Kids plug up pop stars like bubble gum. Aging stripling idols looking at to branch out beyond performing at malls and amusement rosa Parks face a grim reality. It�s the rare individual who�s able-bodied to exceed a pimply, pop-tart past and conserve the affectionateness of his rapidly maturing fanbase.
Apparently, late boy ring heartthrob Jesse McCartney is that rare person.
The Ardsley, N.Y., native gambled and won with his purposefully titled new CD, �Departure.� Now he�s on a tour with �American Idol� winner Jordin Sparks that comes to the Lowell Memorial Auditorium on Wednesday night.
An doer and former member of pop grouping Dream Street, McCartney played it safe with a pair of straight-laced solo sets, �Beautiful Soul� in 2004 and �Right Where You Want Me� in 2006. But he longed to pour forth his seraphic blond locks in favour of a sharper image and sexier sound. The electronic pulse of the new CD�s lead individual, �Leavin�,� co-penned by Tricky and The-Dream, helped McCartney, now 21, make the leap. The song powered its way into the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, while reaching No. 1 on both the Mainstream Top 40 and Hot Dance Club Play charts.
McCartney is ecstatic, though he maintained a nerveless attitude throughout a recent phone chat.
�The whole point of making this album was to show melodious and personal growth,� he aforementioned from a tour stop in Utah. �I knew I wanted to go with a more rhythmical, programmed sound since my other discs were recorded with live instrumentation. I wanted it to be edgier.�
�Departure� unquestionably isn�t the smooth r & b that gets your mama warbling in the car. Instead, it bares a certain likeness to Justin Timberlake�s �FutureSex/LoveSounds,� which defined the stream template for white urban bad boys.
But McCartney had to get the better of the scepticism of prospective collaborators such as Sean Garrett (Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown) and J.R. Rotem (Britney Spears, 50 Cent, Rihanna) that he was fit for the task ahead things got cooking.
�There were some fights,� he admitted. �My biggest run-ins had to do with uncertainty over positioning myself for an older crowd. But sentence allows you to prove yourself, which is what I complete up doing. It took some finessing and a show of confidence, simply I got these people to believe in me.�
No doubt McCartney�s unexpected position as an up-and-coming songwriter helped him gain points. Not long ago, an off-the-cuff writing session with OneRepublic�s Ryan Tedder resulted in �Bleeding Love,� the international smash from Simon Cowell-backed jailbreak star Leona Lewis. McCartney says he knew a woman�s touch would make the sung soar, just he never imagined it would suit a No. 1 pt single.
�Songwriting is a certification that commands respect, so I emphatically feel rejoicing about it,� he said. �It�s a enormous validation and it�s already opened some doors for me. People are asking me to write for them now.�
McCartney knows he dodged a tween-star-background slug capable of killing a career. But his determination is strong.
�When you�re selfsame successful at a young age, it�s hard for people to put that youthful belief of you aside,� he aforesaid. �I hate to well-grounded cliche, simply I�m here to stick around. I�ve got more to raise as both a vocaliser and a writer. (�Departure�) is about trying to get disembarrass of quondam perceptions and shifting the focus on to what I suffer to provide now, as an adult. So far, so good.�
Jesse McCartney, with Jordin Sparks, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Tickets $39.50-$49.50; 978-454-2299.
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