Jesse McCartney Reacts to Death of Dream Street Member Chris Trousdale

Jesse McCartney is mourning the death of his former Dream Street bandmate Chris Trousdale, who died Tuesday at the age of 34 due to complications related to the coronavirus. The Summerland alum and Trousdale had been two of five members of the early 2000s boyband Dream Street, which also included Greg Raposo, Matt Ballinger, and Frankie Galasso. After learning of Trousdale’s passing, McCartney paid tribute to him in an emotional Instagram post in which he remembered his former band member as being “explosively charming.”

Sharing a photo of Trousdale with his more than 580,000 followers, McCartney said that it “pains” him to write the post announcing Trousdale’s death. He went on to say that Trousdale “had an explosively charming personality with boundless amounts of talent.” Calling Dream Street a group of “young kids with budding talent who shared an overwhelming love for music and performing,” he said that the 34-year-old “was the most popular among us.” According to McCartney, Trousdale “had a way of drawing every eye to what he was doing on stage” and was “an incredibly trained dancer” who would “pick up an entire dance number in a matter of minutes.”

Reflecting on their time in Dream Street, McCartney said that they “were a part of something people never get to experience in an entire lifetime at the tender ages of 12 and 14.” Formed in 1999 and recording a number of hits, the group disbanded in 2002, though to McCartney, those three years “felt like a lifetime and we built a real brotherhood.” Although they grew apart in the years that followed, the singer said that he “would often reflect on our early days together and think about how exciting it all was.” He concluded his message by extending his “deepest sympathies” to Trousdale’s mother, “whom I know cherished him dearly” and wrote that he would “never forget your smile.”

The “Beautiful Soul” singer’s tribute to Trousdale struck a chord with many of his followers, who used the comments section to send their condolences and share tributes of their own. In one message, a fan recalled how she “grew up listening to DreamStreet with my best friend every day after school and all summer long,” adding that they couldn’t “believe he’s gone.” Another person called the news “unbelievable,” while somebody else, who said “dreamstreet was such a huge part of my childhood,” wrote that Trousdale’s passing “breaks my heart.”