Biography

Pop singer and actor Jesse McCartney was a child performer dynamo, singing on Broadway and landing an acting gig on #All My Children before even joining his first boy band, a feat that came at the age of 12. Teen poppers Dream Street scored a platinum album with their self-titled debut before spinning off the careers of Chris Trousdale and McCartney himself, who started contributing music to children's films like #Cinderella Story ("The Best Day of My Life"), #Stuck in the Suburbs ("Good Life"), and #Ella Enchanted, for which he performed a version of Elton John's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with star Anne Hathaway. McCartney returned to acting in 2004 with a role on the WB teen drama #Summerland. He also finished up work on his first solo full-length. "Beautiful Soul" was the album's title track and lead single, and its smooth blend of pop/rock sensibilities punched up with R&B inflections and danceable beats proved to be a template for the record itself. Beautiful Soul was issued in September 2004 and eventually peaked at number 15 on the ~Billboard 200. McCartney returned in 2005 with a live album documenting his Soul tour. Right Where You Want Me, McCartney's proper sophomore effort, arrived in fall 2006. After co-writing with such in-demand producers as Sean Garrett, J.R. Rotem, the Clutch, and others, McCartney released his third album, Departure, in 2008. He also co-wrote Leona Lewis' mega-hit "Bleeding Love" alongside Ryan Tedder, the frontman of OneRepublic. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide