Right Where You Want Me

I've never felt the need to lose control / Always held on back and played it slow / But not this time..." With these words from the title track to his second album Right Where You Want Me, an older, wiser Jesse McCartney is most certainly back. It's been two years since the release of Beautiful Soul, the platinum-plus selling album and Top 5 single which topped the charts in Australia, Italy, the Philippines and Taiwan and made "Jesse Mac" a household name. And in that time, the singer-songwriter and actor has seen more than his share of award shows, movie sets and sold out venues (Jesse garnered an American Music Award nomination for Best New Artist, an MTV Award nomination for Best Pop Video and three Teen Choice Awards, including Choice Male Artist, Breakout Artist and Crossover Artist, as well as 2 highly coveted Emmy Award nominations). But in between his professional obligations, McCartney also took that time to reflect on how far he'd come. The album includes contributions from such hit-making writer-producers as John Shanks ("Blow Your Mind"), Kara DioGuardi, Greg Wells, Drew Ramsey, Shannon Sanders, Marti Fredricksen and Eman. But make no mistake, this is Jesse's project through and through, as one listen to the deeply personal "Invincible," which features a sparse vocal backed by a 15-piece orchestra, clearly demonstrates. "It's a really heavy song about a buddy of mine who died in a drinking and driving accident three years ago," Jesse explains. "I felt like I had to put that on the record because it contains such an important message for kids my age, which is to think before they drink and drive. It's so powerful that they'll have to listen."

• MCCARTNEY JESSE RIGHT WHERE YOU WANT ME.