I Am Me reached #1 in Billboard 200

her latest album came out 4 years later after that SNL disaster still went #4 but the reputation unfortunately went down hill along with her withdrawn dance and walking off the stage.

Would a piece of her still make it if that awkward performance didn't happen?

It's been 18 years and sadly she quits and never returns.

Hoë, hew the **** are you talking about

she could've kept going if she wanted but she dgaf

I think she would've fell off anyways ala Hilary with Dignity. Usually the 3rd eras collapse.

4 minutes ago, AriGlinda said:

Hoë, hew the **** are you talking about

who else but HER

4 minutes ago, AriGlinda said:

Hoë, hew the **** are you talking about

Ashlee Simpson

Problem was that she did almost no PR to try and fix the situation. It's like she threw her hands up and said "I'm done" and walked away.

I thought this thread was gonna be about Lana's SNL performance and I was coming to post "Came for Ashlee Simpson". Now I'm mad the thread is actually about her and I couldn't post that

It's 2026, pls be specific about stuff that happened two decades ago, ok?!

I thought you guys were talking about Lana Del Rey

3 minutes ago, naval23 said:

I think she would've fell off anyways ala Hilary with Dignity. Usually the 3rd eras collapse.

this Avril stepsis

i was talking about this with someone the other day and tbh my take is that it didn't make that much difference in the real world, its the kind of media narrative that causes a feeding frenzy but do we really think ashlee's fans were that bothered about stuff like that?

she went downhill commercially but she didn't fall off a cliff, it's the kind of slow declining career trajectory you'd expect from that kind of mid range pop star, lana had the same **** to deal with and it never did her any harm

Edited May 9May 9 by makeawish

3 minutes ago, makeawish said:

i was talking about this with someone the other day

this is what hanging around on ATRL does to you. remember kids: just say no

7 minutes ago, LadyDiana said:

It's 2026, pls be specific about stuff that happened two decades ago, ok?!

To be honest, this was such a huge catastrophe that everyone should immediately know what is being referred to. Like you don't need to know what towers people are talking about when people say "another plane hit the second tower."

Edited May 9May 9 by thisbirdhasflown

no

she was the new Milli Vanilli

3 minutes ago, ThePopStop said:

Ashlee Simpson

Problem was that she did almost no PR to try and fix the situation. It's like she threw her hands up and said "I'm done" and walked away.

she did do "PR" her MTV reality show documented the whole thing and she still had a solid fanbase at the time which is why her follow up album went #1 and platinum + she even went back on SNL the following year and did fine

if you're referring to industry validation and respect (being seen as more artistically credible or ~authentic), that could've come if she'd kept at it and continued releasing albums and building her career.. but after her marriage to Pete and pregnancy she did basically step away and ****** off instead (except for the occasional gig here and there)

Edited May 9May 9 by okgo

Bittersweet World would've flopped still with that dollar store Gwen Stefani cosplay she was trying. This is not what people wanted from her (and came too late too).

She completely changed her sound and image by her third album which alienated people and her main original image was on its way out anyway as the pop-rock imperial phase was also on its way out by the late 2000s (see: Avril Lavigne)

9 minutes ago, Gossip_Boy said:

Bittersweet World would've flopped still with that dollar store Gwen Stefani cosplay she was trying. This is not what people wanted from her (and came too late too).

I kinda agree, but I actually think the problem is that it came too early in her career to make such a pivot

she talked about it recently and was spot on imo

Why is your third album such a different vibe from the first two?

The third album, I feel like it was so ahead of its time. I'm making it in 2007 — we didn't have those artists out yet doing the '80s thing. I was loving Missing Persons and Talking Heads. But I don't think I was sure where I was going, because I did two different versions. The other version I was writing with Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley and Beth Hart. I go back and listen to some of the songs I was doing with them, and I'm like, "Really wish those were in there."

What's that version sound like?

More singer-songwriter-y. Then I flipped it and went the other way. I was in this lighter, just-want-to-have-fun place of my life. Some of it feels incomplete as I listen to it now.

I'd love to hear the stuff you did with Jenny Lewis.

She's, like, my favorite. And Beth Hart — I wrote with both of them. And John Legend! We had three songs we wrote together. I was evolving, right? I was trying to say, "OK, I'm gonna leave that part of me behind." You have to imagine, I was 23 — no, 22. I got pregnant with my son at 23. There's so many lyrics I'm still proud of on that record.

Give me an example.

Listen to the words of "Bittersweet World": "Everybody trying to hide all of those habits / It's kind of bizarre when it's who you are / It's tragic that it's come to this / I bury all of my vices trying to keep my head up over it when everything's whatever." That lyric was saying that everyone has this facade, and I'm seeing life in a different way. I'd been on tour since I was 14, and I wanted to be a mom.

10 minutes ago, okgo said:

I kinda agree, but I actually think the problem is that it came too early in her career to make such a pivot

she talked about it recently and was spot on imo

She deserves a second chance

5 minutes ago, okgo said:

I kinda agree, but I actually think the problem is that it came too early in her career to make such a pivot

she talked about it recently and was spot on imo

I meant too late to cash in on Gwen's hype. Outta My Head was such a blatant copy of What You Waiting For? down to the video (but not nearly as good). It's hard for me to believe that wasn't their intention.

Other than that I agree. I wasn't expecting her to be doing pop rock for the rest of her life but she should've changed her sound a little more gradually and should've done it better too.

31 minutes ago, Gossip_Boy said:

Bittersweet World would've flopped still with that dollar store Gwen Stefani cosplay she was trying. This is not what people wanted from her (and came too late too).

She should have been stubborn enough to climb another maintain and make it on top and being consistent with her craft but who knows, maybe her safety net wasn't that solid to bring her back after that SNL disaster. She missed her moment to turn it all around. Maybe not in a way like reputation by T.S but perhaps something like "I made a mistake but I'm gonna use this mic to work" . Release a new album in one or two years after that snl.

She would've faded anyway. She barely had any market outside of the US to fall back on, and her output's quality deteriorated. If anything, the SNL disaster inspired two of her best songs - Beautifully Broken and Catch Me When I Fall.

yes Ashlee, thats the one right

9 minutes ago, Gossip_Boy said:

I meant too late to cash in on Gwen's hype. Outta My Head was such a blatant copy of What You Waiting For? down to the video (but not nearly as good). It's hard for me to believe that wasn't their intention.

Other than that I agree. I wasn't expecting her to be doing pop rock for the rest of her life but she should've changed her sound a little more gradually and should've done it better too.

I still really like the album honestly all 3 are pretty strong imo with Autobiography being the best ofc, I Am Me feels like a natural part 2, and Bittersweet World is just her going full fun/quirky pop and I personally enjoy that a lot (even if it might not have been the best move careerwise)

14 minutes ago, Victon said:

She deserves a second chance

well it's up to her, same as back then when she decided to step away from pushing music. she can still release stuff, but she'll never have that same moment or audience size at all anymore + she's 40 now so it's just harder to get that kind of attention again, which is probably why she hesitates (feels like no one would care about new material, and she's prob not wrong outside a few people)