I don't want another pretty face," sings Hollywood Records artist Jesse McCartney on the hit single, "Beautiful Soul" from his debut album of the same name. Ironically, these days Jesse McCartney is surrounded by throngs of pretty faces - his devoted fans, who scream for him in frenzied pitches reminiscent of the mania caused by another famous McCartney in The Beatles.

Co-writing four of the songs on the disc, which was literally two years in the making, the multitalented performer had no problems convincing record buyers he should be taken seriously as a musician. Beautiful Soul has already been certified platinum for one million copies sold, while its title track peaked at #3 at Top 40 and reached #2 on AOL music. In the all-important fourth quarter, Jesse McCartney came out of nowhere to nab the public's attention with his appearances on MTV's TRL and radio play lists. Jesse McCartney's video made it to TRL's prestigious "retirement home" after being voted into top 10 fifty times.

Featuring collaborations with impressive producers/songwriters like Matthew Gerrard (Hilary Duff, Kelly Clarkson), Robbie Nevil (Babyface, Destiny's Child), Andreas Carlson (Britney Spears) and Desmond Child (Aerosmith, Ricky Martin), Beautiful Soul showcases what McCartney calls "rhythmic music." It's a blend of up-tempo, modern pop/rock/R&B/dance beats and strong melodies that evokes both Hall & Oates' blue-eyed soul (the swirling Philly strings of the second single, "She's No You") and Michael Jackson at his '80s peak ("Get Your Shine On"). Other songs are influenced by admitted McCartney fav U.K. star Craig David's influential two-step garade sound (the syncopated electro pop of "That Was Then") and old-school Motown (Jesse's yearning falsetto in "Why Is Love So Hard To Find?").

Jesse's enormous talent as a singer and songwriter truly transcend any skepticism about either Jesse's past in hit group Dream Street or his Emmy-nominated stint as an actor in the long-running afternoon drama "All My Children" and starring role in the current WB smash series, "Summerland," as Bradin Westerly.

McCartney adds, "I really love writing and singing, and I hope that genuinely shows through. I put a lot of time and heart into my album, and I really want that to come across."

"It took us two years to make this album. Part of that time was spent focusing where I wanted to go musically. In the process, I discovered my voice and the sound I wanted. We recorded more than 20 songs, and then cut it down to 12, the ones I felt were really me."

The New York native grew up singing, at the age of seven starring in local community theatre productions of Oliver!, graduating to Broadway and The King and I at 10, then shortly afterward, starring opposite The Who's Roger Daltrey in A Christmas Carol.

Jesse joined New York kids' group Sugar Beats, then earned a platinum album at 14 as a member of pioneering boy band Dream Street, whose self-titled album was #1 on Billboard's Independent Album chart. He insists his experience was a benefit, even if he's had to battle the stigma.

Being part of Dream Street made McCartney determined to take control of his own musical destiny. "Being in a group was awesome, because I learned the basics of being on-stage, how to get infront of a mic, how to record and how to work with others," says McCartney. "It was a great stepping stone for me. But that situation just showed me how much I wanted to have creative input and go the solo artist route."

Indeed, Beautiful Soul is a personal album, with soaring ballads like "Take Your Sweet Time" and "Why Don't You Kiss Her?" using Jesse's penetrating falsetto to capture the bittersweet nature of young love.

"I love to do ballads," he says. "Those were two of the first songs we recorded for the album."

After finishing the taping of the eagerly anticipated second season of The WB's hit Summerland, which bowed February 28 during sweeps with extremely high ratings, McCartney will head out on the road with his band late this spring. Jesse adds, "When we're done taping, I'm gonig to tour The United States and Europe with my band. We've been rehearsing the last few weeks, and it's going to be a fun show. I'm really looking forward to letting people hear my music and meeting lots of fans."

With a foot in both music and film/TV, Jesse is well aware of the risks in trying to balance the two. Jesse explains, "I am constantly asked in interviews whether I like acting or singing better, and the answer is definitely both. I honestly couldn't choose between the two and hope to do both for a long time to come. I'm fortunate that The WB and Hollywood work really well together to have both my careers in synch.

Still, McCartney has other goals to achieve, "Eventually I would like to tap into other areas, like directing, producing, writing... My ultimate dream is go to back to college to study film."

And how is young McCartney handling all these success? McCartney quips, "This is the best time of my life. I have so much support all around me between my family, my management, my record label and The WB, and now on top of that, my fans. It makes me want to work that much harder to make them all proud."

This Beautiful Soul is a lot more than just a pretty face. Despite all his success and bright future, Jesse remains humble, down to earth and easy going - quite beautiful indeed.

Credit: stagestars.net