Jess Cates (born July 27, 1976 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a Los Angeles based songwriter who has co-written multi-platinum selling songs such as Nick Lachey's "What’s Left Of Me", and the Backstreet Boys hit of 2006 "Incomplete". In recent years, Cates has worked in a commercially successful songwriting team with Lindy Robbins and Emanuel Kiriakou.