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Pop Star Jesse McCartney Talks About His New Album Right Where You Want Me, And His Songwriting

JESSE McCARTNEY

By Dale Kawashima

Still a teenager, 19-year-old singer/songwriter & actor Jesse McCartney has already accomplished much in his young career. By age 10, he was performing on Broadway in The King And I and soon after with The Who’s Roger Daltrey in A Christmas Carol. At age 12 he joined the boy-band Dream Street, whose 2001 album (on Atlantic Records) was certified platinum. Then at 17, McCartney released his first solo album Beautiful Soul (on Hollywood Records), which established him as a pop music star in the U.S. and in several countries overseas.

Now McCartney has just released his follow-up album, Right Where You Want Me. The first single, also titled “Right Where You Want Me,” has just been released and it's off to a strong start at pop radio. McCartney appears ready to build upon his success, appealing to his large fan base (teenage and pre-teen) while also attracting a wider audience, with his fresh mix of pop, rock and R&B styles.

In a new interview, McCartney talked about the making of his new album, and how he took a more active, songwriting role for the project. In fact, he co-wrote every song on the album except one, collaborating with his musical director Dory Lobel, and with such renowned hitmakers as Kara DioGuardi, John Shanks, E-Man, and the team of Adam Watts & Andy Dodd, who wrote McCartney’s hit, “Beautiful Soul.” He spoke in-depth about his songwriting, and that his expertise is in creating melodies and lyrics. In addition, McCartney took time to discuss his acting career, particularly his role in the new indie film Keith, which will be released in spring 2007.

Jesse McCartney

During most of 2005 and 2006, McCartney was on the road with his band, in support of his Beautiful Soul album. He utilized his spare time to write many new songs. “On the road there’s nothing to do, so I spent a lot of time writing,” explained McCartney. “My musical director Dory Lobel and I set up a mini-studio on the road with ProTools. We set up our studio gear on our bus and in our hotel rooms. We wrote about 15-20 songs on the road, and we had a lot of fun writing. The creative part (of the music business) is the most fun. We would write the melody parts, lyrics, and come up with sampled bits. Dory is great to work with, and he’s an amazing guitar player.”

After McCartney concluded his tour, he and Lobel began completing their songs with several hit writers & producers in Los Angeles. “Once we were off the road, we would collaborate with other writers,” said McCartney. “We would finish certain songs that we started on the road, and we would also write new songs. Dory and I wrote a couple songs with Kara DioGuardi which were mostly finished. Kara is magical. She would sit down for an hour and ask us, ‘Why is that in there (in the song)?’ She’s just on point and knows songs so well.”

“We also worked with (Grammy-winning producer) John Shanks. The two songs we wrote together are called ‘Can’t Let You Go’ and ‘Blow Your Mind.’ John produced two songs and Greg Wells (Hanson, Natasha Bedingfield) produced two songs. Eman (writer/producer of Nick Lachey’s hit “What’s Left Of Me”) produced a song. And I did several songs with Adam Watts & Andy Dodd, who wrote ‘Beautiful Soul.’ I learned so much about production from working with these guys. Someday I’d like to do more production – I’m getting pretty good at ProTools.”

McCartney also elaborated on his own songwriting process. “I’m a big melody and lyric guy,” he said. “I travel with a pen and pad, and I’ll jot down lyric ideas. I also love writing melodies. Dory and I would come up with the melodies, and then we’d find the right chords to go with it. The goal with Right There Were You Want Me was to make a fun, melodic album.”

In addition, McCartney did write certain songs on the album which were more serious, particularly the song “Invincible.” “There’s a very personal track called ‘Invincible.’ It’s a really heavy song about a buddy of mine who died in a drinking and driving accident three years ago. I felt like I had to put that on the record because it contains such an important message for kids my age, which is to think before they drink and drive. It’s so powerful that they’ll have to listen.” The recording of “Invincible” features a sparse vocal by McCartney, accompanied by a 15-piece orchestra.

Jesse McCartney, recording a vocal in the studio.

With his album now completed, McCartney is currently doing promotion and press, and he will headlining a concert tour in the fall. “I’m very excited about the new album and going back on tour. I’m also excited about a movie project that I acted in, called Keith. It has already been shown at the Cannes Film Festival - it’s a deep and powerful film. I wasn’t planning on writing a song for the film, but we did end up writing a song called “We Can Go Anywhere”, which is played over the end credits. This song is also included on the new album.”

Lastly, when asked what advice he would give to young artists and songwriters who are tying to break into the business, he said, “Well, I don’t often give advice. But I would say that to keep trying, to have a lot of perseverance when it comes to your music. You never know what’s going to hit - music is so subjective. Just keep writing and eventually something will hit. Don’t let the rejections get to you and stick with it. It just takes time.”

When asked if singers should get into acting or vice versa, he said, “I don’t necessarily agree with the thought that if you’re a musician you need to act, or if you’re an actor you need to sing. Maybe acting is for you and maybe it’s not. Do what you want to do. To entertain is to entertain.”

You can watch the video of Jesse McCartney's new hit single, "Right Where You Want Me," by clicking one of the links directly below:

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