00:00I have this new sense, found sense of gratitude after 20 years of doing this that I can continue
00:06to do it and that they're still going to show up and as long as I keep turning out music,
00:11they'll be there and that's like anything, that's everything an artist could ask for.
00:15Hey, what's going on? It's Jesse McCartney and I am in studio with The Hollywood Reporter.
00:19Jesse, thank you so much for joining us in studio today. It's so great to have you here.
00:30Thanks for having me, Tiffany.
00:31You just announced that you're extending your All's Well tour.
00:34How excited are you to head back out on the road?
00:36I'm so excited. I think, you know, the reason that we extended it was just simply because
00:42the fans have been showing up in record numbers and it's just been incredible to see and,
00:47you know, I think with the 20-year anniversary of Beautiful Soul and then,
00:51of course, the new EP that just came out, just seems like they're really excited and
00:54I think halfway through the tour, we decided, like, we don't have enough dates.
00:57Let's do more in the fall.
00:58I was at the LA show on the tour, the closing night of The First Leg.
01:03Nice.
01:03And what struck me is that when you asked the crowd how many people, you know,
01:07it was their first Jesse McCartney show, you got an overwhelming response.
01:10For most people, it was their first show.
01:12How does it feel that at this stage in your career, you're still playing for new audiences?
01:17Yeah, I mean, it's pretty wild and now when I play, you know,
01:21after 20 years of doing this live on stage, I see a lot of younger people coming to the show.
01:25I think overall, this was the youngest audience overall that we've had over the last 10 years for
01:31sure and, you know, I think a lot of that is just, like, people, you know, people in their 30s now
01:37bringing their young kids, which is great, you know, seeing, like, little eight-year-old kids
01:42now sing Beautiful Soul. It's come full circle and that song has certainly reached a new generation
01:47of fans. Yeah, it's pretty cool. It's rare in pop music to have a song like that that
01:52stands the test of time and, yeah, I'm just so grateful that I get to do what I love and
01:57do it as often as I do.
01:59You performed quite a few songs off the All's Well EP on the tour.
02:03What can you tell me about the new All's Well EP and how you landed on this sound?
02:07I had been listening to a lot of, like, Hall & Oates and a lot of singer-songwriters from,
02:11like, the 70s on vinyl. Just got a brand new vinyl player in the house and was listening to,
02:17like, DeBarge and Stevie Wonder and I just fell in love with, you know, just the live musicianship and
02:23how amazing those guys were and you don't hear, I think, a lot of live playing in pop music
02:31anymore. Everything is digitally reported or done and it's great, but there was something about just
02:38getting back to the basics and going into the studio with really great musicians who played on
02:43numerous classic albums in the last 15-20 years. It's tough to, like, make things feel new in pop,
02:49especially for myself. I've been doing it so long that things can start to get a little stale,
02:54so it's just fun to change it up and write these songs and they definitely have this throwback
03:0070s feel. So, yeah, we did three or four songs, one of which was a remix with Young Gravy,
03:06which was kind of this goofy song called Make a Baby, and hopefully when I'm done with the
03:10second leg of this tour, I can get back in and try to sort of complete the album.
03:15You definitely tricked me with your Make a Baby song. I, for sure, thought I was like,
03:19oh, his wife's pregnant, she's going to have a baby soon, and then I was looking at your
03:22Instagram and I was like, oh wait, no, it was all just for the song.
03:25Just the marketing tool. No, I ran that by Katie, my wife, and was like, so look,
03:30we have this idea. I think it was Gravy's idea or his manager's idea to have two pregnant women
03:37on the cover, but we called our family the day before we posted this video of me standing next
03:43to this pregnant woman because we're like, just want you to know, we're not pregnant
03:46and we don't want you to find out this way, but we're doing this thing. And I still have people
03:52text me like, hey, what do you guys do? I'm like, it was a joke. It was to promote a song,
03:57but it worked.
03:59Like you were saying earlier, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Beautiful Soul.
04:04When you hear that and think about that, what goes through your mind?
04:06It's pretty wild. In many ways, it feels like the song just came out last month,
04:12but here we are, 20 years later, and it's incredible. I was telling you earlier, I think
04:18that it's rare to have a song in pop that stands the test of time and crosses over into a new
04:23generation. And I think Beautiful Soul is one of those songs that really marks the early 2000s,
04:30and it was such an important record for me, but also for a lot of young people. And I'm just so
04:35grateful to be able to still play that song and play my new music and have fans show up to the
04:40shows year after year. And yeah, I think without that song, we wouldn't be here today. So I'm very
04:47aware of that and grateful for it.
04:49During that Beautiful Soul era, you were everywhere in teen pop culture on the cover
04:53of teen magazines and guest-starring on Disney Channel shows, also starring on your own television
04:58show, Summerland at the time. When you think back to that time, what's the highlight of the
05:02Beautiful Soul era for you?
05:04I mean, those were definitely it. I mean, so often fans come up to me, and I think
05:10Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Hannah Montana were just these cultural phenomenons and these
05:17huge chapters in millennial, early 2000s millennial lives. Those shows were so huge.
05:25And I was really only a part of one or two episodes on each show, but it's still, I think,
05:31what sticks out in so many people's heads. And so I guess that has become something that I remember
05:38most about that time or those two shows. I think playing Beautiful Soul probably on Suite Life
05:43was definitely a big moment.
05:45I mean, I remember the scene with Brenda Song, Ashley Tisdale dressed up in the
05:50Usher uniform.
05:51The bellhop outfits, yeah.
05:53Fans still show up in bellhop outfits sometimes, and it's just amazing. It's pretty wild. And
06:02they're in their 30s, wearing bellhop costumes. It's something that I think people just,
06:07it's a part of their childhood.
06:10An iconic pop culture moment.
06:11Yep, yep.
06:12Right as you're celebrating this major milestone,
06:14it also feels like you're entering this career renaissance.
06:17How would you describe this moment in your career?
06:20It's just really nice. I feel like I'm more relaxed about my career than I've ever been.
06:25I feel like knowing that I have the fan base that I have, this loyal group of people,
06:31even when I do something that's kind of silly or just not probably that funny,
06:36they're just always so supportive and kind.
06:40And like, I don't know, it's just, it's a really good feeling knowing that I have people
06:45like that showing up to the shows and I can just kind of be me and they've accepted me
06:50for that.
06:50I have this new sense, found sense of gratitude after 20 years of doing this that I can continue
06:57to do it and that they're still going to show up. And as long as I keep turning out music,
07:02they'll be there. And that's like anything, that's everything an artist could ask for.
07:07You've done so much over the past 20 years and even before that, from acting to music
07:11to voiceover work, but what's one thing you still want to accomplish that you haven't done yet?
07:15I think I'd like to produce and direct at some point. I mean,
07:18I've been saying this for a long time. My wife and I have started writing a pilot,
07:22a TV show, and I'd like to be behind the camera and start helping maybe younger actors and
07:28performers from behind the camera, you know, and I feel like I have an eye for it.
07:34And a passion for it. And I'm a huge cinephile. I love old movies. I love watching documentaries.
07:42I just love the way the sausage is made, so to speak. And I'd love to have a hand in that
07:47at some point.
07:47Now, in honor of the 20th anniversary of Beautiful Soul, I want to play a little game
07:52called That Was Then, This Is Now.
07:54I like it.
07:55It's a reference to a song on the album, as fans know.
07:57The Beautiful Soul album.
07:58Yes, one that you co-wrote on the album.
08:00I did, yeah. That was one of the first songs I wrote actually for that record, so yeah.
08:04So we're going to compare your life and career in 2004 versus now in 2024.
08:09Your pre-show routine then versus now.
08:12I would probably drink like a Red Bull and now maybe I have a shot of whiskey before the show.
08:20I was going to say, oh, now you're drinking tea, you're really hydrating,
08:23but you're like, no, I'm just getting ready to go.
08:25Well, I'll tell you now, you know, maybe there's whiskey, but I'll tell you I'm in bed by like
08:30right after the show.
08:31And you're just like, you know, sleeping, putting eye masks on and trying to take care of myself.
08:35There's a lot of tea, but I would, you know, back then I would like go out with the band
08:40and we'd go to a restaurant or we'd go to a bar or we'd like go have fun.
08:43Now it's like I'm in bed and I'm just, you know,
08:47there's a lot more maintenance involved touring now than then.
08:50The post-show routine then versus now has changed a lot.
08:53It's much different, yeah.
08:54Your personal style then versus now.
08:57Oh boy.
08:59I mean, I still have a lot of help.
09:01You know, I have a great team of stylists.
09:04I don't know.
09:04I see some pictures from red carpets back in 2006, 7, and I'm like, what were we thinking?
09:10There's like, I think it was like the Kids' Choice Awards or something.
09:12I wore these awful sunglasses that I just, every time I see a photo of it, I cringe.
09:17But it's the way it goes.
09:19It's forever cemented on the internet.
09:22Your relationship with your fans then versus now.
09:25I think we're closer now.
09:26And I think, you know, that has a lot to do with social media.
09:29You know, back then it was such a different paradigm.
09:32You would perform and then the curtain would close and that would be it.
09:35And now it's like you perform and that's like 25% of your job.
09:39And the rest is like showing them what you ate for lunch on Instagram.
09:44And I think they just know me a little bit better now.
09:45They have a better sense of who I am and my personality.
09:48So yeah, I speak with them literally on a daily basis via social media.
09:54And finally, your outlook on life then versus now.
09:58Oh man.
09:58I mean, then it was just, you know, I was just so excited and happy to be singing on stage.
10:04And everything was just like, oh, this is incredible.
10:06I think now I'm just more in tune with like how incredible this really is.
10:12And the longevity that I've had is just like so much more meaningful.
10:16And getting to perform now in front of sold out crowds is that much more important to me.
10:20And just, yeah, my sense of gratitude for all of it is just through the roof, you know,
10:26and just having the ability to do something I love for so long is just is never lost on me.
10:31Speaking of then versus now, I told you I saw you on tour in LA,
10:35but I also brought something I want to show you.
10:37Oh boy.
10:38I've kept all my concert tickets over the years.
10:40No way.
10:41And I have my concert ticket from the Beautiful Soul Tour.
10:44Come on.
10:44Wow, it's like in really good condition too.
10:47In Sioux City, Iowa.
10:48No way.
10:49Is this where you grew up?
10:50I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska.
10:51So we drove like an hour and a half, two hours.
10:54Look at that.
10:55To go to the concert.
10:55Friday, August 19th, 2005.
10:58Oh, wow.
10:59So nearly 19 years ago to the day.
11:02Look at that.
11:03Let's see.
11:05Can be, oh, $36.
11:07Let's see.
11:08Oh, wow.
11:09This is pretty cool.
11:10You've kept every one of your concert tickets?
11:13I have.
11:14I've been going to concerts for 19 years of Jess and McCartney.
11:17So it's so fun to get to talk to you today
11:18and talk all about the Beautiful Soul anniversary
11:21and just everything you have coming up.
11:22I appreciate it.
11:23Well, thanks, Tiffany.
11:24I'll see you at the show.
11:25I'm going to be performing in Pomona, I think,
11:27which is like nearby.
11:29It's like 30 minutes away.
11:30I can make it.
11:31I have to be there.
11:32Yeah, for sure.
11:32For sure.
11:33You got to come.
11:34Awesome.
11:34Thank you so much for stopping by, Jess.
11:35Thanks, Tiffany.
11:36Appreciate it.
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