'08
She’s been taking a beating in the media lately for her hokey behavior at live shows (example: talking about passing gas), but it didn’t deter country fans from supporting Jessica Simpson. Her new country album, “Do You Know,” has topped the Billboard 100 country charts this week.
Despite a string of shaky live performances, fans seemed to have embraced Jessica Simpson’s transition to country music.
“Do You Know” has debuted atop Billboard’s country chart.
The album — which sold 65,000 copies since coming out last week — ranked No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200.
Simpson’s first single, “Come on Over,” hit No. 18 on the Hot Country Songs list last month.
Do You Know is Simpson’s sixth album. Her previous effort, A Public Affair, debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2006 with 101,000 albums sold.
2004’s In This Skin was her highest ranking album, reaching No. 2 on the charts.
So why did Simpson decide to ditch pop for country?
“I am a country girl,” she told Billboard.com in December. “I grew up in Texas, and country music was what I listened to. I always wanted to make a country album, but I wanted to wait until the time was right.”
She cited Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Reba McEntire as role models. “I think there is a strength in female country artists,” she added.
Simpson has repeatedly declared that country music is the genre she feels most comfortable in, and that after her last pop album, she begged her label to let her record country instead.
That’s certainly been Simpson’s experience as she plugs her first country single, ”Come on Over,” which has convinced many doubters with its catchy hook and irresistible steel-guitar licks. At radio, the song broke the record for highest country chart entrée by a debuting solo act (although it subsequently failed to crack the top 10). ”So far people have been really kind,” says the 28-year-old Texas native, who cites Dolly, Loretta, and Patsy as heroines, and never completely lost her own twang. ”Even though sometimes it’s backhanded, like ‘I really wanted to hate this, but I like it.’ I’m like, ‘Wow! Okay. Thank you, I guess?’ Still, I’d rather it be that way than the other way around.” In this arena, Simpson arrives as both a superstar and a nobody. ”I definitely feel like I’m 19 again, like when I was starting out as a brand-new artist,” she says, taking a break in the Opry greenroom from her own fangirl visits to Roy Clark’s and Patty Loveless’ dressing quarters. ”Meeting all the DJs, letting people get a sense of who I am and why I’m stepping over into country music…I think once people sit down with me, they understand that it’s a good fit. The only [concern] is people thinking that I’m just trying to jump in for a little bit and then go back to pop.” But, she insists, ”I’m here to stay.”
I haven’t checked out the album, because I’d rather have gum surgery than willingly listen to country music. But reviews written by people who care about this genre are lukewarm. Entertainment Weekly gave it a C+, while the reviewer at Country Universe gives it two out of five stars. But despite what the critics think, it looks like Jessica is connecting with country fans.
Jessica Simpson is shown on 9/11/08 outside the Late Show. Credit: WENN
Written by MSat
Posted in Jessica Simpson, Photos
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20 Responses to “Jessica Simpson’s new album debuts at the top of the country charts”
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Which shows how far country music has slid downhill.
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Oh please! That just means daddy bought 10,000 cds. She’s completely talentless.
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Is it just me or is she growing cankles ?
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Top 40 music in any genre usually sucks, so this isn’t too surprising.
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Good for her. She’s worked hard to promote it.
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Please God, no! This means she’ll never go away
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Agreeing with Codzilla: I love traditional country music. I haven’t listened to commercial country radio for years because other than the odd hour program (at say 0600 on a Sunday), I can’t hear music I love, I can only hear mall Muzac. I don’t think that Ms. Simpson has gone country so much as country has gone pop. My opinions on Kenney G and jazz lite vs. Coltrane and real jazz aren’t that much different either. Thank goodness for satellite radio and the internet!
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Country fans are rather forgiving/accepting.
Jessica totally got more plastic surgery judging by the header photo.
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badrock: Ditto on everything you said. Especially about country going pop. And just for the record, Jessica is a disgrace. Are we supposed to believe that after failing at everything else, she’s “following he heart” into country music? Please, she’s just trying to stay relevant so people won’t stop taking her picture.
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Errr, “following HER heart”
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Thanks Codzilla! Not sure about the forgiving/accepting bit though Elisha (check with the Dixie Chicks!), but agree about the plastic surgery (visual ProTool, pretty sure the poor girl relies on the audio one as well)
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SHe is a LOSER, every since she wore the real girls eat meat.. do real girls also condone the abuse those animals go through.. SHAME ON HER.. LOSER. Carrie Underwood has so much more class..
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65,000 sold in a week? Isn’t that her worst album debut ever? That doesn’t sound very impressive to me - especially since I can’t think of another country album that has come out recently (of course I don’t usually listen to it so I just may not know - feel free to correct me).
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Her last album that only ended up selling a disappointing 299,000 sold 101,000 its first week.
This album sold even less (65,000) its first week. I wonder if this one will even make it to a disappointing 299,000.
Maybe most people agree with ABC’s Allan Raible’s review and are going to pass. “Jessica Simpson will never have the credibility of the country and folk singers she’s poorly imitating.” “Jessica Simpson is still a sub-par pop singer with low-grade material no matter how you slice it. If you add a dash of vanilla to fertilizer, you still have fertilizer! “
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In the very first picture, I can totally picture her as a woman in her late 40’s.
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Pah! Country my a*se. Real Country comes from a confident place which automatically excludes this idiot from the genre. Agree with Codzilla and badrock. Link to some real country sounds for anoyone that thinks JS is country (also, the world music section here features some of the best, most exciting new (and old) music from all genres.
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CB, comment spammed, has a bbc link. Could you fish out please when you have a mo. Thanks.
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I hate to admit it, but I actually like the song. I haven’t heard anything else that’s on her new CD, so maybe the rest of it does suck, but I like “Come on over”. The Daisy Dukes and cowboy boots at her concerts are getting old though.
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I love her dress though!
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Good for her. I kind of like the little nitwit.
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