Jesse McCartney Reflects on 20th Anniversary of "Beautiful Soul," Talks New Music & Upcoming Tour | THR Video - video Dailymotion

Hollywood Journal

Jesse McCartney joined The Hollywood Reporter in studio to chat all about the 20th anniversary of his debut single "Beautiful Soul," which was released in August 2004. He spoke to THR's Tiffany Taylor about how the song has stood the test of time, as well as reflected on the early days of his career, including his stints guest starring on Disney Channel shows like 'The Suite Life of Zack & Cody' and 'Hannah Montana.' Plus, he opened up about his upcoming tour dates, new 'All's Well' EP and what he still hopes to accomplish in his career. Tickets for the upcoming second leg of McCartney's All's Well Tour are on sale now.

Transcript

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.

Jesse McCartney Reflects on 20th Anniversary of "Beautiful Soul," Talks New Music & Upcoming Tour | THR Video

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended