Background and career
Jesse McCartney (born April 9, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama All My Children as JR Chandler. He later joined the boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo musical career. Additionally, McCartney has appeared on shows such as Law & Order: SVU, Summerland, and Greek. McCartney has voiced characters such as Theodore in the live-action Alvin and the Chipmunks film series, JoJo McDodd in Horton Hears a Who!, Terence in the Tinker Bell series, Dick Grayson in Young Justice, and Roxas and Ventus in the Kingdom Hearts video game series. McCartney's solo music career began in 2004 with his debut album Beautiful Soul. "Leavin'", a single from his third album Departure, reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is his best-selling song. His most recent album, New Stage, was released in 2021. McCartney is also known for co-writing "Bleeding Love", which became a worldwide hit for Leona Lewis in 2007.
McCartney was born on April 9, 1987 in Ardsley, Westchester, New York, the son of Virginia "Ginger" (née Sarber) and Scott McCartney. He has a younger sister named Lea (b. 1991) and a younger brother named Timothy (b. 1996). He began performing in local community musicals at the age of seven, when he debuted his role in Oliver!, before joining the national tour of The King and I at age ten as Louis, along with Phil of the Future star Ricky Ullman. In 1998, he sang with the group Sugar Beats and can be heard on their 1998, 1999, and 2000 CD releases.
In 1999, McCartney joined the American pop boy band Dream Street, and was a member until 2002. He described the experience as a good "stepping stone" for his solo career. The group earned a gold record with their debut CD. At fifteen, he began work on a solo career with a local band, featuring musicians Dillon Kondor (guitar), Peter Chema (bass), Katie Spencer (keyboards), Alex Russeku (drums), Karina LaGravinese (background vocals), Sharisse Francisco (background vocals), and under the management of Ginger McCartney and Sherry Goffin Kondor, who co-produced his first album Beautiful Soul. McCartney released his first solo EP in July 2003. The album featured three songs: "Beautiful Soul", "Don't You", "Why Don't You Kiss Her". In 2004, he performed a duet with Anne Hathaway, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", which is featured on the Ella Enchanted soundtrack.
McCartney's debut solo album, Beautiful Soul, which was two years in the making, was released on September 28, 2004 in the United States and over a year later in Europe. He categorized it as a "pop record" with twists of urban. The album featured four songs that he co-wrote. Beautiful Soul reached number 15 on the Billboard 200. The album has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting over one million units of shipment to US retailers; it is his highest-certified album as of early 2009. By mid-2006, the album sold more than 1.5 million copies. The album's lead single of the same name reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. McCartney was one of the artists to win multiple awards at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, including Choice Crossover Artist, Choice Male Artist and Choice Breakout, Male. The following year, he won Favorite Male Singer at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. His first headlining tour, also named Beautiful Soul, began on May 2, 2005, at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento, California. The United States portion of the tour spanned 56 stops, ending on September 10, 2005, at the Madera District County Fair in Madera, California. In the fall of 2005, McCartney toured Australia, and opened for the Backstreet Boys in Europe in the summer of 2005. His July 9 performance at California's Great America in Santa Clara, California, was recorded, released as Live: The Beautiful Soul Tour in November 2005. After the filming of Keith wrapped, McCartney began working on his second album, Right Where You Want Me, co-writing all but one of the songs featured in it. Right Where You Want Me is more mature than his debut, reflecting his musical and personal growth since he recorded his debut album at age 15. Released by Hollywood Records on September 19, 2006, the album reached number 14 on the Billboard 200.
In the fall of 2007, McCartney co-wrote the hit song "Bleeding Love" with Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, produced by McCartney and Tedder for McCartney's third album, but gave it away to British singer Leona Lewis for her debut album Spirit. The song was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards. McCartney recorded his own version, which was released on some editions of his Departure album.
McCartney released his third album, Departure, on May 20, 2008 in the United States and Canada. Musically, it is a departure from his early works, showcasing more mature themes. The album has reached number 14 on the Billboard 200. The album's lead single, "Leavin'", was released in March 2008, and reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving McCartney his highest-charting single to date. The single was certified platinum by the RIAA, selling over two million downloads on iTunes, becoming McCartney's highest-certified single as of early 2009. The second single, "It's Over", was released on August 26, 2008, and reached #62 on the Hot 100. McCartney promoted Departure on a co-headlining tour with Jordin Sparks, which began in August 2008 and ended in September. He also did solo shows at theaters and small venues to support the album while on tour with Sparks. Sparks also approached him to write some material for her. McCartney re-released Departure on April 7, 2009. The re-release, Departure: Recharged, featured four new songs: "Body Language", "Oxygen", "Crash & Burn", and "In My Veins". The re-release also features a remix of "How Do You Sleep?" with rapper-actor Ludacris. The third single from the album was released from the re-release and was the remix of "How Do You Sleep?". It was much more successful than the second single, reaching #26 on the Hot 100. The fourth and final single from the album was also released from the re-release and was a new version of "Body Language" featuring T-Pain. The single reached #35 on the Hot 100.
