Jesse McCartney sells out The Ritz in Raleigh

Resolution Tour:

by: Darren Hohl

With his somewhat surprising release of his singles “Better With You” and “Wasted” in March of last year, Jesse McCartney kicked off his Resolution tour with Whitney Woerz earlier this month. Fans arrived several hours before the show and by the time the doors opened the line was wrapped all the way around the venue.

The night got started with Whitney Woerz (600 Volt Records) from New York, releasing her first EP, “Behind The Smile” in 2015 at the age of 15. The EP included the track “Ghost Story” which tackles the topics of bullying and mental health in teens. Whitney has become a teen ambassador for “BringChange2Mind”, a non-profit charity organization, to bring awareness to the growing issue of mental health.

Woerz’s stage presence was quite impressive for someone so young. Her catchy chorus’ and bubbly personality made for a pleasant experience. Towards the end of her set, she asked the crowd to hold their cell phone flashlights up in acknowledgment of everyone facing mental health issues. It definitely had an impact and made you think. She closed her set with her latest single “Love Me Not”, released in October of last year. In the last chorus of the track she had the entire crowd chanting along with her.

Normally the time between the opener and headliner is your chance to head to the bar, go out for a smoke, make your way to the bathroom, or in many peoples case, try to inch their way closer to the stage. However, this was not the case. For the most part everyone stood their ground. You could feel the anticipation building after every song playing through the PA stopped. Jesse’s set took a full 45 minutes to set up.

As the lights went down, the place erupted in the loudest scream I have ever heard in a venue. Backlight by the 3 giant LED panels, he opened his set with “How Do You Sleep” off of his 3rd studio album, Departure. From the very first verse the predominantly female crowd sang every word throughout the night. During the final chorus of “Shake”, McCartney ran off stage for a quick wardrobe change as his band continued with an instrumental interlude. Once back, he performed and small acoustic set including his hits “It’s Over”, “Anybody”, “Because You Live”, and “Just So You Know”.

The energy in the room only increased as the night went on. At one point McCartney pulled one lucky girl on stage while he performed his song “Told You So”. Jesse ended his set with “She’s No You” but everyone knew that wasn’t the end. As the fans chanted “ONE MORE SONG”, you could see the piano being pushed back to the middle of the stage. For his encore, Jesse told the crowd a little secret.

If you had any connection to pop music in 2007, you remember the song “Bleeding Love” recorded by Leona Lewis. I was not aware that it was actually written by Jesse McCartney, and it seemed that the majority of the crowd didn’t either. After performing his rendition of the Billboard #1 hit, he ended the night with, arguably his most popular song, “Beautiful Soul”. As expected everyone in the room sang every word.

Although McCartney has been in the public eye for the majority of his life, I can honestly say that I was a little taken back by the dedication of his fans. His stage presence and crowd interaction is undeniable. Jesse with continue his Resolution tour through February. Check out the dates below.