Jesse McCartney

Jesse McCartney
McCartney at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival
Born (1987-04-09) April 9, 1987 (age 36)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer songwriter
Years active1998–present
Spouse
Katie Peterson
(m. 2021)
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)Vocals
Labels
Formerly ofDream Street

Jesse McCartney (born April 9, 1987) is an American actor and singer songwriter. He achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama All My Children as JR Chandler. He later joined boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo musical career. Additionally, McCartney has appeared on shows such as Law & Order: SVU, Summerland, and Greek. McCartney also is known for lending his voice as Theodore in Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (2015) as well as voicing JoJo McDodd in Horton Hears a Who (2008), Robin/Nightwing in Young Justice, and Roxas and Ventus in the video game series Kingdom Hearts developed by Square Enix.

McCartney's music career began in 2004 with his debut album Beautiful Soul. Leavin', a single from his third album Departure, reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is his best-selling song. His most recent album, New Stage, was released in 2021. McCartney is also known for co-writing "Bleeding Love", which became a worldwide hit for Leona Lewis in 2007.

Early life

McCartney was born in Ardsley, Westchester, New York, the son of Ginger and Scott McCartney. He began performing in local community musicals at the age of seven, when he debuted his role in Oliver!, before joining the national tour of The King and I at age ten along with Phil of the Future star Ricky Ullman. There he played the character of Louis. In 1998, he sang with the group Sugar Beats and can be heard on their 1998, 1999, and 2000 CD releases.

Music career

1999–2002: Dream Street

In 1999, McCartney joined the American pop boy band Dream Street, and was a member until 2002. He described the experience as a good "stepping stone" for his solo career. The group earned a gold record with their debut CD. At fifteen, he began work on a solo career with a local band, featuring musicians Dillon Kondor (guitar), Peter Chema (bass), Katie Spencer (keyboards), Alex Russeku (drums), Karina LaGravinese (background vocals), Sharisse Francisco (background vocals), and under the management of Ginger McCartney and Sherry Goffin Kondor, who co-produced his first album Beautiful Soul.

McCartney released his first solo EP in July 2003. The album featured three songs: "Beautiful Soul", "Don't You", "Why Don't You Kiss Her". In 2004, he performed a duet with Anne Hathaway, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", which is featured on the Ella Enchanted soundtrack.

2004–2006: Beautiful Soul and Right Where You Want Me

McCartney at a Bryant Park performance, June 23, 2005

McCartney's debut solo album, Beautiful Soul, which was two years in the making, was released on September 28, 2004 in the United States and over a year later in Europe. He categorized it as a "pop record" with twists of urban. The album featured four songs that he co-wrote. Beautiful Soul reached number 15 on the Billboard 200. The album has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting over one million units of shipment to US retailers; it is his highest-certified album as of early 2009. By mid-2006, the album sold more than 1.5 million copies. The album's lead single of the same name reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. McCartney was one of the artists to win multiple awards at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, including Choice Crossover Artist, Choice Male Artist and Choice Breakout, Male. The following year, he won Favorite Male Singer at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.

His first headlining tour, also named Beautiful Soul, began on May 2, 2005 at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento, California. The United States portion of the tour spanned 56 stops, ending on September 10, 2005 at the Madera District County Fair in Madera, California. In the fall of 2005, McCartney toured Australia, and opened for the Backstreet Boys in Europe in the summer of 2005. His July 9 performance at California's Great America in Santa Clara, California was recorded, released as Live: The Beautiful Soul Tour in November 2005.

After the filming of Keith wrapped, McCartney began working on his second album, Right Where You Want Me, co-writing all but one of the songs featured in it. Right Where You Want Me is more mature than his debut, reflecting his musical and personal growth since he recorded his debut album at age 15. Released by Hollywood Records on September 19, 2006, the album reached number 14 on the Billboard 200.

2007–2009: Songwriting and Departure

In the fall of 2007, McCartney co-wrote the hit song "Bleeding Love" with Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, produced by McCartney and Tedder for McCartney's third album, but gave it away to British singer Leona Lewis for her debut album Spirit. The song was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards. McCartney recorded his own version, which was released on some editions of his Departure album.

McCartney performing in Metairie, Louisiana, on February 15, 2009

McCartney released his third album, Departure, on May 20, 2008 in the United States and Canada. Musically, it is a departure from his early works, showcasing more mature themes. The album has reached number 14 on the Billboard 200.

The album's lead single, "Leavin'", was released in March 2008, and reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving McCartney his highest-charting single to date. The single was certified platinum by the RIAA, selling over two million downloads on iTunes, becoming McCartney's highest-certified single as of early 2009. The second single, "It's Over", was released on August 26, 2008, and reached #62 on the Hot 100. McCartney promoted Departure on a co-headlining tour with Jordin Sparks, which began in August 2008 and ended in September. He also did solo shows at theaters and small venues to support the album while on tour with Sparks. Sparks also approached him to write some material for her.

McCartney re-released Departure on April 7, 2009. The re-release, Departure: Recharged, featured four new songs: "Body Language", "Oxygen", "Crash & Burn", and "In My Veins". The re-release also features a remix of "How Do You Sleep?" with rapper-actor Ludacris. The third single from the album was released from the re-release and was the remix of "How Do You Sleep?". It was much more successful than the second single, reaching #26 on the Hot 100. The fourth and final single from the album was also released from the re-release and was a new version of "Body Language" featuring T-Pain. The single reached #35 on the Hot 100.

2010–2014: Have It All and In Technicolor

McCartney at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival

The lead single from his fourth studio album Have It All, "Shake", was sent to radio on September 8, 2010 and was released digitally on September 21, 2010. The song peaked at #54 on the Hot 100. On October 18, 2010, it was announced that Have It All would be released in January 2011. On November 30, it was announced that the album release would be pushed up to December 28, 2010, the Tuesday following Christmas. On December 3, 2010, McCartney announced through his Facebook page that he pushed the release date for the album back to early 2011. On April 7, 2011, McCartney responded to a question on his Twitter page about the delay, saying it hinged on pickup of Locke & Key. On November 3, McCartney said via his WhoSay page "2012 is still the magic year for the record to finally come out." On May 6, 2012, McCartney's mother said on Twitter that the replacement of the President of his label, Hollywood Records, in January 2012 was delaying the release of his album. In the March 2013 issue of Glamouholic magazine that he has covered, an exclusive interview was conducted and he confirmed the release of his anticipated fourth studio album, after all the disbandments of his record label, within this year. Have It All, however, would go on to never be officially released.

On May 13, it was confirmed on On Air with Ryan Seacrest that McCartney would be joining the Backstreet Boys and DJ Pauly D on their In a World Like This Tour, which kicked off on August 2, 2013. On August 13, the singer released "Back Together", the lead single from his fifth studio album, published by the independent label Eight0Eight Records. He performed it live on the Today show on August 15, 2013. On December 10, 2013, McCartney released a four-song EP titled In Technicolor, Part 1, followed by the single "Superbad", released on May 6, 2014. McCartney's fifth studio album, In Technicolor, was released on July 22, 2014. The third single off the album, "Punch Drunk Recreation", was released on November 19, 2014.

2018–present: The Resolution Tour Live, Dream Street Reunion, and New Stage

On March 23, 2018, McCartney announced the release of his new single "Better With You" with the music video featuring actress Danielle Campbell. He later released a second single titled "Wasted" with a music video directed by Jason Lester, followed by the live album The Resolution Tour Live.

In 2020, McCartney competed on the third season of The Masked Singer as "Turtle". He finished as the runner-up. On April 10, 2020, he released the music video for the single "Yours". The single "Friends" was released on May 19, 2020. The official music video featured former Greek castmates Scott Michael Foster, Jacob Zachar, and Paul James.

On June 2, 2020, McCartney's former Dream Street bandmate Chris Trousdale died at a hospital in Burbank, California, at the age of 34 due to complications from an unknown illness during the COVID-19 pandemic in California. It was later revealed that COVID-19 was the main complication of Trousdale's death. On June 11, 2020, on what would be Trousdale's 35th birthday, McCartney and his former Dream Street bandmates Greg Raposo, Frankie Galasso, and Matt Ballinger reunited for a virtual performance of "It Happens Every Time" to pay tribute to Trousdale. This would be the first public appearance of Dream Street together as a group since the disbandment over the lawsuits prior.

McCartney's fifth studio album, New Stage was released on October 8, 2021. The record was preceded by two singles: "Kiss The World Goodbye" and "Party for Two". To promote the album, McCartney embarked on his North American tour, to run from November 4 to December 8, 2021.

Other ventures

Acting career

McCartney appeared with The Who's Roger Daltrey in A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden. From 1998–2001, McCartney played Adam Chandler Jr. in the ABC soap opera All My Children, a role for which he earned two Young Artist Awards and two Daytime Emmy Award nominations. He also later starred in the short-lived series Summerland, which aired on The WB for two seasons, playing orphaned teenager Bradin Westerly.

McCartney on the Live! With Regis and Kelly TV show, April 2009

In 2005, McCartney appeared as himself on the Disney Channel show The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. In 2007, he starred as himself on the Disney Channel show Hannah Montana. In 2008, McCartney was also featured as the voice of JoJo McDodd in Horton Hears a Who! (2008) McCartney also voiced Theodore in the live-action Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise (2007-2015), in addition to voicing Terence in the Tinker Bell film series. He also voices Robin/Nightwing in the Young Justice series.

In 2008, McCartney co-starred along with Elisabeth Harnois in an independent teenage drama feature film, Keith, directed by Todd Kessler. It was his movie debut, and features McCartney in the title role. Keith was released on September 19, 2008.

According to Entertainment Weekly, in December 2008, McCartney was negotiating to play against type in the role of the Fire Nation's Prince Zuko in M. Night Shyamalan's feature film adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. In February 2009, British actor Dev Patel replaced McCartney, whose tour dates conflicted with a boot camp scheduled for the cast to train in martial arts. McCartney has expressed an interest in directing and producing films and even considered enrolling in a film school.

McCartney appeared as a recurring character in the ABC Family series Greek for several episodes playing a star football talent who joins Kappa Tau. His character eventually decides to depledge the fraternity after citing pressures between football and Greek life combined with Rusty stealing his girlfriend Jordan.

McCartney also worked in several installments of the Square Enix video game series Kingdom Hearts. He was featured as Roxas in Kingdom Hearts II in 2006, and reprised the role in 2009 in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. He also provided the voice work for Ventus, a character in the video game of the same series Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. He reprised both roles in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, released in 2012, as well as in Kingdom Hearts III, released in 2019.

McCartney also starred in the horror film Chernobyl Diaries, released on May 25, 2012. He has been added to the Season 7 (2013) cast of the Lifetime Network series Army Wives, portraying a young soldier deployed to Afghanistan with an 18-year-old wife at home.

In the summer of 2014, McCartney had a guest-starring role in the ABC Family series Young & Hungry. McCartney played "Cooper", a computer hacker with a romantic interest in the show's lead, played by Emily Osment.

In 2016, McCartney appeared on Fear the Walking Dead as Reed, an aggressive member of a group of pirates.

Jesse McCartney's acting career also includes voice over work (or voice acting) with Breathe Bible.

Philanthropy

In 2005, McCartney participated in "Come Together Now", a charity single to benefit the victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami and the 2005 Hurricane Katrina.

Later in 2005, McCartney signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underserved public schools throughout the U.S.A. He sits on LKR's Honorary Board of Directors.

He has donated proceeds of his 2005 tour for disaster relief, recorded radio spots promoting the "Kids For A Drug-Free America" campaign, is a spokesperson for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and is involved in the charity SPACE, which was co-founded by a childhood friend of his mother's. McCartney performed at the Hope Rocks concert in 2005 to benefit the City of Hope Cancer Center. He appeared in the Concert for Hope on October 25, 2009, with Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato.

Personal life

In September 2019, McCartney got engaged to Katie Peterson, his girlfriend of seven years. They married on October 23, 2021.

Awards and nominations

Behind the Voice Actors Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2012 Young Justice Best Vocal Ensemble in a Television Series Nominated
2013 Won
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Best Vocal Ensemble in a Video Game Won
2014 Young Justice Best Vocal Ensemble in a Television Series Won

Groovevolt Music and Fashion Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2006 "Beautiful Soul" Best Pop Song Performance - Male Won
Beautiful Soul Best Pop Album - Male Nominated
"Stupid Things" Best Pop Deep Cut Nominated
2007 "Invincible" Nominated

Radio Disney Music Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2005 Himself Best Male Artist Won
"Beautiful Soul" Song of the Year Nominated
Best Song You Can't Believe Your Parents Know the Words To Nominated
"Good Life" Best TV Movie Song Nominated
2006 Himself Best Male Artist Won
2007 Won

Teen Choice Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2005 Himself Choice Music: Male Artist Won
Choice Music: Breakout Artist - Male Won
Choice Crossover Artist Won
Choice Hottie: Male Nominated
Summerland Choice TV Actor: Drama Nominated
"Beautiful Soul" Choice Music: Single Nominated
Choice Music: Love Song Nominated
2006 Himself Choice Music: V-Cast Artist Nominated
2008 Choice Music: Male Artist Nominated
Choice Fanatic Fans Nominated
"Leavin'" Choice Summer Song Nominated
2009 "How Do You Sleep?" Choice Music: Love Song Nominated
2012 Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked Choice Movie Voice Nominated

Young Artist Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2000 All My Children Best Performance in a Soap Opera - Young Actor Nominated
2001 Best Performance in a Daytime TV Series: Young Actor Won
2002 Best Performance in a TV Drama Series: Supporting Young Actor Won
2005 Summerland Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Leading Young Actor Nominated

Other awards

Year Awards Work Category Result
2001 Soap Opera Digest Awards All My Children Outstanding Child Actor Nominated
Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series Nominated
2002 Nominated
2005 Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards Himself Fave Music Artist Nominated
Fave TV Star Nominated
Fave Hottie Won
American Music Awards Favorite Breakthrough Artist Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards "Beautiful Soul" Best Pop Video Nominated
ASCAP Pop Music Awards Most Performed Song Won
Billboard Music Awards Top Soundtrack Single Nominated
2006 APRA Music Awards Most Performed Foreign Work Nominated
2010 ASCAP Pop Music Awards "Bleeding Love" Most Performed Song Won
2012 Online Film & Television Association Young Justice Best Voice-Over Performance Nominated

Discography

Tours

Headlining

  • Beautiful Soul Tour (2004–05)
  • Right Where You Want Me Tour (2006–07)
  • Departure Mini-Tour (2008)
  • Headlining Tour (2009)
  • Jesse McCartney: In Technicolor Tour (2014)
  • Better With You U.S. Tour (2018)
  • The Resolution Tour (2019)
  • The New Stage Tour (2022)

Co-headlining

Opening act

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2001 The Pirates of Central Park Simon Baskin
Dream Street Live Himself Concert film
2005 Pizza Justin Bridges
The Biggest Fan Himself Cameo
Jesse McCartney Up Close Himself Documentary film
Jesse McCartney Live: The Beautiful Soul Tour Himself Concert film
2007 Alvin and the Chipmunks Theodore Seville Voice role
2008 Horton Hears a Who! JoJo Voice role
Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby Lucky Voice role
Keith Keith Zetterstrom
Tinker Bell Terence Voice role
2009 Jesse McCartney: Live at the House Blues Sunset Strip Himself Concert film
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure Terence Voice role
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Theodore Seville Voice role
2010 Beware the Gonzo Gavin Reilly
Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue Terence Voice role
2011 Pixie Hollow Games Terence Voice role
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked Theodore Seville Voice role
2012 Chernobyl Diaries Chris
Wings Cyclone Voice role
Secret of the Wings Terence Voice role
2014 The Clockwork Girl Huxley Voice role
The Pirate Fairy Terence Voice role
Wings: Sky Force Heroes T-Bone Voice role
2015 88 Winks
Campus Code Ari
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip Theodore Seville Voice role
2020 Love, Weddings & Other Disasters Lenny
2022 The Big Trip 2: Special Delivery Oscar Voice role replacing Drake Bell

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1998–2001 All My Children JR Chandler Recurring role
2000 Law & Order Danny Driscoll Episode: "Thin Ice"
2002 The Strange Legacy of Cameron Cruz Cameron Cruz Unsold TV pilot
2004 What I Like About You Himself Episode: "The Not-So Simple Life"
2004–2005 Summerland Bradin Westerly Main role
2005 All That Himself Season 10, Episode 3
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody Himself Episode: "Rock Star in the House"
Punk'd Himself 2 episodes
2006 Schooled Himself Musical performer
Celebrity Duets Himself Musical performer
All My Children Himself Musical performer
2007 Hannah Montana Himself Episode: "When You Wish You Were the Star"
2008 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Himself Episode: "The Gilyeat Family"
Dance on Sunset Himself Episode: "Prom”
Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) Himself Musical Performer
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Max Matarazzo Episode: "Babes"
2009 Greek Andy Recurring role (season 2), 6 episodes
2010–2013,
2019–2022
Young Justice Dick Grayson (a.k.a. Robin/Nightwing) Voice role; main role
2011 Locke & Key Tyler Locke Unsold TV pilot
2012 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Wes Clyborn Episode: "Seeing Red"
2013 Ben and Kate College Guy Cameo; episode: "Ethics 101"
Army Wives Tim Truman Main role (season 7)
Fly or Die Himself Cameo
2014 Expecting Amish Josh Television movie (Lifetime)
2014–2015 Young & Hungry Cooper Finley Recurring role (seasons 1–2), 7 episodes
2015 The F Word Himself Episodes: "Jesse Mccartney"
2016 Fear the Walking Dead Reed Episodes: "Blood in the Streets", "Captive"
Talking Dead Himself Guest
Major Crimes Tucker Episode: "Present Tense"
2020 Celebrity Watch Party Himself Episode: “The Deadliest Couch
I Can See Your Voice (American TV series) Himself (Guest judge) Season 1, Episode 6
2020-2021 The Masked Singer Turtle, 2020; Himself, 2021 Runner Up in 2020, as a guest singer in 2021.
2024 Name That Tune Himself Episode: "TV Stars and Chart Toppers"

Video games

Year Title Role
2006 Kingdom Hearts II Roxas
2007 Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
2008 The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft Frank Hardy
2009 Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Roxas
2010 Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ventus, Roxas
2011 Kingdom Hearts Re:coded Roxas
2012 Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Roxas, Ventus
2013 Young Justice: Legacy Nightwing
2013 Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix Roxas (Archive and new footage)
2014 Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix Roxas, Ventus (Archive and new footage)
2017 Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue Roxas, Ventus
2019 Kingdom Hearts III
2020 Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory Roxas

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