Facts And Biography
A shining young star on the horizon, Jessica Simpson is about to turn the
music world around with her refreshing new blend of pop, R&B, and
gospel-flavored sounds. Blessed with a once-in-a-lifetime voice full of
shivering emotional power and heartfelt sensitivity, the 18-year-old Dallas,
Texas native first developed and nurtured her talent in the local Baptist
church, where her father, a psychologist, also works as the congregation's youth
minister.
"I didn't know it was something that I wanted to pursue until I auditioned
for the Mickey Mouse Club back when I was 12 years old," Jessica recalls.
Jessica's undeniable presence and musical abilities carried her all the way to
the finals where she "freaked in the audition" after watching the
other hopefuls try out for the show. "I froze," she confesses,
"but that's when I realized that this is a talent I really do want to
pursue."
While growing up, Jessica was constantly singing along to the radio. Currently,
Jessica's favorite singer (and dream duet partner) is Brian McKnight while she
also has great admiration for Celine Dion and Shania Twain. While at church
camp, at the age of 13, Jessica sang Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love
You" and an a cappella arrangement of "Amazing Grace" for one of
the camp's speakers, a gentleman who was launching a gospel record label. After
three year's work completing an album, the nascent label folded and Jessica
began to tour with the music, performing at Christian youth conferences like
True Love Waits, sometimes to audiences of 20,000 people. Her grandmother paid
for her album to be mixed and pressed. Jessica and her father hit the gospel
circuit. "So we just took it out," she says. "Everywhere my dad
would
speak, I would perform. And we would sell the album. We sold every copy that we
had made, actually." The majors started taking notice. During one
particularly concentrated period of deal-shopping, Jessica had meetings with ten
major labels over the course of two days.
Before choosing Columbia Records as the home for her music, Jessica Simpson was
actively singing in the gospel world, performing with the likes of Kirk
Franklin, God's Property, and Ce Ce Winans, among others.
After her 17-year-old cousin was killed in a tragic car accident, Jessica was
moved to begin keeping a record of her thoughts and feelings. "She kept
journals," Jessica remembers. "After she died, we went into her room
and we opened up all these journals. It was like another book of the Bible. It
inspired so many people. That is such an incredible way to express yourself. It
can really touch people's lives. This really encouraged me. Every night, before
I go to sleep, I take my bath and then I light my candles and I lay in the bed
and write. I've done that ever since I was 14 years old. So, I have tons of
journals, just full of stuff. So, definitely, I'm a lyricist. Sometimes I hear
the melodies and stuff, but definitely the words come first."
The first piece of Jessica's writing to take musical form was "Angels
Falling," a song in tribute to a friend's father, who'd recently passed on.
One of her songs, "Did You Ever Love Someone?," was featured in a
recent episode of "Dawson's Creek," one of Jessica's favorite TV
shows. (Jessica is pursuing an acting career in tandem with her singing and is
currently living in Los Angeles.) Two of her compositions are expected to appear
on her upcoming debut album from Columbia Records. The song she holds most
special is "Heart Of Innocence," a song that Jessica dedicates to
"my future husband, wherever he is." Jessica Simpson is part of a
positive new breed of teenager, youth who welcome responsibility and propriety.
In school, Jessica hung with a crowd that was popular and respected, even though
none of them drank, smoked, or had sex. In fact, Jessica was elected Homecoming
Queen two years in a row. She's loyal to the values instilled in her by her
family and even uses her younger sister, Ashlee, as a dancer in her sets.
"She was runner-up for national junior dancer of the year at New York City
Dance Alliance," says Jessica. "So she's like an amazing dancer. My
whole family's going on tour with me."
Which isn't to say, she's not a normal teenager through and through. When
pressed, she'll own up to her vices. "Um," she offers, "I shop.
I'm a clothes and shoe freak. And I love, you know, makeup..." And she
knows what's truly important: "Hanging out with my friends is my most
favorite thing in the whole world." And pretty soon, the whole world is
going to want to hang out with Jessica Simpson.