Jesse McCartney Reveals How He Really Feels About His Hit ‘Beautiful Soul’ 20 Years After Its Release (Exclusive

The singer, who turns 37 on Tuesday, April 9 and released a new EP called All’s Well on Friday, April 5, tells PEOPLE that “Beautiful Soul” is the tune that changed his life.

“I remember the first time I heard that song, I was coming out of my SAT exam and I heard it on the radio on Z100,” he says, “and I remember thinking I didn’t have to worry about what was going on with my SATs because I had made it!”

The song, which was released in 2004, climbed international charts. In the United States, the track peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, surpassed only by McCartney’s “Leavin’,” which hit No. 10 four years later.