-
 Jesse McCartney was born
on April 9, 1987 in New York City, New York to Ginger and Scot
McCartney. He has one brother, Timothy ("Timmy") Glover Mark
McCartney (b. 1996) and one Sister, Lea Joyce McCartney (b. 1991). [Note: He likes to keep his middle name private - there
are many good sources that say it is Arthur and other good sources
say it is Adam]
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He has enjoyed acting
since a very early age and in 1994, at age seven he was in a
national tour of The King and I and also had some other
acting roles on and off Broadway (Oliver, A Christmas
Carol, Annie Get Your Gun).
-
His other passion is
music and his first group, the Sugar Beats, was nominated for a
Grammy award for their self titled album Sugar Beats.
-
In 1998, he received his
big break in television as Adam Chandler, Jr. on the daytime soap All My Children. He appeared on the show until 2001. During his
tenure on the show he won the
2001
Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Daytime TV Series -
Young Actor and the 2001
Young
Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Supporting
Young Actor. He was also nominated for the
2000
Young
Artist Award for Best Performance in a Soap Opera - Young Actor,
2001
Soap
Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Child Actor, and the
2001 and 2002
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series.]
-
In 1999, he joined the
group Dream Street. Their album went gold and they even toured with
Britney Spears in 2001. The
band split in 2002 due to legal issues with the producers.
-
He never turned his back
on acting and appeared in a movie in 2001 (The Pirates of Central Park)
and a made for TV
movie in 2002 (The
Strange Legacy of Cameron Cruz).
-
In 2003, he hooked up
with Sugar Beats producer Sherry Kondor and formed a new production
company, Jump Ahead Productions. They then went to work on Jesse's
solo EP JMac which contained three songs, "Beautiful Soul," "Dont
You" and "Why Don't You Kiss Her." The EP was released in July 2003
followed by a short tour of him and his band [band members were:
Dillon
Konder (lead guitar), Pete Chema (bass guitar), Katie Spencer
(keyboards), Sharisse Francisco (background vocals) and Karina
LaGravinesse (background vocals). The album and tour were a huge
sucess.
-
In 2004, he released his
album Beautiful Soul and it went platinum by February of the
following year.
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Also in 2004, he turned back
to acting and received the role of Brandin Westerly on the popular
television series Summerland. He has returned for the 2005
season as well.
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Besides the acting and
singing, he is also a student. He graduated from Ardsley High
School in June 2005 which is close to his residence in Ardsley, New
York.
-
He broke up with
girlfriend Katie Cassidy in February of 2005 [Note: Katie is the
daughter of actor/singer David Cassidy].
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In 2005 he was on the
Beautiful Soul tour which is making its way across the country.
-
In September 2006, he
released his sophomore album release, Right Where You Want Me
which went platinum.
-
His third album,
Departure is expected to be released on May 20.
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Hobbies and Interests:
His hobbies include: playing baseball (and all sports - he was a
pitcher on his HS team), skiing, surfing and playing video games
(Xbox). His favorite music artists include Craig David,
Linkin Park,
James Taylor and the Beatles - but he will listen to anything that
sounds good. His favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate.
His favorite food is sushi and his favorite movie is The Italian
Job.
Biography by Ian Ripley,
PopStarsPlus.com, Sr. Staff Writer
This biography may be copied in part
or in whole for non commercial purposes online or in hard copy and must
contain: (1) the name of the author, (2) the text "copied with
permission from PopStarsPlus.com" and (3) a link to the page that
contains the original biography.
|
Official Biography/Departure Press Release
“The
record is called Departure for a number of reasons,” says Jesse
McCartney, whose multi-platinum 2004 debut album Beautiful Soul launched
his career as an international singing star. “There have been departures
in my career, in my personal life. I’ve learned a lot since doing my
first couple of records. I think I’ve landed in the most comfortable
place I’ve ever been musically as the style of music, my vocals and the
lyrical content of the songs on this album. I co-wrote several songs on
the new album, and learned a lot from the producers I worked with. In
the process of writing for my own project, I wound up writing “Bleeding
Love” with Ryan Tedder for Leona Lewis. Departure has a little more of
mature sound than what my fans previously heard from me but this is the
road that I’m on right now and it’s the road that I believe they’ll join
with me!”
With star writers and hit making producers such as Sean Garrett (Usher,
Mary J. Blige,
Beyonce,
Gwen Stefani, Pussycat Dolls,
Chris Brown), Tricky & The-Dream (Rihanna,
Mariah Carey), J.R. Rotem (Britney
Spears, Sean Kingston, 50 Cent,
Rihanna)
and The Clutch (Omarion,
Timbaland,
Ciara, Bobby Valentino),
Departure has an edgier pop/urban sound than Beautiful Soul and Jesse’s
sophomore album, 2006’s Right Where You Want Me reflecting Jesse’s
growth as a songwriter and young man. “When it was time to do my third
album, I wanted people to see another side of me. I wanted the record to
have a little retro hint sonically but with a my own contemporary feel -
I listened to the music of Michael
Jackson, Madonna and
Prince a lot before we started the album.
I knew I had to present myself in a fresh way so I was open to other
people’s ideas and suggestions, especially since I was working with such
great writers and producers.”
As the co-writer of many of the album’s songs, Jesse chose to share the
experiences he’s had since Beautiful Soul made him a household name
throughout the U.S. and in a dozen or more countries, from Italy to
Japan. “I recorded my first solo album when I was 16. A lot has happened
since then and this new album reflects my experiences growing up over
the past couple of years and various stages of family and personal
relationships. I bought my first home. I’ve been fortunate enough to
tour all over the world which meant being away from my family and
friends for very lengthy times. I’ve experienced all the ups and downs
of relationships people my age go through. That’s why I think fans
who’ve grown up with me will relate to the songs on Departure, many of
which do have an autobiographical feel.”
A prime example, the standout cut “It’s Over” which Jesse says
“represents the reality when you know a relationship is not going to
continue.” The edgy jam “How Do You Sleep?” was inspired by a
conversation Jesse had with writer/producer Sean Garrett during sessions
with the hitmaker in Atlanta about “moving on from your first true
love.”
On a completely different tip, “Into Ya” – another collaboration with
Garrett – is “a sexy, intimate, sensual, romantic kind of song.” In
contrast, the hard and funky track “Freaky” (produced by Madd Scientist)
shows Jesse in a whole other light, a dance-flavored uptempo cut that
Jesse laughs is “about whatever you think it’s about!” “Rock You” which
features a performance by Sean Garrett, a cut that Jesse says was “a
stretch for me. I heard the track and I was like, ‘that’s fire!’ I can’t
wait to perform it live. I hope when my fans see how much I embrace this
different side of me musically, their ears will adjust!”
The album’s first single, the instantly memorable pop/R&B-flavored “Leavin’”
(produced by Tricky and The-Dream, the team behind Rihanna’s 2008 Grammy
award winning hit “Umbrella”) is one of the few songs on Departure that
is not autobiographical, Jesse says, while “My Baby” (produced by J.R.
Rotem) comes directly from one of Jesse’s relationships: “I wrote that
about the ‘puppy love’ stage I went through when I first got together
with an ex-girlfriend. Wherever we went, whatever we did, all eyes were
on her – she was that girl! It was cool, I didn’t worry about it because
I knew at the end of the evening, she was mine. She knew how much I
cared about her….we were just super tight.”
Produced by New York-producer Eric Hudson (who Jesse describes as “a
young Quincy Jones”), “Told You So” is a mid-tempo cut that Jesse says
is “more about situations that my friends have told me they’ve been in
after a relationship is over. You know, when I’m sitting around with the
guys, we talk about things we’ve been through. Same thing with “Runnin,’”
which is something guys go through sometimes when a girl gets really
intense and tries to push a relationship to the next level. Guys get
scared, you know! Our guard comes up…we’re scared of maybe getting our
hearts broken.”
With his third Hollywood Records album, upstate New York-born Jesse
McCartney is building on a foundation that began when he first started
performing at local community musicals at the age of seven, making his
Broadway debut in “The King and I” when he was ten and later appearing
with The Who's Roger Daltrey in “A Christmas Carol.” In 1997, Jesse
joined kid group Sugar Beats as a vocalist, earning a Grammy nomination
for “Best Children's Album” for their 1998 release How Sweet It Is. He
then joined the band Dream Street where, at the age of twelve, he was
presented with his first platinum album.
At sixteen, Jesse launched his solo career, creating songs for his first
record while performing on dozens of soundtracks. Released in 2004,
Jesse’s debut album Beautiful Soul sold over 1.5 million copies, while
the first single of the same name burned up the U.S. charts while
topping the charts in Australia, Italy, the Phillippines and Taiwan,
making "Jesse Mac" a household name in the teen world. Of his global
appeal, Jesse notes, “It’s been surreal, going to countries where people
know me, know my parents’ names, even know my pet’s name! I’ve loved all
the places I’ve been but one of my favorites is Italy because it’s a
very romantic country. And Japan is so futuristic. Traveling worldwide
has definitely been a life changing learning experience. It’s
interesting to learn about other cultures and meet people from different
places.” Jesse performed to sold out crowds in Europe in 2005.
Jesse also racked up a number of awards and nominations including an
American Music Award nomination for “Best New Artist,” an MTV Award
nomination for “Best Pop Video” and three Teen Choice Awards, including
“Choice Male Artist,” “Breakout Artist” and “Crossover Artist.”
Being on the road for eight straight months gave Jesse the impetus for
his second album, Right Where You Want Me, released in 2006 which drew
from Jesse's life-long love of R&B artists like Stevie Wonder, Ray
Charles and Lauryn Hill while expressing a more rock-flavored side of
his musicality. It was, he says, “a step forward from Beautiful Soul, to
show some growth and maturity" and working with guitarist and musical
director Dory Lobel, he co-wrote all but one of the songs on the album.
Expanding his professional horizons, Jesse appeared on the hit
television show “Summerland” and in the filmed his first feature,
“Keith.” In 2007, he was heard as the voice of Theodore in the box
office smash, “Alvin & The Chipmunks,” an experience he says he
thoroughly enjoyed. While working in the studio for his new album
Departure, Jesse wound up writing songs for other artists: “Bleeding
Love,” a powerhouse ballad co-written with Ryan Tedder (of the group
OneRepublic) was picked by music industry veteran Clive Davis as a
single for singer Leona Lewis, winner of Britain’s “X Factor” (the U.K.
equivalent of “American Idol”), becoming one of 2007’s biggest hits in
Britain. “It was very intense for me as a songwriter to have Clive pick
one of my songs and then to have it be such a huge success. It has
certainly encouraged me to write more for other artists.”
While establishing himself as a successful songwriter is certainly in
Jesse’s future plans, his current focus is his latest album. “I spent
over a year on Departure and I’m thrilled with how it turned out,” says
Jesse, a self-confessed sports fan who enjoys football, baseball,
snow-skiing and water-skiing when he’s not working. With songs like the
infectious “Make Up” (“a song about natural beauty”), produced by Kwame;
the upbeat “Relapse,” the story of a man hooked by a ‘hard-to-get’ woman
(based, Jesse says with a smile, “on a personal experience when I was
young and naïve!”); and the beautiful ballad, “Not Your Enemy,” a big
production track that demonstrates Jesse’s vocal power and strength,
Departure reveals Jesse has arrived with new confidence and maturity.
Jesse reflects, “The last five years have been a whirlwind: I feel like
I’ve dealt with it well because I’ve had so much support, especially
from my family with whom I’m very close. I can never take credit for all
that’s happened in my career because I couldn’t have done it on my own -
my fans all over the world have been so loyal over the years. Departure
represents a new start for me, a new sound and this is a part of me the
fans haven’t been exposed to yet… This music really is my passion and
I’m ready to get out there and share it!” |
