Jesse McCartney

Jesse McCartney, born on April 9, 1987, in Ardsley, Westchester, New York, is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of Virginia "Ginger" (née Sarber) and Scott McCartney, and has a younger sister, Lea, born in 1991, and a younger brother, Timothy, born in 1996.

McCartney began performing at age seven, making his debut in a local community production of Oliver! before joining the national tour of The King and I at age ten, playing the role of Louis alongside Ricky Ullman, known for his role in Phil of the Future. His Broadway career includes a 1996 appearance in The King and I. In 1998, he sang with the group Sugar Beats, contributing to their 1998, 1999, and 2000 CD releases.

His television career gained momentum in the late 1990s when he joined the cast of the daytime drama All My Children, portraying JR Chandler. He later appeared on Law & Order: SVU, Summerland, and Greek. In 1999, McCartney became a member of the American pop boy band Dream Street, remaining with the group until 2002. The group earned a gold record with their debut CD, and McCartney later described the experience as a valuable stepping stone toward his solo career.

McCartney released his first solo EP in July 2003, featuring the tracks "Beautiful Soul," "Don't You," and "Why Don't You Kiss Her." His debut full-length album, Beautiful Soul, followed on September 28, 2004, reaching number 15 on the Billboard 200 and earning platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. The album's title-track lead single reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. By mid-2006, the album had sold more than 1.5 million copies. At the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, McCartney won multiple honors, including Choice Crossover Artist, Choice Male Artist, and Choice Breakout, Male. The following year, he received the Favorite Male Singer award at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. His first headlining tour, also called Beautiful Soul, launched on May 2, 2005, at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento, California, spanning 56 stops across the United States before concluding on September 10, 2005. A recording from his July 9 performance at California's Great America in Santa Clara was released as Live: The Beautiful Soul Tour in November 2005. McCartney also toured Australia in the fall of 2005 and opened for the Backstreet Boys in Europe that summer. In 2004, he recorded a duet with Anne Hathaway, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," featured on the Ella Enchanted soundtrack.

His second album, Right Where You Want Me, was released by Hollywood Records on September 19, 2006, reaching number 14 on the Billboard 200. McCartney co-wrote all but one of the songs on the record. His third album, Departure, followed on May 20, 2008, also reaching number 14 on the Billboard 200. Its lead single, "Leavin'," was released in March 2008, peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, earned platinum certification from the RIAA, and surpassed two million downloads on iTunes, making it his best-selling song. The album's second single, "It's Over," reached number 62 on the Hot 100. McCartney promoted Departure on a co-headlining tour with Jordin Sparks, which ran from August through September 2008. A re-release, Departure: Recharged, arrived on April 7, 2009, adding four new songs and a remix of "How Do You Sleep?" featuring Ludacris, which reached number 26 on the Hot 100. A subsequent version of "Body Language" featuring T-Pain reached number 35.

In the fall of 2007, McCartney co-wrote "Bleeding Love" with Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic. Originally produced for McCartney's own album, the song was given to British singer Leona Lewis for her debut album Spirit, where it became a worldwide hit. The song received a nomination for Record of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards. McCartney recorded his own version, which appeared on select editions of Departure.

McCartney's most recent album, New Stage, was released in 2021. Alongside his recording and stage work, he has maintained an extensive voice acting career, providing the voice of Theodore in the live-action Alvin and the Chipmunks film series, JoJo McDodd in Horton Hears a Who!, Terence in the Tinker Bell series, Dick Grayson in the animated series Young Justice, and both Roxas and Ventus in the Kingdom Hearts video game series.