Only one performer could draw 15,000 screaming adolescents out to an arena on a Wednesday night, a school night at that. Pop star Jesse McCartney headlined a radio sponsored event at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA. Throw in a rock act, Boys Like Girls, and another edgy pop star, Katy Perry, and you've got yourself a sold out concert.

David Archuleta was first to grace the stage. This instant celebrity hasn't had much tour experience and has been thrust into the spotlight at breakneck speed. The American Idol runner up elicited huge screams from the amped up audience. Archuleta's stage presence can best be described as awkward , but the young star does have a great voice. He finished out the set with his first single "Crush."

The audience was clamoring awaiting the arrival of Katy Perry. When she wildly sprinted onto the stage the entire audience was on it's feet. Really they were all waiting for that one song, the song that won't go away, the one that radio stations seem to think playing 3 million times a day will make it even better. "I Kissed A Girl," was obviously saved for the end. The novelty song, which rocketed Perry to stardom, is one dimensional and predictable while Perry is completely different. Her sarcasm in between songs may have went over the audiences collective head, and at one point boos were raining down on her when she implied that she had scored Archuleta's number backstage. The one bright moment during her 45 minute set was the acoustic performance of "Thinking of You." Unlike the rest of the performance, there were no on stage antics or band, it was just her and the guitar, and she pulled it off without a hitch. "Hot and Cold," quickly followed and after the obligatory performance of that one obnoxious song, Perry cleared the stage for the head liner.


It was hard to tell whether Jesse McCartney actually thinks he is Justin Timberlake or is just molding his career after the star. Flanked by two backup dancers and wearing a gray suit with matching tie and aviator sunglasses, McCartney sped his way through 90 minutes of non stop pop. The teen sensation that was once Jesse McCartney seems to have disappeared. The new Jesse has ditched his long blonde hair and laid back attitude for short black hair and risque dance moves. The formula is obviously working. McCartney is trying to show that he too has grown up with his audience. New music which paints pictures of dark clubs and late night hook ups is , no doubt, more adult and so is the live performance.

There's no denying his talent which is rapidly branching out of the pop market. With a recent guest spot on Law and Order: SVU and a hit song which was co written by McCartney and sung by Leona Lewis, Jesse is showing all the haters what he's made of. But, he may want to stick to the acting. The show got more and more outrageous as it went. The low point was the dance routine around a chair that was brought on stage. The chair had a big sparkling J on its back, so just in case you may have forgotten what letter of the alphabet Jesse's name started with, there was no problem, you could look at the chair. McCartney's voice may be a little higher than his recorded material but performances of "How Do You Sleep," and "Beautiful Soul," were both solid. When a girl was brought up on stage, a process that took close to ten minutes as Jesse and his dance crew scanned the audience for a girl that may have a drivers license, the show took a raunchy turn. Parents were red in the face as the young lady latched onto Jesse and the dance moves started to look like something you might see at a Madonna concert. The set concluded with a great performance of "Leaving." This young entertainer has a lot to look forward to and no matter what path he chooses to go down, be it acting, producing or performing, will no doubt be successful.

Concert Review By: Tyler Sobie