In an interview with Elvis Costello, Nick said that "S.O.S" was one of the songs that came to him in the middle of the night. He wrote the song in only ten minutes.
Chart performance
In August 2007, "S.O.S" debuted at number 65 on the BillboardHot 100. In the week following its debut, the song rose to number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's first single to reach the top 20. The single sold very well digitally, having peaked at number four on Billboards Hot Digital Songs chart for two consecutive weeks in September 2007. It has sold 1.5 million copies in the US. In Australia, "S.O.S" debuted inside the top 50 at number 48 on the ARIA Charts on April 13, 2008. It has thus far peaked at number 47. On January 3, 2008, the single gained a dramatic rise from number 85 to number 40 increasing album sales in the past few weeks. The video was also premiered on Disney Channel Asia on February 13, 2008. "S.O.S" premiered on the German charts for the week of June 17, 2008. It was the number 38 song in Germany. In the UK, "S.O.S" was a moderate success, entering the UK Singles Chart at number 16 and rose the next week to number 13. However, despite large amounts of video airplay, it fell 11 places to number 24 the following week. In the fourth week on the UK Singles Chart, the single dropped another eight places to number 32. The song sold 2,000,000 copies worldwide becoming one of the best-selling songs of 2007. The song was later used as the B-side to "When You Look Me in the Eyes".
Music video
The music video was filmed in June 2007 on board the RMS Queen Mary, a retired ocean liner moored in Long Beach, California. It premiered on Spike in mid July. It also features a cameo by Moises Arias. The song is about having troubled relationships with girlfriends. In the video, Nick is seen waiting for his significant other at a restaurant table, who then arrives with two friends. He then walks off, annoyed that she was not alone. Kevin appears, walking, when he gets a text which states, "I like u...but I don't like u ):." He then throws the phone in a wastebasket. Joe approaches a girl who appears to be waving at him, but Moises Arias appears behind him and walks off with the girl instead. These scenes are intercut with footage of the Jonas Brothers performing on the ship's deck in front of an electric sign that says 'S.O.S.' The video also debuted on the Disney Channel in early August.
