Jesse McCartney opens up about his new EP, All’s Well, his upcoming tour, as well as his time on the hit show, The Masked Singer.

Jesse McCartney’s follow-up to 2021’s ‘New Stage’, ‘All’s Well’ is a fun, supple, and fascinating step on the multi-talented multi-hyphenate’s journey of expressing a true self beyond the expectations and demands — equal parts vintage Hall and Oates, postmodern swag, and honeymoon sincerity packaged in that undeniable McCartney charm.
We spoke with Jesse recently about the new EP, which is available now, his upcoming tour, and his stint on The Masked Singer.
Jesse McCartney On New EP, Upcoming Tour & The Masked Singer
Tessa Smith: How are you preparing for your upcoming tour?
Jesse McCartney: I’m actually out in Oklahoma right now doing my production rehearsals. We have a big warehouse down here with all of my touring equipment, but it’s also where I can set up my stage and practice. So we’ve been here for about a week, and we’ll be here till the end of this week. And just getting the show up on its feet and arranging old songs, rearranging old songs and practicing the new ones and seeing what those sound like. And yeah, it’s gonna be a fun show. I’ve got an amazing lighting director with this incredible light show that we have planned. It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I think the fans are going to enjoy it.
Tessa Smith: The fans want to know, will there be quite a bit of old stuff performed on the tour as well?
Jesse McCartney: We do tons of tons of old stuff. Obviously, we’re doing the new EP. There’s only four or five really, really new songs. But yeah, so songs from every album actually are on this tour. There’s a few from every project so there’ll be something for everybody.
Tessa Smith: How do you decide to narrow down like, Okay, this is going to be the vibe of this album and these are the songs that are gonna go on it.
Jesse McCartney: I had been listening to like a lot of Hall and Oates at the time. It was the bars and just 70s music on vinyl, and I kind of missed the way they made music. Ben and I went in the studio, started writing in that vein, with that tone. Faux Fur was the first thing and then Silver Spoon was the next thing. Originally, we started just producing them in the studio, on synths and on laptops and computers. And eventually a guy I worked with, was like, hey, what if we just recorded this old school way, just literally had live musicians come in. And it really hadn’t even occurred to me that we could still do that. I have been wrapped around modern pop music for so long, but it was a great idea. And I really think it brought a lot of authenticity to the songs and getting to work with some of these studio musicians who played on people like John Mayer and Alanis Morissette are some of my favorite hero studio guys. It was wild. I think it really brought this album together.

Tessa Smith: You certainly fooled a lot of people by posting that photo on social media where people thought you and your wife was having a baby.
Jesse McCartney: I know. I was a little marketing trolling, I guess you could say, but it worked. We certainly fooled a lot of people. I still have a lot of family members hitting me up like, Wait, are you guys not having a baby? They still don’t really understand what’s going on.
Tessa Smith: I want to ask you about the differences in marketing and being a singer in this new age of social media, with Insagram and TikTok.
Jesse McCartney: In many ways, it’s great. It’s definitely a lot easier to market your music now, just because you don’t need deep pockets. You can just have a really great creative idea and pick up your phone and with your thumb, really market to millions of people, potentially. And so I love that aspect of it. And I love it for staying creative and staying sharp. It really keeps you on your toes and makes you have to constantly come up with ideas. Obviously, there’s the drawbacks too, which is now you are responsible for making so much stuff all the time. Whereas back when I was younger, you could just go out on stage, perform, and then have months off to be back in the studio and not have to worry about that. Now it’s like a full time job, being a singer, or an artist, or an actor. It’s like a full time gig. Even when you’re not performing, you still have to be present. So there’s definitely a lot of great things and also some not so great things.
Tessa Smith: I have to ask about The Masked Singer because that must have been so fun. It was certainly fun to watch.
Jesse McCartney: It was it was a lot of fun. I got to you sing in front of one of my vocal heroes every night, Robin Thicke, that was probably my favorite part of the whole experience. And also just getting to sing other people’s music. I never get to do that. I’m always singing my songs. So it was nice. They would let me pick my own songs, which is really nice. I would give the producers, every week, like three or four songs that I really loved that I would like to sing. And then they would pick the final one, but it was nice. And then the music director would come in, and we would arrange them together and figure out what section of the song I wanted to sing and what was going to showcase my vocals the best. You only get a 90 second performance. But it was great. It was a fun experience.I don’t miss wearing that costume every single performance because it was insanely hard to sing in that thing. But yeah, that was a fun experience.
Tessa Smith: Did you know who the other singers were? Or were that all kept from you, too.
Jesse McCartney: It was kept from me, but I was able to tell. I was able to figure out a couple of people over time. I could tell Lil Wayne early on. I think he was the first to go. And then I could tell Hunter Hayes was one. And then I could tell Rob Gronkowski, whose a football player. I just know his voice so well and he wouldn’t shut up backstage. He just kept talking and talking and you’re supposed to be quiet. And I’m like, I know exactly who that is. So I figured it out on my own. But you’re not allowed to tell anybody.
Tessa Smith: Did you get to like pick the easter eggs and that would go in your pre-performance package?
Jesse McCartney: They definitely pick your brain about certain things. I think I did one about my high school biology teacher or something, and how she was just super cool to me growing up and helping me out. I forget what the package was exactly, or what they were going after, but I mentioned it in the pre-show interview and then the producers made a whole story out of it and called my biology teacher and was interviewing her. So that’s all the producers doing TV magic. But it’s honestly such a hard thing just to be able to be ready every week with the music and with performing in that suit and choreography. You’ve got such a huge workload every week. It’s a tough show.

Tessa Smith: You have done a lot of acting and voice work, but it seems to me, that you are a singer in your soul. Do you enjoy one over the other?
Jesse McCartney: I love acting. I think it’s tough. I think you’re right. I think I’m just now realizing, in the last couple years, that there’s got to be a reason why I don’t put music down, like ever, for a long period of time. And it’s funny because I never used to think I cared about music that much. But I mean, I’ve always loved it but I always thought that everything was equally as important. But I think in the last few years it’s become clear that music has such a huge part of my soul and a big special place in my heart, and performing live is just really is one of my favorite things to do. I don’t think I can continue without having that. Like it does something for me that I think I need. So, I don’t think I could ever see myself as a putting music down fully but I definitely love acting. I love voice acting. I love making comedy, I love multicam comedies, I love television. I love that work schedule more than anything to be honest with you. But yeah, I think music will always have a huge hold on me. And I think a lot of people, when they look back years from now or whatever, whenever, and they think of my career, they’ll probably think of the music first.
Tessa Smith: Let’s talk a little bit more about your new EP. What were your heavy inspirations behind this? And is there was one song in particular that was hard to nail down?
Jesse McCartney: I was just drawing from real experiences. There’s a song called Silver Spoon, which is about this rich person that I know, that just sort of has no self awareness and is super nice, but just kind of casually drifts through life and enjoys being wealthy, but doesn’t really have any goals. And they’re in their 40s. It’s just something that I was inspired by and wanted to write about. After listening to Rich Girl, I wanted to do my take on it. So yeah, I just was inspired by real life experiences. Obviously my wife is a huge muse for me. We spend so many waking hours together a there’s just always new stuff to talk about when it comes to our relationships. So that’s really helpful as a writer, but I think the biggest challenge and the biggest hurdle for me was just trying to get the music right, and capture the sound of that time in an authentic way. I’m really happy with it. I think the writing is pretty good. I’m really happy with my writing right now. And I think my vocals sound really nice, particularly on Faux Fur. I love the way that vocal came out. So yeah, it’s just chipping away and I really am excited. I’m excited about this body of work.
All’s Well is out now, with five new songs from Jesse McCartney, plus you can see him on tour over the coming months!
All’s Well Tracklist & Jesse McCartney Tour Dates
The five tracks on ‘All’s Well’ carry through McCartney’s instantly recognizable voice but reach new soulful, swanky depths unlike anything McCartney has released to date. Lead single “Faux Fur” (one of two tracks co-produced by Morgan Taylor Reid and Andrew Dixon) is a prime example of that evolved perspective, a track equally in tune with the retro R&B majesty of DeBarge and Bruno Mars’ glow. “Some things can’t buy/ Your heart your time/ Your hand in mine,” McCartney sings, over the echoey whistles, choppy acoustic strums, deliciously wah’ed guitar, and luscious bass.
The song’s evolution to that tender, bewitching groove is emblematic of the entire EP. McCartney teamed with producer Morgan Taylor Reid for three of the tracks, taking the initial sketches and pushing them to their horn, string, and synth-laden glory via live band. “It just felt like how music used to be done and was very refreshing for me,” McCartney says. “It was a big breakthrough, and it set the tone for the rest of the project.” That lived-in ‘70s feel provokes little surprising tickles when counterpointed with McCartney’s clever modern wordplay.
1. Faux Fur
2. Make a Baby (feat. Yung Gravy)
3. Silver Spoon
4. The Well
5. Make A Baby (Solo Version)
SEE JESSE MCCARTNEY PERFORM LIVE ON THE ‘ALL’S WELL’ US TOUR
Get your Jesse McCartney All’s Well tour tickets here.
- Friday, April 12th, 2024 – Emo’s – Austin, Texas
- Saturday, April 13th, 2024 – The Echo Lounge and Music Hall – Dallas, Texas
- Monday, April 15th, 2024 – House of Blues – Houston, Texas
- Tuesday, April 16th, 2024 – The Fillmore – New Orleans, Louisiana
- Thursday, April 18th, 2024 – House of Blues – Orlando, Florida
- Friday, April 19th, 2024 – The Ritz Ybor – Tampa, Florida
- Saturday, April 20th, 2024 – The Eastern – Atlanta, Georgia
- Monday, April 22nd, 2024 – The Howard – Washington, DC
- Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024 – Brooklyn Bowl – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania SOLD OUT
- Thursday, April 25th, 2024 – Webster Hall – Brooklyn, New York SOLD OUT
- Friday, April 26th, 2024 – Big Night Live – Boston, Massachusetts
- Saturday, April 27th, 2024 – Empire Live! – Albany, New York
- Monday, April 29th, 2024 – House of Blues – Cleveland, Ohio
- Tuesday, April 30th, 2024 – The Fillmore – Detroit, Michigan
- Thursday, May 2nd, 2024 – The Vogue – Indianapolis, Indiana
- Friday, May 3rd, 2024 – The Vic – Chicago, Illinois
- Saturday, May 4th, 2024 – The Fillmore – Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Monday, May 6th, 2024 – The Ogden – Denver, Colorado
- Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 – The Union – Salt Lake City, Utah
- Friday, May 10th, 2024 – Showbox Market – Seattle, Washington SOLD OUT
- Saturday, May 11th, 2024 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, Oregon
- Monday, May 13th – The Regency – San Francisco, California
- Tuesday, May 14th – House of Blues – Anaheim, California
- Thursday, May 16th – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, California
NEXT: Pop 2000 Tour Review: A Must Attend Show

Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.