Saturday, May 10, 2008

Why I Must Like Jesse McCartney In Secret.

It's really bad enough that I harbor a secret guilty pleasure-filled love for the Jonas Brothers & yes, even "Hannah Montana" (the show and the music -- not quite Miley Cyrus just yet...however "See You Again" is a formidable contender), but to add Jesse McCartney to that list seems too much even for me to bear. Here's why:

I'll admit to being a Dream Street lover. Not even a closet one. Full fledged, saw them twice in concert, four times in person for a meet and greet type of fan. For those of you who weren't aware, Dream Street was caught in the middle of the boy band conundrum, meaning they were too late to fit in with the *NSYNCs and Backstreet Boys, and too early to be a harbinger for current faves NLT and V Factory. However, they contained Jesse McCartney, Greg Raposo (now of rock-ish band "Raposo"), Frankie Galasso, Matt Ballinger and Chris Trousdale, my fave being the latter, who is apparently still trying to create a name for himself via solo career. I've seen Chris twice in concert post Dream Street, but the excitement is starting to wane...I've waited for nearly six years for the album afterall...Yes, it's been that long.

It's not that I didn't like Jesse in the Dream Street days, but he wasn't my favorite. Post-DS, he seemed to effortlessly reappear while his co-horts struggled, and it harboured a little bit of resentment for me. I was, after all, a Justin Timberlake fan through and through, and he's certainly doing fine now (at the expense of his former *NSYNC bandmates...which does kind of bother me, even now). First, it was that awful show "Summerland" (which helped jump the career of Zac Efron, funnily enough), then that awful song "Beautiful Soul". His press kept coming rolling in. He's doing this, he's doing that, he's dating Katie Cassidy. We don't care!

When "Summerland" got cancelled, and his second album for all intensive purposes flopped, I felt slightly vindicated, and kept hoping for the Chris Trousdale album. Karma bit me back in a big way when Katie Cassidy (are they still together? do I even care?) joined the cast of my beloved "Supernatural" in a big way. But it got worse:

His current single, "Leavin'" is an awesome track.

And that sucks.

I guess I'm the type to harbor grudges in the pop world. I think R.Kelly is scuzzy. I'm still not too big on the Backstreet Boys. I initially disliked Britney Spears during her glory days because she dated Justin. Trivial and stupid, but it lasts, as if I know them. Jesse is no different.

So I find a leaked version of his upcoming album. It helps that I don't like about half of it, but the other half is really, really good. "It's Over" and "Runnin" (both produced by The Cluth, surprisingly) stand out in particular. "Relapse" is also. And of course, "Leavin'". I think it's because he's abandoning that guitar-driven pop-rock of Ryan Cabrera for a more electro-poppy sound a la Chris Brown (especially in "Leavin'") or Usher. A different sound for him for sure. And I'm proud of the awesomeness.

Doesn't mean I still can reconcile liking it. *Sigh* Some habits die hard. Really hard.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hello- I was searching the web, and I accidently happened across your blog and noticed you were a Dream Street fan(Which I totally was as well). I noticed your favorite was Chris and your waiting for his CD to be released. I actually have a copy of his never-released CD(I bought it off the web). If you dont already have it, I'll be more than happy to send you a copy. Feel free to email me if you are interested... Lunajay7@hotmail.com

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