” Brian Soltys said. “Nick Jonas and the Jonas Brothers are doing a good job of publicizing the fact that diabetes isn’t something to be ashamed of and kids with diabetes aren’t really different from other kids.”

Cara added, “Just because I have diabetes doesn’t mean I can’t do anything anyone else can.”

And even if the Jonas Brothers never do turn into the second coming of the Fab Four, and their posters are peeled off bedroom walls next year as fickle fans start to grow up and move on to the next big thing, their moment of glory will have been worthwhile if only for being able to get self-affirming messages like Cara’s out to kids everywhere.