00:00I have this like new sense, found sense of gratitude after 20 years of doing this that
00:05I can continue to do it and that they're still going to show up and as long as I keep turning
00:10out music, they'll be there and that's like anything, that's everything an artist could
00:15ask for. Hey, 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. You just announced that you're extending
00:33your Allswell tour. How excited are you to head back out on the road?
00:37I'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, you
00:48know, I think with the 20 year anniversary of Beautiful Soul and then, of course, the
00:51new EP that just came out just seems like they're really excited. And I think halfway through
00:55the tour, we decided, like, we don't have enough dates. Let's do more in the fall.
00:59I was at the L.A. show on the tour, the closing night of The First Leg.
01:03Nice.
01:04And what struck me is that when you asked the crowd how many people, you know, it was their
01:07first Jesse McCartney show, you got an overwhelming response. For most people, it was their first
01:12show. How does it feel that at this stage in your career, you're still playing for new audiences?
01:16Yeah, I mean, it's pretty wild. And now when I play, you know, after 20 years of doing this
01:22live on stage, I see a lot of younger people coming to the show. I think overall, this was
01:27the youngest audience overall that we've had over the last 10 years for sure. And, you know,
01:34I think a lot of that is just like people or, you know, people in their 30s now bringing
01:38their young kids, which is great. You know, seeing like little eight-year-old kids now sing
01:42Beautiful 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. What can you tell me about
02:04the 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
02:16to like DeBarge and Stevie Wonder. And I just fell in love with, you know, just the live musicianship
02:23and how amazing those guys were. And you don't hear, I think, a lot of live playing and pop
02:31music anymore. Everything is digitally recorded or done. And it's great. But there was something
02:37about just getting back to the basics and going into the studio with really great musicians
02:41who've played on numerous classic albums in the last 15, 20 years. It's tough to like make
02:47things feel new and pop, especially for myself. I've been doing it so long that things can start
02:53to get a little stale. So it's just fun to change it up and write these songs. And they
02:58definitely have this throwback 70s feel. So yeah, we did three or four songs, one of which
03:04was a remix with Young Gravy, which is kind of this goofy song called Make a Baby. And
03:09hopefully when I'm done with the second leg of this tour, I can get back in and try to
03:13sort 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.
03:20That was the plan.
03:20She's going to have a baby soon. And then I was looking at your Instagram. I was like,
03:23oh wait, no, it was all just for a song.
03:25Yeah, just the marketing tool. No, I ran that by Katie, my wife, and was like, so look,
03:31we have this idea. I think it was Gravy's idea or his manager's idea to have like two pregnant
03:36women on the cover. But we called our family that the day before we posted this video of
03:42me standing next to this pregnant woman, because we're like, just want you to know we're not
03:46pregnant. And we don't want you to find out this way. But we're doing this thing. And I still
03:51have people text me like, hey, what do you guys do? I'm like, it was a joke. It was to
03:56promote a song. But it worked.
03:59Like you were saying earlier, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Beautiful Soul.
04:03When 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. But here
04:12we are 20 years later. And it's incredible. Like I was telling you earlier, I think that it's
04:19rare to have a song and pop that stands the test of time and crosses over into a new generation.
04:24And I think Beautiful Soul is such a is one of those songs that really marks the early 2000s.
04:31And it was such an important record for me, but also for a lot of young people. And I'm
04:35just so grateful to be able to still play that song and play my new music and have fans show
04:40up to the shows year after year. And yeah, I think without that song, we wouldn't be here
04:45today. So I'm very aware of that and grateful for it.
04:49During that Beautiful Soul era, you were everywhere in teen pop culture on the cover of teen magazines
04:54and guest starring on Disney Channel shows, also starring on your own television show,
04:59Summerland at the time. When you think back to that time, what's the highlight of the Beautiful
05:02Soul era for you?
05:04I mean, those were definitely it. I mean, you know, so often fans come up to me and I think
05:10Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Hannah Montana were just like these cultural phenomenons and
05:17like these huge chapters in millennial early 2000 millennial lives. You know, those shows
05:24were so huge. And I was really only a part of like one or two episodes on each show. But
05:29it's still like, I think what sticks out in so many people's heads. And so I guess like
05:34that has become like something that, you know, I remember most about that time or those two shows,
05:40I think playing Beautiful Soul probably on Suite Life was definitely a big moment.
05:45I mean, I remember the scene with Brenda Song, Ashley Tisdale dressed up in the
05:50the Usher uniform.
05:51The Bellhop outfits.
05:52Yeah.
05:53Fans still show up like in Bellhop outfits sometimes. And it's just amazing. Like it's,
06:00it's, it's pretty wild. And they're like in their 30s, you know, wearing Bellhop
06:04costumes. It's, uh, yeah, it's something that I think people just, it's, you know,
06:08it's, it's a part of their childhood.
06:10An iconic pop culture moment.
06:11Yep. Yep.
06:12Right as you're celebrating this major milestone, it also feels like you're entering this
06:16career renaissance. How would you describe this moment in your career?
06:20It's just really nice. You know, I feel like, uh, I'm more relaxed about my career than I've
06:25ever been. I feel like knowing that I have the fan base that I have this loyal group of
06:30people, even like when I do something that's kind of silly or just like, not probably that
06:36funny. They're just always so supportive and, um, and kind. And like, I don't know,
06:41it's just, um, it's a really good feeling knowing that I have people like that, uh, showing up to
06:46the shows and I can just kind of be me and they've accepted me for that. I have this like new sense,
06:52found sense of gratitude after 20 years of doing this, that, uh, that I can continue to do it and
06:58that they're still going to show up. And as long as I keep turning out music, they'll be there.
07:02And 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?
07:16I think I'd like to produce and direct at some point. I mean, I've been saying this for a long
07:19time. My wife and I have started writing a pilot, um, a TV show, and I'd like to be behind the camera
07:26and start helping maybe younger actors and performers, um, from behind the camera, you know,
07:32and, uh, I feel like I have an eye for it and I, a passion for it. And I'm a huge cinephile. I love
07:39old movies. I love watching documentaries. I just love the way the sausage is made, so to speak. And
07:45I'd love to have a hand in that at some point. Now in honor of the 20th anniversary of Beautiful
07:50Soul, I want to play a little game called That Was Then, This Is Now. I like it. It's a reference to
07:55a song on the album, as fans know. The Beautiful Soul album. Yes. One that you co-wrote on the album.
08:00I did. I 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. Okay. In 2024. Your pre-show
08:10routine then versus now. I would probably drink like a Red Bull and now maybe I have a shot of whiskey
08:17before the show. I was going to say, oh, now you're drinking tea. You're really hydrating. But you're
08:23like, no, I'm just getting ready to go. Yeah. Well, I'll tell you now, you know, maybe there's
08:28whiskey, but I'll tell you, I'm in bed by like right after the show. And you're just like, you
08:32know, sleeping, putting eye masks on and trying to take care of my, there's a lot of tea. But I
08:37would, you know, back then I would like go out with the band and we go to a restaurant or we go to
08:41a bar. We'd like go have fun. Now it's like, I'm in bed and I'm just, you know, it's, there's a lot
08:47more maintenance involved touring now than, than, than the post-show routine then versus now has
08:53changed a lot. It's much different. Yeah. Your personal style then versus now. Oh boy. Um, I mean,
08:59I still have a lot of help, you know, great team of stylists. I don't know. I see some pictures from
09:05red carpets back in 2006, seven. And I'm like, what were we thinking? There's like there, I think
09:11it was like the kids choice awards or something. I wore these awful sunglasses that I just, every
09:15time I see a photo of it, I cringe, but, um, it's the way it goes. It's forever cemented on the
09:21internet. Your relationship with your fans then versus now. I think we're closer now. And I think
09:26I, you know, that has a lot to do with social media, you know, back then it was, it was such a
09:31different paradigm. You would perform and then the curtain would close and that would be
09:35it. And now it's like you perform and that's like 25% of your job. And the rest is like showing
09:41them what you ate for lunch on Instagram. Um, and I think they just know me a little bit
09:45better now. They have a better sense of who I am and my personality. So, uh, yeah, I speak
09:51with them literally on a daily basis via social media. And finally your outlook on life then
09:56versus now. Oh man. I mean, then it was just, you know, I was just so excited and happy to
10:02be singing on stage and everything was just like, Oh, this is incredible. I think now I'm
10:07just more, um, in tune with like how incredible this really is. And the longevity that I've had
10:14is just like so much more meaningful and getting to perform now in front of sold out crowds is
10:19that much more important to me. And, uh, just, yeah, my sense of gratitude for all of it is just
10:25through the roof, you know, and just having the ability to do something I love for so long,
10:29is just, is never lost on me. Speaking of then versus now, I told you, I saw you on tour in LA,
10:36but I also brought something I want to show you. Oh boy. I've kept all my concert tickets over the
10:40years. No way. And I have my concert ticket from the beautiful soul tour. Come on. Wow. It's like
10:45in really good condition too. In Sioux city, Iowa. No way. Is this where you grew up? I grew up in Omaha,
10:51Nebraska. So we drove like an hour and a half, two hours to go to the concert. Friday, August 19th,
10:572005. Oh wow. So nearly 19 years ago to the day. Look at that. Let's see. Convenient. Oh, $36.
11:07Let's see. Oh wow. This is pretty cool. You've kept every one of your concert tickets. I have.
11:13I've been going to concerts for 19 years of Justin McCartney. So it was so fun to get to talk to you
11:18today and talk all about the beautiful soul anniversary and just everything you have coming
11:22up. I appreciate it. Well, thanks, Tiffany. I'll see you at the show. Uh, I'm going to be performing
11:26in Pomona, I think, which is like nearby. It's like 30 minutes away. I can make it. I have to be
11:32there. Yeah, for sure. For sure. You got to come. Awesome. Thank you so much for stopping by,
11:35Jesse. Thanks, Tiffany. Appreciate it.
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