Joe Jonas is seeing things a little differently these days.
That's likely because the Jonas Brothers singer recently underwent a STAAR Surgical eye procedure to upgrade his nearsighted vision to something better than 20/20. Speaking exclusively with E! News, the 33-year-old described the entire process as "life-changing" and shared that the first person he was most excited to see without the use of his glasses was none other than his "beautiful wife" Sophie Turner.
"But going on stage and playing for a crowd—and not having to deal with wearing glasses or contacts—was really cool," he noted as a close second, while promoting his EVO vision correction partnership. "That was a whole new experience that I never thought I would experience myself."
As someone with a busy schedule, Joe was also glad that he didn't have to take much time off following the procedure. "The recovery is what was really exciting for me," he shared. "The fact that I'm able to, 24 hours after the surgery, walk back to the post-op exam free as a bird, looking at things and I'm not wearing my glasses? Is this real? I just couldn't believe that that's actually a thing!"
So, what are his big plans now that he can ditch his lenses? Read on for more of his vision quest.
E! News: Tell us a little bit about the EVO procedure.
Joe Jonas: EVO is a really amazing procedure that I did a month-ish ago. Essentially, I've had glasses and contacts since I was about 13 years old. Traveling becomes a hassle and—for those that are nearsighted like myself—I would have seven boxes of contacts in my bag, extras in my carry-on. That was my daily routine. Fast forward [with] this surgery, I can see better than I've ever seen.
E!: How was the recovery process?
JJ: There's a little bit of recovery. You're going to have to lay low on lifting things that are heavy for two weeks to a month, but not to the extremes of other surgeries that I've noticed. I did a lot of research. I spoke to my doctor. I was walking around that afternoon.
E!: Did your nearsightedness ever affect you as you're trying to perform?
JJ: I've had contacts fall out mid-song. I've forgotten contacts. All of that is out the window now!
E!: Speaking of music, tell us about your new original song for Devotion and your role in the movie.
JJ: It's a beautiful film that I got to be in with some incredible actors. The story's heartbreaking and inspiring, and so I was asked by our director to take a stab at writing the end title song. I wrote it with Harv and Ryan Tedder, who are legends in their own right, and I reached out to my good friend Khalid and got him on the song. It's about always being there for somebody through thick and thin.
The cast is crazy. Just to share the screen with them and to learn around some method acting was incredible. I haven't acted in a while and I wanted to really take a stab at it. The film is a beautiful film about a band of brothers who are in the Air Force and in the Navy. There's a bit of everything: There's a love story, camaraderie, heroes and some sadness. So bring the Kleenex and some popcorn!
E!: What is your favorite Jonas Brothers song?
JJ: I wrote a song called "Hesitate" that is always a little tough to sing live because it's from deep in the heart. And on the fun side, we've been playing a lot of the older stuff. Our Vegas shows, we made a conscious decision to make every show different and no song is in the same spot. And so we played "Still In Love With You," which was really fun and that brought me back. "Sucker" is just always gonna be one that you sing and you just feel like you don't need to sing it [because] the crowd is singing it to you.
E!: You turned 33 not that long ago. Three has got to be good number for you: 33, you've got three brothers, three members in DNCE.
JJ: Absolutely. I'm all about 33. I make jokes, but I genuinely love getting older. We level up. Every year, I learn something new about myself and people around me. It's been a great year thus far and I'm really grateful.
E!: What are your hopes for your 33rd year?
JJ: I hope I continue to do this. It's pretty broad, but I'm lucky enough that I get to do this. I'm grateful enough that I get to do this every single day—that I'm doing what I love for a living. I'd like to play some more shows, another big tour.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.