Jesse McCartney Reveals Why He’ll Never Stop Performing His Fan-Fave Hits Like ‘Beautiful Soul’

For the first time in four years, new music from Jesse McCartney is here — but that doesn’t mean you have to forget about his old stuff! In fact, Jesse tells us EXCLUSIVELY that the OG hits will always be a part of his show!

Jesse McCartney, 31, has come a long way since the release of his first big hit, “Beautiful Soul,” in 2004, but he certainly hasn’t forgotten the songs like that one, which got him where he is today. “I don’t know any artist who doesn’t enjoy people singing along to a song they came up with,” he tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “It’s one of the biggest rewards in music. I never get sick of that feeling. The one thing I always make sure to do is play the songs the fans want to hear — you can’t not play “Beautiful Soul” or “Body Language” or “Leavin'” or “How do You Sleep?” You have to play those songs! Those songs are the reason you’re on the stage to begin with, so not giving them that seems crazy.”

Of course, there’s now newer music to include on the set list, too, including Jesse’s most recent single, “Better With You,” which he released in March. “It was one of the first songs written for my new project,” Jesse explains. “We wanted to go in with the intention of writing an uplifting song, and when we finished, this song really had that kind of vibe. It just kind of felt like a sure bet. I feel like songs, in general, are only as great as their timing, and “Better With You” is coming at a time where I think people need to hear this sort of sentiment. It’s an escape, which is what music is supposed to do.”

After releasing and promoting his last album, In Technicolor, in 2014, Jesse took a year and a half off from music, but fell back in love with it after attending a songwriting camp in Nashville. His time there inspired him to start writing and recording music again, and when he returned to L.A., that’s just what he did. There’s more where “Better With You” came from, too!

“The success of “Better With You” is kind of making me want to ride it out for a little bit and build on it and just get the fanbase really excited about this song,” he admits. “There’s something about this song that I thought would tickle a nostalgic bone, and I wanted to get that going before releasing new music. I think the next song [I’ll probably release] has the potential to bring in a new and younger audience. I have about 5-6 songs that I’ll probably release later this year as an EP, but it could all change. I had no intention of releasing a full album — I only wanted a few songs — but in the last few weeks, I’ve been in the studio more, and I like what’s coming out, so you just never know! But more music this year for sure!”