'Autobiography' - Ashlee Simpson celebrates debut album's 20th anniversary
Ashlee Simpson is making a return to music in 2024...
Ashlee Simpson Ross is celebrating 20 years of 'Autobiography' with an extended version of the album - and there could be new music on the way very soon.
The 39-year-old burst onto the music scene in 2004 with the release of her debut album on July 20. Ashlee, who is Jessica Simpson's younger sister, had a lot to prove.
With her sister already climbing up the charts with songs like 'I Wanna Love You Forever' and 'I Think I'm In Love With You', Ashlee had to make a name for herself outside of her sister's shadow.
Jessica was the gorgeous blonde next door with a sugary, sweet voice, and Ashlee decided to take a different route. She dyed her hair brunette and marketed herself as an edgy pop-rock singer.
The move paid off, and Ashlee's debut album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album produced hits such as 'Pieces of Me', 'Shadow', and 'La La'.
"I decided to dye my hair because I just needed to do something new and I kind of wanted to do something spontaneous and kind of shock everybody. I didn't do it to separate myself from my sister, but it is a lot of fun because she's got this platinum blonde hair, and I've got this really dark hair. It's cool because now when we hang out and everything, it totally has made us completely different and I like that," she said.
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Ashlee released her second album, 'I Am Me,' in 2005. Despite a lip-syncing disaster in late 2004 that threatened to end her singing career, the album was a hit with her fans.
Two songs from the offering, 'Boyfriend' and 'L.O.V.E', were top 25 hits. Her third and final solo album dropped in 2008.
'Bittersweet World' received generally favourable reviews from music critics, but it did not do as well as her previous two albums.
The 20th-anniversary edition of 'Autobiography' features songs that Ashlee did not release in the US.
"The extended version is just songs that I didn’t release in the States. It’s songs that I would perform [like] “Harder Everyday.” I wished that was on 'Autobiography'. I loved that song. I wrote that with John Feldman years ago, actually, and the Madden brothers, so it’s going to be that and a few of the other songs that I wrote a while ago," she told Stereogum in a recent interview.
An extended version of her album is not the only thing Ashlee has planned for her fans in 2024.
"I am in the studio making new music… so that will be coming."
Does this mean there's a new Ashlee Simpson album on the way for the first time in sixteen years?
"Right now I’m working song by song, and then we’ll see. I’m sure it’ll end up turning into an album. But [I’m] just enjoying the process, getting back to the studio and enjoying writing again," she told the publication.
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Ashlee has spent the last ten years focusing on being a wife and mother. She married Evan Ross - the son of music icon Diana Ross - in 2014.
The couple has two children together - Jagger Snow and Ziggy Blu. She also has a teenage son, Bronx Mowgli, with Fall Out Boy star Pete Wentz.
Ashlee and her husband released a song in 2018 called 'I Do'. The track is featured on their joint EP, 'Ashlee + Evan'. It was recorded just in time for an E! Entertainment reality show about their lives.
"My biggest thing on the show, and in general, is finding my balance of how [I’m a mom] and do all of the work in the studios and my hours, and also make sure I’m there for school. For me, it’s so important that I find that balance, and you see me really trying to discover it," Ashlee told Rolling Stone magazine.
Listen to the acoustic version of 'I Do' here.
Ashlee is ready to get back behind the mic again, and we can't wait to see what she decides to release. She told Stereogum that her new music would be different to the pop-punk sound her fans are used to.
"I’ve grown up now, so it’s a little bit more grown, and at the moment, it’s been more with live music, so I feel like the direction can always turn, but I’m really happy with where we’re at right now. [It’s] more of the fun, rocky vibe."
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Main image credit: Instagran/@ashleesimpsonross