Entertainment, Music - Army Times

Jesse McCartney’s recipe: 1 part singing, 1 part writing, 1 pinch of TV

Though he’s an insanely blessed, multitasking veteran of the whacked-out entertainment world, Jesse McCartney keeps his priorities straight.

During a year in which he turned 21, co-wrote a No. 1 single (“Bleeding Love” for Leona Lewis), landed TV and movie roles and rated a mention in the “Sexiest Man Alive” issue of “People,” what he’s most pumped up about is ... “The kitchen. It’s pretty special.”

He’s referring to the centerpiece of the ‘60s-era house he recently moved into in Los Angeles, with “chrome and retro” decor, a six-burner Viking range and the TV that’s tuned to Food Network’s Bobby Flay.

“I grew up in a family where Dad was left to cook and Mom burned water,” the New York native says. “I love her, bless her heart, but Dad taught me to cook a meal. When I had enough money to put a decent kitchen in my house, I made that a priority. My favorite thing is when the kitchen is a disaster — it means a great meal has been cooked.”

McCartney is giving the pots and pans a rest for the time being: He’s in the middle of a month-long, 20-date tour of clubs and small theaters to promote the release in April of an expanded version of 2008’s “Departure.”

For his third album, McCartney worked with producers such as Sean Garrett, Tricky and The Dream to create a pop/R&B sound that was more mature than his teen-leaning 2004 debut “Beautiful Soul.” The move paid off: First single “Leavin’” sold more than 1.3 million downloads.

For the album’s deluxe edition, retitled “Departure Recharged,” he has added “a few new songs I wrote in the studio with some of the writers on the first version,” as well as a remix of latest single “How Do You Sleep?” featuring Ludacris.

“Putting this album together was the most monumental thing in my music career,” McCartney says. So much so that he says he pulled out of M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender” when the director’s pre-filming boot camp conflicted with his tour. (“Slumdog Millionaire” star Dev Patel will fill the role instead.)

“The timing was the worst it could have been. But the tour is really important, and I didn’t want to stop the momentum.”

He’s still keeping his hand in acting with a multi-episode role in ABC Family’s “Greek” that will air in March, but the bulk of his offstage time will be devoted to songwriting, as he seeks to match the success of “Bleeding Love.”

“Songwriting gives you legs,” he says. “I’ve been through a lot, traveled a lot, been exposed to a lot at a young age, and that makes for good songwriting. It’s fun to put those things into a melody. I was in a very long relationship with somebody, and that taught me a lot — it made my third album basically.”

So is there a current source of inspiration for new songs — and someone to cook for?

“No, I’m freewheeling.”