Jesse McCartney Recalls Writing 'Bleeding Love' and How the Collaboration with Leona Lewis Came About | Take Us Back
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00:00Hey there, I'm Jesse McCartney and I'm taking us back.
00:03Alright, take us back to landing your first gig on All My Children.
00:06I have so many great memories of this show.
00:09It was my first time on a TV show.
00:12I remember driving down after school one day for the audition
00:16and I lived in Westchester County going down,
00:19auditioning for the show, had a call back or two
00:22and got the phone call, hey, we want you to be JR on All My Children.
00:26And, you know, this is a legendary soap, obviously, Susan Lucci,
00:30one of the, probably the most famous soap star of all time.
00:33And getting to work alongside some of these legendary daytime actors
00:37was really incredible and it was really challenging
00:40because they, you know, I feel like soap actors don't get enough credit
00:43for the amount of dialogue they have to memorize each day.
00:46And I just remember having, like, more work than I thought I could handle
00:50taking on the role. I would look at the first script thinking, like,
00:53I don't know how I'm going to memorize all this stuff.
00:56And so it was a test right out of the gate
00:58and one of my greatest challenges, actually.
01:01And I look at this picture, though, and I'm like, oh my god,
01:04the part down the middle, this is, like, so late 90s.
01:07It's hilarious.
01:09Good memories, though.
01:10Take us back to your first sold-out Dream Street concert.
01:13Oh, man.
01:14Dream Street was so much fun and it was especially cool
01:18before my solo days because I got to be on stage
01:21with other guys my age and it was a brotherhood, you know.
01:25You got to hang out with your best friends
01:27and then also sing music in front of screaming fans.
01:30It was like the life, you know.
01:31I was like, this is it.
01:32This is what I want forever.
01:35And I have just so many great memories.
01:37We toured for a couple years.
01:38We got pretty far.
01:39We opened up for Britney Spears.
01:41I remember Justin Timberlake coming backstage
01:43before one of the performances and, like, giving us a little pep talk
01:47and all of us being just sort of, like, goo-goo-eyed
01:50that Timberlake from NSYNC, our boy band hero,
01:54was talking to us.
01:56Great memories and obviously this was the beginning
01:58of my music career and sort of the stepping stone
02:02for what was to come.
02:03Specifically, honestly, I was in such shock
02:05that he came backstage, but it was more like
02:08I think it was our first performance in an arena
02:10so he was giving us, like,
02:11hey, don't worry about how many people there.
02:13Easy for him to say.
02:14Don't worry about how many of you guys are going to kill it,
02:16you know.
02:17You guys know your moves.
02:18You guys know your marks.
02:19Let me see your run-through.
02:20And, like, we played the song.
02:21We're, like, doing our moves for Justin in the back.
02:23He was just being gracious and, like,
02:25gave us a few minutes of his time
02:26and it was really nice before we went out on stage.
02:29Yeah, this is a wild story.
02:312007, I was going into my third album
02:35and I was working with Ryan Tedder,
02:37who we know from One Republic,
02:39and he and I were working on songs for my album
02:42and it almost didn't happen.
02:44It was a really awful, rainy day in Los Angeles
02:47which doesn't happen that often,
02:48but when it does, people in L.A.
02:50just don't like to show up to work
02:51or show up to things
02:52and we were no different.
02:53He and I were on the phone like,
02:54eh, it's kind of awful today.
02:55Do we want to drive to the studio?
02:57And he's like,
02:58I'm leaving my house now
02:59so let's just knock it out.
03:01If in a few hours it's awful,
03:02we'll call it.
03:03And we got in the studio
03:05and it came out.
03:07Like, in three, four hours
03:08we had written this whole song.
03:10He had this B3 organ that he played
03:12and this simple drum track
03:14and all of a sudden
03:16we had this record
03:17that did sound really amazing,
03:20but it kind of fell flat
03:22because the label
03:23actually originally
03:24didn't like the song
03:25from my project
03:26and they were like,
03:27this doesn't feel right.
03:28We're going to release Leavin.
03:29You know, it was the first single.
03:31Sonically, it wasn't really the same.
03:33It didn't feel like the right tone.
03:35And I was bummed about it
03:36but it just sort of sat
03:38in our hard drive
03:39for months,
03:40or maybe a year.
03:41And thank goodness
03:43for Ryan's,
03:45you know,
03:46for Ryan being so,
03:48for just kind of
03:49hammering the song
03:50and pitching it
03:51because he pitched it
03:52to Simon Cowell
03:53a year later who loved it.
03:54And he goes,
03:55I have the artist.
03:56I think she's going to be great.
03:57Her name's Leona Lewis.
03:58We had never heard of her.
03:59But we were like,
04:00look,
04:01somebody singing the song
04:02is better than it
04:03just sitting on my laptop.
04:04So she recorded it
04:05and then
04:06it became like
04:07the biggest song
04:08of the decade.
04:09It changed my life
04:10immediately
04:11as a writer,
04:12as a performer
04:13and it was a huge
04:14validating moment
04:15in my writing career.
04:16So,
04:17yeah,
04:18that was a good one.
04:19Good moment.
04:20Take us back to when
04:21Levin reached
04:22Billboard Top 10.
04:23Yeah,
04:24this was wild.
04:25Levin was my first
04:26number one at radio
04:27and it was my first
04:28Top 10.
04:29I think it was my,
04:30no,
04:31Beautiful Soul
04:32was my first
04:33Top 10,
04:34I think.
04:35I actually don't remember
04:36but I do remember
04:37Levin because
04:38it was a part
04:39of a new project
04:40where I was kind of
04:41going in more
04:42of like a rhythmic
04:43tone and sound.
04:44I was working
04:45with a whole new
04:46You Want Me album
04:47and,
04:48yeah,
04:49I mean,
04:50it's funny
04:51because Levin and
04:52Bleeding Love
04:53are so closely
04:54related
04:55in terms of the
04:56timeline.
04:57I remember
04:58Levin was number
04:59one at radio
05:00and the only song
05:01that bumped it off
05:02of number one spot
05:03was Bleeding Love.
05:04So,
05:05I kind of like
05:06was in competition
05:07with myself
05:08but I was a writer
05:09so I was like
05:10it's all good
05:11but Levin was great
05:12and,
05:13you know,
05:14it opened the door
05:15for me and
05:16eventually T-Pain
05:17and a lot of people
05:18in the hip-hop world
05:19that I never thought
05:20after Beautiful Soul
05:21that I'd be working with.
05:22So,
05:23very great moment
05:24in my career.
05:25Take us back to the
05:26first time you heard
05:27one of your songs
05:28on the radio.
05:29This is great.
05:30First time I heard
05:31Beautiful Soul
05:32on the radio
05:33I was coming out
05:34of the SAT exam
05:35senior year
05:36of high school
05:37and feeling
05:38really down
05:39because I knew
05:40I had just
05:41bombed the math.
05:42I was terrible
05:43at math
05:45and I was like
05:46oh my parents
05:47are going to kill me
05:48but I had just
05:49released the song
05:50and I get in my car
05:51I was driving a Jeep
05:52and I get in my car
05:53I turn on the radio
05:54and Beautiful Soul
05:55is on Z100
05:56on Elvis Duran
05:57and the Z-Morning Zoo
05:58one of my
05:59childhood radio station
06:00and I just remember
06:01in that moment
06:02thinking
06:03I don't care
06:04what happened
06:05to my SAT exam
06:06my song's on the radio
06:07I made it
06:08and,
06:09yeah
06:10and the rest
06:11was history
06:12but great moment.
06:13Take us back
06:14I've told this story before
06:15but it's a good one
06:16I was in Chicago
06:17we were doing a mall
06:18like a press tour
06:19at a mall
06:20I think it was
06:21in Chicago
06:22or Springfield, Illinois
06:23and they expected
06:24like maybe
06:25a few hundred people
06:26to show up
06:27and
06:28Summerland
06:29had also just come out
06:30and there was this
06:31synergy of like
06:32the TV show
06:33on the WB
06:34and the first single
06:35just colliding
06:36and
06:37I think over
06:388,000 people
06:39showed up to the mall
06:40and they just
06:41did not have
06:42the security detail
06:43so they set up
06:44the stage
06:45in the middle
06:46of the audience
06:47so there was
06:48no way
06:49for me to get
06:50to the stage
06:51without walking
06:52through the audience
06:53so they set up
06:54like this
06:55barrier
06:56of security guards
06:57that were
06:58much much older
06:59these were like
07:00old retired
07:01frail men
07:02who just
07:03could not
07:04you know
07:05hold up
07:06to these
07:07screaming
07:0814 year old girls
07:09and we're
07:10making our way
07:11to the stage
07:12out of my head
07:13and like
07:14my head is bleeding
07:15it's like
07:16the pain was so sharp
07:17I'm like tears
07:18are rolling down my face
07:19but I'm getting
07:20to the stage
07:21and I'm like
07:22I'm bleeding
07:23thank you Chicago
07:24and I just
07:25remember thinking
07:26wow this is real
07:27the fandom
07:28is real
07:29and
07:30I'm gonna need
07:31a tighter
07:32security team
07:33going forward
07:34take us back
07:35to this moment
07:36this is
07:37Paris Hilton
07:38and I
07:39at I think
07:40either the
07:41because I didn't
07:42interview
07:43the other day
07:44where they told me
07:45what the
07:46award was for
07:47and I think it was
07:48like biggest dodgeball
07:49fight or something
07:50which I
07:51didn't realize
07:52deserved an award
07:53but I was up there
07:54with Paris Hilton
07:55presenting
07:56and this is my
07:57first experience
07:58with the tabloids
07:59about a day later
08:00everyone was saying
08:01that she and I
08:02were dating
08:03which was not true
08:04good times
08:05take us back
08:06to your first
08:07red carpet
08:08it's hard to
08:09remember the
08:11I just remember
08:12not expecting
08:14the light bulbs
08:15to be blinding
08:16as they were
08:17I you know
08:18I was a teenager
08:19I was also like
08:20battling a little bit
08:21of acne
08:22and I was like
08:23oh my god
08:24they're gonna see
08:25all those zits
08:26on my face
08:27and I remember
08:28being like
08:29kind of insecure
08:30about it
08:31but yeah
08:32I mean
08:33there is something
08:34very cool
08:35about walking
08:36a carpet
08:37having your photo
08:38taken
08:39it's like
08:40to feel
08:41like you've done
08:42something cool
08:43you know
08:44when you're walking
08:45down the carpet
08:46and people are
08:47praising you
08:48a lot of fun
08:49and I've done
08:50a few since then
08:51but yeah
08:52the early days
08:53of experiencing
08:54all that
08:55is certainly
08:56the most fun
08:57because it's new