McCartney opened up about his life in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’ve been casual. I have been sitting around, eating, watching TV, and putting out new music. I am trying to stay busy and positive given the circumstances. I finished up my album right before lockdown, so we are trying to find new ways to put the album out and make it feel creative and get the word out while remaining in my home,” he said.
“Obviously, The Masked Singer was a big push forward,” he said about that experience, where he was the runner-up winner as Turtle. “It was a great time for that to be on television considering that everyone is on their couches. I didn’t really know what to expect going into that show, it was a wild ride. These days, I am trying to stay busy given the circumstances.”
Regarding his new single “Friends,” he said, “I wrote that a year ago. It was written pretty early on for the new album. This song is a tribute to all of my best friends. For a lot of people, friends are considered their family. In my life, I consider my close friends like blood to me. I wanted to write a pop song that was a love song to all of the homies. You don’t really hear a lot of those songs. This was a fun pop song and it felt like a summer bop. Then, the song took on a whole new meaning now that we are in quarantine, and people can relate to it even now more. It panned out pretty well.”
He revealed that he filmed a music video for “Friends” at his house two days ago in true social distancing fashion. “That will be coming out in the next two or three weeks. There is a big surprise in the video, and it will be exciting for the fans to see who is in the video,” he hinted.
McCartney shared that he and Hunter Hayes have become really good friends since The Masked Singer (where they both appeared as masked celebrities this season). “Hunter has been over my house,” he said. “When he flew here from Tennessee to film the show, they put him up in a house that was one block from where I live. He was walking distance from my house, which is a fun fact. All the time we were filming he was one block away, and we didn’t know each other. Isn’t that something? Hunter has such an amazing voice, I love his voice, his tone, and his music. He came over after the finale and we ended up playing piano until all hours of the night.”
On his career-defining moments in life, McCartney responded, “Booking my first job and getting cast as a professional actor was huge, and for Broadway nonetheless. That’s everyone’s dream in the theater world. These have shaped who I would eventually become. After doing that, it was very motivational and uplifting for me. It gave the validation that I needed at an early age since it boosted my confidence.”
In 2001 and 2002, McCartney scored two Daytime Emmy nominations for “Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series” for his acting work as JR Chandler in the defunct daytime drama, All My Children. He noted that being dialogue-heavy was “not fun” back yet but it taught him a lot.
“All My Children certainly was a huge lesson for me in terms of learning the material, being quick, studying your lines, and not procrastinating. Soap opera actors don’t get the credit they deserve. I work with an actor named David Canary, who RIP, was one of the sweetest guys on the planet and he was such a kind soul. He played my father, Adam Chandler, and not only was he the star of the show but he played his own twin brother, Stuart. He had double the lines of any character on the show, and in my three years on the show, he never messed up a line even once. There was a time when David helped me when I was having a moment and I struggled with remembering my lines, so as a result, the soap world for me is very sentimental. Learning lines has now become something that I am good at because of that show and that moment. It takes a lot of practice,” McCartney elaborated.
On the title of the current chapter of his life, McCartney said, “Lemonade.” “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That’s it,” he said. “Very sweet and refreshing.”
He listed JoJo as his dream female duet choice in music. “I just love her voice. I’ve always loved her music. JoJo would be fun to collaborate with. She has some real chops,” he said.
“Friends” by Jesse McCartney is available on Apple Music and on Spotify. “It’s definitely more on the lighthearted side of the album. It’s more fun and a lot like ‘Wasted’ since it’s a summer jam, and it evokes good feelings. The rest of the album is more introspective, and it reflects where I am in my life, where I am newly-engaged and being in a career for over 20 years. This album is a very revealing look in my life now. It’s like my musical memoir,” he said.
“Stay strong and be healthy. This is such a rough time for so many people. For me, I know that it’s a hiccup in my life. It makes me heartbroken for what other people are going through this time. I am here for the fans, and they can hit me up on social media. I reach out every day to them. I love them and I hope to be able to hang out with them again soon,” he told his fans during the pandemic.
McCartney defined the word success as “finding a way where you can do something every day that you truly love, whether it’s your full-time job or not.”
For more information on Jesse McCartney and his latest single “Friends,” check out his official homepage and his Facebook page.
Read More: Jesse McCartney’s song “Friends” earned a glowing review from Digital Journal.
Jesse McCartney
Blair Brown
