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Ashlee Simpson, pop star, Includes a biography, controversies, criticisms, discography,
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Ashlee Nicole Wentz (née Simpson), better known by her former
stage name Ashlee Simpson and now professionally known as Ashlee
Simpson-Wentz (born October 3, 1984 as 
Nicole Simpson), is an
American pop rock singer-songwriter, and occasional actress. Simpson-Wentz,
who is the younger sister of pop singer Jessica Simpson, rose to prominence
in mid-2004 through the success of her number-one début album Autobiography
and the accompanying reality series The Ashlee Simpson Show. Simpson
received widespread criticism when she used a pre-recorded vocal track on
Saturday Night Live in October 2004. Following a North American concert tour
and a film appearance, Simpson released a second number-one album, I Am Me,
in October 2005. Her third album, Bittersweet World, was released in April
2008.
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Early life
Simpson was born in Waco, Texas, and raised in Richardson, Texas. She is the
daughter of Joe Truett Simpson (a former Baptist youth minister who is now
her manager) and Tina Ann Drew.
Ashlee attended Prairie Creek Elementary. An accomplished dancer, Simpson
began studying classical ballet at the age of three, and was admitted to the
School of American Ballet in New York City at the age of eleven. Around that
time, she suffered from an eating disorder; the condition lasted about six
months, and she dropped to about 31 kg (70 pounds) at 159 cm (5 ft 2 in),
but her parents then stepped in and got her to eat more. After her sister
Jessica Simpson landed a record deal, the Simpson family decided to move to
Los Angeles, California, where Ashlee began appearing in television
commercials.
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Early years
When Jessica became a star after releasing her first album, Ashlee
became one of her backup dancers. Later, Ashlee began appearing in films and
television series, including an episode of the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle
in 2001, a minor role in the 2002 film The Hot Chick and a recurring role,
39 episodes from 2002-2004, on the family drama series 7th Heaven.
In the summer of 2003, Ashlee recorded a song titled "Just Let Me Cry" for
the soundtrack of the film Freaky Friday. Eventually, Simpson signed a
record deal with Geffen Records.
Debut album and reality television (2004)
Simpson-Wentz's first album, Autobiography, debuted at number one in the
U.S. in July 2004 with first week sales numbering around 398,000 copies. The
album was certified triple platinum in September 2004. Simpson co-wrote all
of the album's tracks and described it as "very true to my emotions" in one
interview, but critical reviews were mixed. Rolling Stone magazine's Peter
Relic characterised Autobiography as a "mundane melange of Avril-ish brat
pop and Sheryl Crow cod rock". E! Online wrote "Even if it doesn't wow you,
Autobiography may surprise you." The single that preceded the album, "Pieces
of Me," was one of the biggest hits of the summer in the U.S. and sold well
elsewhere. However, the follow-up singles "Shadow" and "La La" were less
successful.
Simpson occasionally appeared on Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, a reality show
about the married life of Jessica and her then-husband Nick Lachey. To
accompany the beginning of her own music career, she got her own MTV reality
show entitled The Ashlee Simpson Show, which aired in a subsequent time slot
to Newlyweds. It ran in the U.S. for eight weekly episodes over the summer
of 2004, and a second season of ten episodes aired from January to March
2005. The show dealt with the process of writing, recording, and performing
Simpson-Wentz's music as well as aspects of her personal life.
When appearing for live performances, Simpson performs live with a backing
band. During the period from 2004 to 2006, the band consisted of Ray Brady
(guitar), Braxton Olita (guitar), Joey Kaimana (bass guitar—from 2004 to
2005 Zach Kennedy filled this role), Chris Megert (keyboards and vocals—from
late 2004 to 2005 Lucy Walsh filled this role), and Chris Fox (drums).
In addition to her own first album, Simpson sang "Christmas Past, Present,
and Future" on the 2004 holiday album Radio Disney Jingle Jams and a duet of
the Christmas song "Little Drummer Boy" with her sister Jessica for the
album Rejoyce, which they had sung together during the ABC variety hour
special Nick & Jessica's Family Christmas.
At the Teen Choice Awards on August 8, 2004, Simpson received the "Song of
the Summer" Teen Choice Award for "Pieces of Me," as well as the "Fresh
Face" award. In addition, she also won a Billboard Award for New Female
Artist of the Year in December, and in the same month she was named one of
Entertainment Weekly's Breakout Stars of 2004. Simpson also co-hosted Dick
Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve along with Regis Philbin (in Dick Clark's
absence) at the end of the year, hosting the West Coast portion of the show
and performing three songs.
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The Saturday Night Live incident
Simpson crying due to vocal difficulties after a rehearsal for her
controversial Saturday Night Live appearance in 2004.Simpson appeared as a
musical guest on Episode 568 of Saturday Night Live (October 23–24, 2004),
and as is customary for the show's format, she was scheduled to perform two
songs. Her first song, "Pieces of Me", was performed without problems.
However, when she began her second song, "Autobiography", the vocals for the
song "Pieces of Me" were heard again—before she had raised the microphone to
her mouth. Simpson began to dance and then left the stage, while the band
(not a recording) continued playing. During the closing of the show Simpson
appeared with the guest host Jude Law, and said "I'm so sorry. My band
started playing the wrong song, and I didn't know what to do, so I thought
I'd do a hoe down."
On October 25, Simpson called in to the music video show Total Request Live
and explained that due to complications arising from "severe" acid reflux
(which had previously been seen in The Ashlee Simpson Show) she had
completely lost her voice and her doctor had advised her not to sing. She
said that because of the acid reflux, her father wanted her to use a vocal
guide track for the performance. She said of the incident, "I made a
complete fool of myself." According to Simpson-Wentz, the drummer hit the
wrong button, which caused the wrong track to be played. During the October
25 Radio Music Awards broadcast, Simpson pretended, as a joke, to make the
same mistake as she did in the SNL incident, but then began to perform
"Autobiography" without using a pre-recorded vocal track as she had done
during the prior SNL performance. On October 31, the CBS news program 60
Minutes aired footage from Simpson-Wentz's rehearsals before the SNL
performance in which Simpson is shown to be disturbed by voice trouble.
Jeannette Walls compared the impact of the SNL incident to the 1990 Milli
Vanilli incident in which their guide track skipped during a live MTV
performance, revealing that they were lip-synching.
The New York Times said the much-viewed clip of Simpson-Wentz's SNL
appearance "may just be this year's best music video," but dismissed its
significance: "one of 2004's most popular new stars had been exposed as ...
As what, exactly?"
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Orange Bowl performance and first tour (early 2005)
Simpson's Orange Bowl performance.On January 4, 2005, Simpson performed
"La La" at the halftime show for the 2005 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida;
after her performance, many of the 72,000-plus spectators booed. Others note
that Kelly Clarkson had performed before Simpson in the show to a far more
positive reaction, and assert that Simpson-Wentz's performance was poor and
very off-key. Following her Orange Bowl performance, an Internet
petition at PetitionOnline.com asking Simpson to stop producing music became
one of the most active of the site's petitions.[ Simpson later said: "That's
cool. You don't always have to be a fan of everybody's music", also citing
the support she had received from her fans. Around the time of the
petition, Cosmopolitan magazine chose Simpson to be on the cover of the
February 2005 issue, naming her the "Fun Fearless Female of the Year".
Simpson-Wentz's first U.S. headlining tour (with two dates in Canada as
well) ran from mid-February to late April 2005, and its opening acts were
Pepper's Ghost and The Click Five. In addition to material from
Autobiography, Simpson performed her own unreleased song "Hollywood", The
Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket", Blondie's "Call Me", and
Madonna's "Burning
Up". She said that the tour would be "stripped down", without pyrotechnics,
and that "it's going to be me and my band getting out there and having fun".
In March 2005, Simpson said that The Ashlee Simpson Show would conclude at
the end of its second season, the last episode of which aired at the end of
the month.
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Film, second album, and theater (2005–2006)
Simpson had a supporting role as an aspiring actress named Clea in
Undiscovered (originally titled Wannabe), an independent film that was
released in theaters in August 2005. Simpson filmed her scenes in late 2004.
While Simpson's performance was met with acceptable reviews, the film itself
was trashed by critics and placed outside of the top ten in its opening
weekend, earning just $676,048. Her performance in the film earned her a
Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.
Simpson-Wentz's second album, I Am Me, was released in the U.S. on
October 18, 2005. Simpson said that she had wanted to incorporate the feel
of music from the 1980s on the album, and that unlike her debut it would
focus less on relationships and more on herself. I Am Me debuted at number
one with roughly 220,000 copies sold, but sales quickly deteriorated; by
April 2006, it had sold a little less than 900,000 copies. Its first single,
"Boyfriend", became a top twenty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and performed
similarly elsewhere. The second single, "L.O.V.E.", reached the U.S. top
twenty-five, its success aided by a remix by R&B/hip-hop producer Missy
Elliott and MTV's heavy rotation of the single's music video (it has been
her most successful video to date on Total Request Live).
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Simpson performing in October 2005.Simpson began a concert tour in late
September in Portland, Oregon and appeared on the October 8, 2005 episode of
SNL to promote the album. The first of Simpson's two performances on the
show was of the ballad "Catch Me When I Fall", which was written about her
previous SNL experience, and she thanked the crowd after her second
performance. In mid-December, Simpson collapsed after performing in Japan,
possibly due to exhaustion. She was briefly hospitalized, and consequently
cancelled an appearance at the Radio Music Awards.
Simpson and her sister Jessica were scheduled to appear in Rolling Stone
magazine in a shoot shot by photographer David LaChapelle in 2005. Upon
hearing the concept, both sisters were said to be uncomfortable with
LaChapelle's raunchy ideas and cancelled, outraging the photographer. He
ranted to the press in early 2006, calling them "everything that's wrong
with music." Furthering his statement, LaChapelle said he was just trying to
"make the Simpsons look cool. I realize now that is an impossible task."
LaChapelle planned to have the sisters "down and dirty" and appearing with
snakes.
Simpson appeared on the December 2005/January 2006 cover of Teen People with
her sister Jessica, and could also be seen on the December 2005 issue
of Blender, Cosmopolitan magazine's January 2006 edition, the March 2006
issues of Seventeen and Elle, the April 2006 issue of Jane, the June/July
2006 issue of Teen People (in which she was named one of its "25 hottest
stars under twenty-five"), the July 2006 issue of Marie Claire and the
September 2006 issue of CosmoGirl.
Simpson won a Kelly Slater/MTV celebrity surfing invitational competition,
which also featured celebrities such as Meagan Good, Jack Osbourne (her main
competitor during the competition), Parker Angel and Tony Hawk, as
part of an MTV-sponsored 'Spring Break' Special in March 2006. On April 12,
2006 she hosted and performed at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards, where
she won "Best Female Artist" and "Best Pop Video" (for "Boyfriend"). A
new single, "Invisible", was released in mid-2006 and reached the top 25 on
the Billboard Hot 100. Initially it was said that the song would appear on a
re-released version of I Am Me, but this never occurred. Simpson began a
summer tour on June 5, 2006 with Parker Angel as an opening act;
initially The Veronicas also opened but quit the tour after the first few
shows due to a problem with one of their singers' vocal cords.
Simpson said that after this tour, which ended in late July, she would be
going on vacation, that she would take her time making her third album, and
that she would look at movie scripts and continue her acting career.
Simpson played the role of Roxie Hart in the London stage production of
Chicago to rave reviews, from September 25 to October 28, 2006. One reviewer
called Simpson's performance in the show "dazzling and near flawless".
Bittersweet World (2007–2008)
In November 2006, Simpson said that she was going to meet with record
executives soon and begin working on her third album. During 2007, Simpson
worked on the album, which was eventually given the title Bittersweet World,
with producers Timbaland, Kenna, and Chad Hugo. She said that it would have
a more "soulful" sound and more emphasis on beats than guitars.
Geffen chairman Ron Fair said in December 2006 that working on Simpson's
next album would be "very tricky" because of press scrutiny and
"prejudices", but that Geffen would work with her to overcome that, "because
she deserves to be heard and she deserves a shot." A March 2007 interview
with EW.com suggested she was working with a variety of musicians for her
new album.
In October, the album's release was delayed to the first quarter of 2008.
The album's first single, the Timbaland-produced "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)",
was released as a digital download in December 2007.
In an interview with Cosmo-girl for its December 2007/January 2008 issue
(for which she was the cover girl), Simpson said that she had a "stronger
vision" for this album and that she challenged herself by "working with new
sounds and new people". She described the result as a "fun party album" with
a "silly and quirky" side. Regarding her future plans, she said that she
wanted to take some small movie roles and eventually move into bigger roles.
She also said she would like to do theater again and to someday have a
clothing line.
Simpson has described the album as having some influences from '80s music
while still incorporating some pop/rock. She intends to go on tour to
support the album Its second single, "Little Miss Obsessive", was
released in March 2008.
Bittersweet World was released in the U.S. on April 22, 2008. Reviews for
the album were characterized as mixed. A collection of tops designed by
Simpson was launched by the clothing retailer Wet Seal on April 22, in
connection with the album's release.
Simpson began appearing in commercials for Canadian retailer Zellers to
promote their independent clothing line, Request, in mid-2008.
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Voice
Simpson cites her childhood as being the time when she began to sing, and
admits that she dreamed of being on Broadway and didn't expect to break into
the pop music scene. Simpson's voice is described as being a Lyric Alto.
The highest note Simpson has shown capabilities of hitting is an E5 (in her
songs "Invisible" and "La La"), and the lowest note she has shown
capabilities of hitting is an E3 (in her songs "Catch Me When I Fall" and
"Shadow") – about a 2 octave range. On Simpson's voice, producer Ron Fair
has said it has a "gritty tone", and in a review of her album Autobiography,
a critic said "Simpson has a singing ability much like a harder-rocking
Alanis Morissette, with the sassy aspect of Avril Lavigne, and the poise of
such singers as Sheryl Crow". The New York Times has described Simpson's
voice as "rather breathy, and mannered". Simpson trains with a vocal coach,
and studies old Etta James and Aretha Franklin albums for vocal inspiration.
In one interview, Simpson pointed to Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, and Chrissie
Hynde as musical influences.
Image and personal life
When Simpson first broke onto the music scene in 2004, she was set apart
from her sister's already established image by a different musical style,
different fashion choices, and a more assertive personality. Simpson's songs
have been characterized by rock elements absent from her sister's music,
and, particularly during the time of her initial stardom, Simpson would
often wear outfits highlighting a more rock or punk-influenced sense of
style. Her fingernails and toenails have often been painted black. Over
time, Simpson has moved toward more typically feminine styles. In March
2008, she said that "I like to get dressed up now, and that's something I've
never been into before" and "I like to be feminine and sexy." According to
Simpson, in her sense of style she tends to "mix and match".
Previously blonde like Jessica, she dyed her hair dark during the recording
of the MTV reality show after she finished filming for the 7th Heaven
television series. In November 2004, she debuted a shorter haircut with the
same dark color. Following the end of her Autobiography tour, in early May
2005 she moved back to a blonde color; she remained blonde until January
2008, when she appeared with a red hair color.
She has seven tattoos a star on one wrist, two cherries on her ankle,
the word "love" on her other wrist, the number "3" added to one wrist in
2007, and a large peony flower on one wrist in early March 2008.
Simpson and her sister were tied for third on oft-quoted celebrity-fashion
critic Richard Blackwell's list of the worst-dressed celebrities of 2004.
Blackwell quipped that "from gaudy to grim to downright frenetic these two
prove that bad taste is positively genetic."
Simpson's relationship with actor Josh Henderson lasted for nearly two years
and was shown ending in the first episode of The Ashlee Simpson Show. Soon
after, she began dating fellow musician Ryan Cabrera. That relationship was
also featured on the show, and Simpson appeared as Cabrera's love interest
in the music video for his song "On the Way Down". The two were reported to
have split in August 2004 due to their hectic schedules, but they resumed
their relationship for a while afterward, before ending it again in early
2005. Simpson said afterward that they were still friends, although rumors
suggested that Simpson did not like the fact that Ryan had moved on to Lisa
Origliasso of The Veronicas.
At the beginning of her music career, Simpson said that she would not
discuss her sex life, in contrast with her sister, who had openly stated her
intention to practice sexual abstinence until marriage. "I decided that I
didn't want to talk about that because it's super personal," Simpson said of
the situation.
In 2005, rumors began circulating that Simpson was in a relationship with
Wilmer Valderrama, who previously was involved with Lindsay Lohan. Simpson's
single "Boyfriend" was reported to be about the situation, but she said that
the song "is about [how] every girl out there sometimes thinks you stole her
boyfriend. It's just making fun of that." Valderrama subsequently said on
Howard Stern's radio program that he had sex with Simpson, but claimed the
incident was unrelated to his break-up with Lohan. Later that year, rumours
arose that Simpson was secretly dating another Joe Simpson-managed actor,
Viva La Bam's Chris Raab. In February 2006, she told Seventeen magazine that
she was dating bandmate Braxton Olita and went on a 10-day vacation with him
to Hawaii.
In November 2005, eTalk broadcast a video of a late-night visit made by
Simpson to a McDonald's fast-food restaurant in Toronto, Canada. Simpson
appeared to be intoxicated in the video, and was shown arguing with an
employee, as well as rejecting a customer's attempt to get an autograph from
her because he wouldn't kiss her feet. According to Simpson in a 2006 Elle
interview, she was "a little tipsy", and the customer had first called her
"gross" before he had realized who she was, at which point he asked her for
an autograph. She said that she told herself to "grow up" after the
incident.
In February 2006, Simpson was honored by MTV's Total Request Live (TRL), as
the "Bounce-Back" artist. The award was given to her for being able to
recover from the negative moments of her career and release another #1
platinum album.
Simpson reportedly had a nose job in April 2006. When asked about it in an
interview in May, Simpson neither confirmed nor denied it. In the May
2007 issue of Harper's Bazaar, she said that she was not insecure about her
appearance and had not been beforehand. She said that plastic surgery was a
"personal choice" that one should only decide to do for oneself and not for
others. Joe Simpson said of the surgery in a September 2007 interview that
"there was a real problem with her breathing and that was cured". In March
2008, she said that "as long as people have two eyes" they could determine
whether she had a nose job.
In the June 2007 edition of Cosmopolitan, Simpson said that she hasn't lip
synched since her Saturday Night Live incident, that she has "a little crush
on Christian Slater", feels sexiest in bed, and that you can and can't have
a good relationship without amazing sex.
Simpson was ranked as one of the "Hottest Women in Pop/R&B" by Blender in
January 2007.[76] She was later voted as number 16 in Maxim's 2007 Hot 100
list.
In June 2006, it was reported that Simpson seriously considered but later
turned down a $4 million offer to pose nude for Playboy.
In early September 2006, Us Weekly reported that Simpson and Braxton Olita
had split up. Simpson's rep said that the couple "broke up about a week ago.
They have decided to take a break
Marriage
Simpson married Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz on May 17, 2008. The two
were first seen together in late 2006; initially they denied being in a
relationship, although there was much speculation about this. In an
interview for OK! magazine in late 2006, Simpson denied the speculation,
while in an interview with Pete Wentz on Ryan Seacrest's American Top 40
live, Seacrest asked if Wentz and Simpson were "on" or "off", and Wentz
laughed and said "off". In a Rolling Stone photo shoot, however, Wentz and
Simpson took a picture together for the opening of Wentz' bar, Angels &
Kings, and were labeled as a "couple".
Eventually the two began to acknowledge the relationship. In mid-2007 Wentz
spoke about their relationship to InTouch magazine, saying of Simpson that
"I have never met somebody who makes me feel the way she makes me feel",
although he denied rumors of engagement. Simpson has since discussed their
relationship in a number of magazine interviews, including the September
2007 issue of Seventeen magazineand the December 2007/January 2008 issue of
CosmoGIRL!. In March 2008, Simpson and Wentz presented the award for
Favorite Reality Show at the 2008 Kids' Choice Awards.
The couple announced that they were engaged on April 9, 2008.Simpson had
previously been wearing what she described as a "promise ring" from Wentz
for several months. On April 14, Us Weekly and OK! magazine reported that
Simpson is pregnant. Wentz promptly denied this in an e-mail to MTV News,
although Simpson, in an interview the next day, chose not to confirm or deny
the report, saying that it was something to "keep personal", and on TRL she
noted that rumors claiming she was pregnant had been appearing for so long
that, if they were all true, she "would have had a baby by now". Due to the
marriage, Ashlee has legally changed her name from Simpson to Wentz with her
stage name changing to "Simpson-Wentz". Simpson says:
"I think that that's something that a woman should do when they're marrying
a man. It's a tradition that I think is a great tradition."
On May 28, 2008, Simpson and Pete Wentz announced on Fall Out Boy's official
website that they were expecting their first child.: "While many have
speculated about this, we wanted to wait until after the first trimester to
officially confirm that we are expecting our first child. This is truly the
most joyous time in our lives and we are excited to share the happy news and
start our family." In September of 2008, the couple confirmed that they are
expecting a baby in November.
Criticism
Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone magazine criticized Simpson as being a
"manufactured" artist with little singing talent. Simpson's critics cite
incidents like the SNL episode and the Orange Bowl performance as evidence
for their claims.
In mid-2006, Simpson gave an interview to Marie Claire magazine, in which
she was said to have "had it with Hollywood's twisted view of feminine
beauty" and was photographed painting a pro-female mural with a group of
underprivileged girls from Los Angeles's Green Dot Public School. By the
time the magazine hit newsstands, Simpson had already had her nose job, and
some Marie Claire readers complained about this as being hypocritical. The
magazine received over 1,000 angry letters and the magazine's new editor
expanded the letters section of the September issue of the magazine to give
readers a chance to vent their frustrations.
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