Autobiography (ashlee simpson album)

Every single day I was thinking of what I was going through and would write songs about it. She has described the album as being "very honest" and "very true to my emotions"—"I wasn't afraid to say that I was hurting and how I got over it. The album's producer, John Shanks —who won a Grammy in Februaryin part for his work as producer on Autobiography [ 7 ] —receives songwriting credit alongside Simpson on all but two songs.

Kara DioGuardi also receives songwriting credit, together with Simpson and Shanks, on seven of the songs, including the three singles. The album incorporates rock as well as pop elements, which contrasts with the heavily pop-oriented music of sister, Jessica. One reviewer noted that, unlike Jessica's music, Autobiography "relies on glitzy guitars and big power-pop riffs".

Autobiography (ashlee simpson album): Album · Ashlee Simpson ·

In a interview, Simpson said that when she began seeking a recording contract record labels would not meet with her because they thought she just wanted "to be like her sister". Simpson also said that she did not want to meet with Jessica's record label Columbia because she wanted to be signed because of her music, rather than her sister.

As for her role as co-writer of the songs, Simpson has said that she had a lot of input lyrically: " I come up with the whole concept of the song. To me, writing is a very important thing. It's what I've always done and what I've always loved to do, and it was a big part of my wanting to do a record. So my label was amazing because they really let me have my hands in there.

I got to write a lot. From finding the right label to the actual recording, it took about nine months, then it was followed by the publicity work. The Village Voice review described the song as "wrist-pumping Joan Jett rock candy", [ 13 ] but Stylus labelled the track "an age-old trope and a boring one at that". The album continues with " La La ", a song with sexual lyrics that Simpson has described as "tongue-in-cheek".

The synth-driven "Surrender" follows with Simpson consenting to a breakup, with lyrics such as "you make your misery my company"; epinions wrote that it is on this track that Simpson sounds "most loose and carefree". Simpson has described "Nothing New" as being about her frustration with an ex-boyfriend's "dramas" until she is ultimately "finished with him", [ 11 ] while "Giving It All Away" encourages the listener to stand on one's own feet: "hold on to your life and don't give that away", Simpson said of the song.

The US Wal-Mart edition of the album also included an access code to download a reduced-quality version of "Sorry" on the internet. Critical reviews of Autobiography were mixed. People magazine considered it a "passable debut" and said that it showed Simpson was a "credible talent in her own right"; [ 15 ] Allmusic called it "an unexpectedly strong debut".

Online also praised Simpson's singing and catchy tracks, saying that "Ashlee Simpson still managed to piece together this collection of tracks that sound as if they were ripped right from the pages of her diary. Ashlee even makes you think twice about her semicharmed life. So, even if it doesn't wow you, Autobiography may surprise you.

Other critics were more negative.

Autobiography (ashlee simpson album): Autobiography is the debut

Rolling Stone called it "mundane The album and singles received considerable promotion in the US—where they sold the most copies—and other countries, and much of this focused on contrasting her with Jessica by highlighting her more rock-oriented image. This image distinction from Jessica did not mean that the two were not associated in publicity, however; the sisters appeared together in television commercials at around the time of Autobiography 's release, for Pizza Hut and Ice Breakers Liquid Ice.

A key element of Simpson's promotion was The Ashlee Simpson Showwhich debuted on June 16,and ran for eight episodes, achieving high ratings for cable television. Jessica's reality show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessicahad debuted in and had proved highly successful, being credited with reviving her flagging music career; reality television proved similarly effective in helping launch Simpson's music career.

It has been said that Simpson's father and manager Joe Simpson "redefined how you sell records" through his use of reality television to promote his daughters. I thought that was kind of cool. You're actually seeing a deeper look into how this album got made. Geoff Mayfield, Billboard 's director of charts, pointed to a combination of factors in explaining Simpson's success with Autobiography.

He described Simpson as the "right thing at the right time" and said: "The MTV show is a huge catalyst, radio jumped all over the song, and her famous sister opened the door. If Jessica never happened, then Ashlee doesn't get her own show and this album doesn't happen. Autobiography drew 2. Simpson's publicity suffered when the performance on the October 23—24 edition of Saturday Night Live went awry.

According to Simpson's publicists, her father and manager decided to use a vocal guide track because of problems she was having with her voice, beginning earlier in the day, that were caused by acid reflux. Although her first performance of the night—"Pieces of Me"—was successful, her second performance, which was supposed to be of "Autobiography" at the time planned as her third singlewent wrong: "Pieces of Me" mistakenly began playing, and Simpson's recorded vocals were heard when her microphone was not near her mouth.

She subsequently walked off the stage and then apologized for the error during the show's closing. Simpson joked about the incident with a performance of "Autobiography" at the Radio Music Awards on October Before The Ashlee Simpson Show debuted, " Pieces of Me " began picking up substantial airplay on radio, In Maya Los Angeles Times article noted that radio stations were adding the song to their playlists faster than any autobiography (ashlee simpson album) songs up to that point in the year.

Shortly afterward, " La La " replaced "Autobiography" as the album's third single. It reached a chart peak at number 86 on the Hot[ 41 ] falling considerably short of the positions reached by her two previous singles. Simpson suffered further negative publicity at the halftime show for the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida on January 4,where she performed "La La" and was booed by the crowd.

Shortly after the Orange Bowl incident, Simpson performed the song on several television shows in the UK in January ; "La La" debuted and peaked just outside the top ten, and sales of Autobiography also rose considerably during the same period. In Canada, where the album's release corresponded with the US, it sold about 3, copies in its first week number 37 on the album chart ; [ 47 ] it rose on the chart to number eight at one point and went double platinum in February In Ireland, the album peaked at number 22 on the chart in late January, at the same time as "La La" was released as a single chart.

The album also reached number 36 in Switzerland [ 50 ] and number 29 in Norway. Geffen President Jordan Schur said of Simpson's success: "It's unheard of in this business—even for a superstar—to sell this number of records," and emphasized her relative obscurity until not long before the album's release. Simpson expressed surprise at the degree of her album's success: "I just hoped my album charted.

I didn't expect it to be number one in the country!

Autobiography (ashlee simpson album): Autobiography is the debut

It was a huge shock. Adapted from the Autobiography liner notes. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. Ashlee Simpson. Pop rock pop punk [ 1 ] teen pop [ 2 ] bubblegum pop [ 3 ]. Background [ edit ]. Composition [ edit ].

Critical reception [ edit ]. Promotion [ edit ]. Singles [ edit ]. Commercial performance [ edit ]. Track listing [ edit ]. Page Talk. Read Change Change source View history. Tools Tools. In other projects. Wikidata item. Promotion [ change change source ]. Singles [ change change source ]. Tour [ change change source ]. Chart Positions [ change change source ].

References [ change change source ]. Retrieved Official Charts. Toggle the table of contents. Autobiography album.