Photo by Kadija Bangura
After “He Wants it All” won Stellar Awards, was nominated for a GRAMMY® and Dove Award, the family band, Forever Jones, made up of parents Dewitt and Kim Jones and their five children, certainly wasn’t finished. I met Kim Jones, Dewitt Jones IV, D’Jeniele’ (Jones) Hooten, and Dominique “Doe” Jones just two days before their new reality show, Forever Jones, was to premiere on Bounce TV.
—–
They walked in, instruments in hand, no fuss. Just a family it seemed, walking into a hotel lobby – not at all the scene that you would expect from soon to be reality TV stars. There were easy smiles from the four of seven family members in DC for the press tour, my day had really just started, but theirs had begun around 4:30 that morning.
I stuck out my hand to give my usual handshake, and met with a hug from Kim, the matriarch, and hugs from each of the kids present – kind, friendly, and familiar. When I watch television, I still think of myself as inviting those characters into my home. I could already tell in just the first moments of meeting them, that I wouldn’t mind turning to BounceTV on the 5th, and inviting them in to hang out for a while.
“Do you mind if we eat?” I heard a voice ask after hugs and greetings. I said it was fine with me, and we headed over to the restaurant to start our chat.
Kim Jones, her oldest son Dewitt IV, daughters D’Jeniele’ and Dominique sit down with their menus and try to figure out what to order – to go – they have a plane to catch.
With my mom at my house for the last several months, we had had differences of opinions when it came to the kids – not often, but often enough that I had to ask, how Kim dealt with the urge to give D’Jeniele’ advice about her kids.
She pointed out that her daughter and her husband, Nate, who is also a member of the cast, have their own home. When she is with them at home, she waits until she is asked for help. She says on the road, however, she will, “go ahead and give it… gingerly.”
“I want her to do her best,” she explained. I was pregnant on the road, and there are tips that I can give to make it easier.”
She admits that times have changed since she was on the road with her kids, four out of five of them are adults. “We fly a lot more.”
Photo by Eva Greene Wilson
Then I turned to D’Jeniele’ and had to ask her, because there are always two sides to a story, how she felt about receiving advice from her mom. “Sometimes, I’m like, ‘okay mom, I got it’ and sometimes, I ask, ‘what did you do?’ She’s always so incredible… She’s the master at it.”
I completely understood the awe in her voice. I have that mom too. The mom that D’Jeniele’ describes as being, “a living, walking encyclopedia of knowledge.”
“I have adult kids, which is so much easier.” She looked down the table at her kids with a genuine look of love and pride. “I just love being with my family,” Kim explained – she really didn’t have to say that. I could see it.
So how did they end up on BounceTV ? Their former manager and close family friend, Jeoffrey Benward, wanted to see them do a television show, and a few networks were interested. Eventually, they were approached by BounceTV to do a holiday special, and that went very well. They developed a relationship at the network, and when Wal-Mart decided to sponsor their reality show on the network, that was the “defining factor” in getting Forever Jones on television.
How did they come up with the name “Forever Jones”? All four family members laughed and sighed as they shared what they had to go through to arrive at “Forever Jones”. Everyone spoke up, including Dewitt IV who had been quietly listening to the conversation, and explained that since Jones was a common name, they wanted to find something to put in front of it and behind it to make it stand out. Eventually, after many trips back to the drawing board, someone says, “This is taking FOREVER!” The rest is Grammy, and now television history.
For more on being in business with your kids, the Grammys and marriage that lasts from my chat with Forever Jones, check out part two of the interview.
You can catch this dynamic family on Wednesday nights at 9:00 pm on BounceTV.
—
Forever Jones on Bounce TV | Forever Jones on Twitter | Forever Jones on Facebook
