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Autobiography (Ashlee Simpson album)

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For other albums entitled Autobiography, see Autobiography (album).
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Autobiography is the first album by American pop rock singer Ashlee Simpson. Released in the United States by Geffen Records on July 20, 2004, the album debuted at number one on the charts, although critical reception was mixed. Eventually the album outsold In This Skin, the most successful album of Ashlee Simpson's more established sister, pop music singer Jessica Simpson.

Three singles for the album were released: "Pieces of Me"—the first and bestselling single—which was a hit in several countries in mid to late 2004, as well as the follow-up singles "Shadow" and "La La". MTV highlighted the process of making the album in the reality series The Ashlee Simpson Show, which drew a large audience and served as an effective promotional vehicle for the album.[1] However, the promotion of the album took a hit when she was accused of lip syncing in a performance on Saturday Night Live.

About the album

Simpson described the process of writing the album's twelve songs as being similar to keeping a diary, and before the album's U.S. release she said that "My inspiration came from what I have gone through in the past three years. Every single day I was thinking of what I was going through and would write songs about it."[2] The lyrics primarily deal with love and heartbreak, and Simpson said they were inspired by her breakup with her boyfriend at the time, Josh Henderson; she described Autobiography as "very true to my emotion" in a September 15, 2004 Capital FM (London) radio interview; "people like to hear when somebody's being real", she said.

The album incorporates rock as well as pop elements, which contrasts with the more strongly pop-oriented music of Simpson's sister, Jessica Simpson. One reviewer noted that, unlike Jessica's music, Autobiography relies on glitzy guitars and big power-pop riffs.[3] Ashlee emphasized that instead of making her music like pop singers such as her sister or Hilary Duff, she wanted to do more rock-oriented music inspired by the work of musicians such as Chrissie Hynde and Joan Jett. However, some have suspected that Simpson's more rock-oriented sound and image represented a deliberate marketing attempt to distinguish between the sisters. Simpson worked closely with a number of experienced songwriters on the album. The album's producer, John Shanks—who won a Grammy in February 2005,[4] in part for his work as producer on Autobiography—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. Sugar Ray drummer Stan Frazier was one of the co-writers of "Unreachable". (See the track listing.)

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"[5].[6] However, other critics were more negative; Rolling Stone called it "mundane...with a predictable script", and at one point described Simpson's singing as "wailing in lieu of hitting notes".[7] The New York Times said that Autobiography "is a thoroughly calculated package, aiming for the same audience that embraces Avril Lavigne and Pink." The Village Voice compared Autobiography favorably to Courtney Love's 2004 album America's Sweetheart: it said that Love's solo debut "is tragic and blasted and pissed-off and pathetic and desperate and sad; Autobiography is all those things, plus it has Fruit Stripe bubblegrunge guitars and insanely chewy melodies and an ear-tickling production job." It also praised Simpson's singing, saying that she "can pack so much contradictory emotion into a single line—a single word—that the music can barely contain it." A writer for Stylus magazine disagreed, commenting "after spending more than forty minutes with Ashlee, I feel like I don’t know her any better than I did beforehand...[and] for a record with the name Autobiography, it seems like no bigger criticism could be leveled."[8]

Tracks

The title track opens the album with lyrics evoking difficult times ("Got bruises on my heart") moderated with optimism ("Right now I'm solo, but that will be changing eventually"); a review in the Village Voice described the song as "wrist-pumping Joan Jett rock candy", but Stylus labelled the track "an age-old trope and a boring one at that". Tiscali.music characterised "Pieces of Me", a song about the comfort and happiness Simpson found in her relationship with Ryan Cabrera, as a soft rock ballad with "stringy guitar riffs"[9][10]. "Shadow", described by People magazine as "the ... most personal song" on the album, is a slower tune in which Simpson recounts playing a lesser role to her sister when she was younger, eventually becoming free to pursue her own dreams as she grew older[11].

The album continues with "La La", a song with sexual lyrics that Simpson has described as "tongue-in-cheek". One reviewer described "La La" as a "punk inspired, fast beat, screaming anthem"[12]. "Love Makes the World Go Around", which Stylus claimed "lifts shamelessly from Jimmy Eat World’s "The Middle"", talks about the disappointment of an ending relationship. "Better Off", described by People magazine as a "bubbly" song and by eopinions.com as a "chunk of pop/rock goodness sans the Duff vibe", and "Love Me for Me", which People called "Joan-Jett-esque" and which Simpson has said is about "self-appreciation"[13][14][15] both deal with contradictory feelings about relationships. The synth-driven "Surrender" follows with Simpson consenting to a breakup, with lyrics such as "you make your misery my company."

"Unreachable" combines a piano line and vintage Chamberlin sounds with lyrics dealing with regrets about rushing into a relationship. "Nothing New" describes impatience with stagnation, 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[16]. She named the song as one of her favorite tracks on the album, in addition to the next and final track, "Undiscovered", which she often cites as her favorite. "Undiscovered", which was written after her breakup with Josh, is described by eopinions.com as a song with "haunting strings" and "mellow guitars", and in the song Simpson ponders what might have been in a lost pairing[17]. Non-U.S. pressings follow with "Harder Everyday", and the United Kingdom edition adds "Sorry". The U.S. Wal-Mart edition of the album also included an access code to download a reduced-quality version of "Sorry" over the Internet.

Sales and chart performance

Week-by-week chart performance of Autobiography (first 30 weeks).

In the U.S., Autobiography was 2004's biggest debut by a female artist, and in September the RIAA gave the album a triple platinum certification. [18][19] Following its July 20th release, it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling about 398,000 copies; according to Nielsen Soundscan figures Autobiography sold a total of 2,576,945 copies from the time of its release until early January 2005, making it the ninth best-selling album of 2004. By August 2005, it sold about 2.9 million copies. In Canada, where the album's release corresponded with the U.S., it sold about 3,000 copies in its first week (number 37 on the album chart);[20] it rose on the chart to number eight at one point, and went double platinum in February 2005.[21] The album was released in the U.K. on October 4, 2004, and debuted at number 31 on the album charts where it peaked[22]. However, it returned to the top 40 in January 2005, rising substantially from number 91 to number 33 in the week ending January 24, following Simpson's promotion of "La La" (the album's second single in the U.K., released on January 24). 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 top 40 positions in Switzerland[23] and Norway[24]. As of January 2005, Autobiography has sold about 3.5 million copies worldwide.

Simpson's success in album sales with Autobiography compares favorably with that of her sister Jessica, who, despite having several hits since 1999, has not as of 2005 had a number one album; as of August 2005, Autobiography has also sold more copies than any of Jessica's albums. Geffen President Jordan Schur said of Ashlee'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 received a great deal of exposure in the period immediately prior to the album's release through The Ashlee Simpson Show, which debuted in the U.S. on MTV on June 16. In July, Geoff Mayfield, Billboard's director of charts, described the album 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." Zena Burns of Teen People wrote: "Ashlee has an amazing promotional machine, and it doesn't hurt to have Jessica and MTV behind you, but she also came out with an insanely catchy pop single." From July 13th to July 20th MTV.com's "The Leak" featured Autobiography as a streamable download on its website. The album drew 2.66 million requested streams during the time period, breaking a record previously held by Britney Spears' 2003 album In the Zone.

Publicity and controversy

Autobiography eventually went platinum as a result of its heavy promotion.

The album and singles received considerable promotion in the U.S.—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. Before The Ashlee Simpson Show debuted, "Pieces of Me" was heavily promoted on radio. In May 2004, the Los Angeles Times noted that radio stations were adding the song to their play lists faster than any other songs up to that point in the year.[25] European promotion for Autobiography and "Pieces of Me" began in September 2004. According to a Geffen press release, her December 6th AOL Music Live performance "had the biggest 1 week audience ever for AOL with 1.6 million plays."[26] "Shadow" was the album's second single in Australia. Simpson further promoted the album in the U.S. with her first headlining tour, which ran from February 16 to April 20, 2005; the tour, which included two shows in Canada, was generally lucrative and may have enabled Simpson to end the Autobiography era of her career on a high note.[27] Some suggest that her corporate backing indicates that her success was manufactured, and that her father and manager, Joe Simpson, uses reality television to achieve success that might not be possible otherwise.[28]

Simpson's publicity suffered when a performance on the October 24th edition of Saturday Night Live went awry. According to Simpson's publicists, her father and manager decided to use a vocal guide track because her voice had been weak in rehearsal due to acid reflux. During the performance the vocal track was shut off but the musical track continued and Simpson walked off the stage. She subsequently apologized for the error during the show's closing. Some viewers accused Simpson of lip synching during the performance, and the incident received wide-spread coverage in the news. Later, at the halftime show for the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida on January 4, 2005, after performing her song "La La", she was booed by the crowd, possibly as a result of the SNL debacle as the Orange Bowl publicists contended, although some thought her voice was off-key. These incidents continued to haunt Simpson throughout the promotion of the album.[29][30][31]

Making the album

In a 2004 interview, Simpson said that when she began seeking a recording contract record labels would not meet with her because they thought she preferred following in her sister's footsteps by performing pop-oriented music. Simpson also said that she refused to meet with Jessica's record label (Columbia) because she wanted to be signed for her music and not "piggy back" on her sister's success. She eventually signed with Geffen in 2003. 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."[32]

File:AS149.jpg
The making of Autobiography was documented by The Ashlee Simpson Show, where Simpson was shown writing and singing songs.

Simpson said that she initially did not want to do the reality show but that her father persuaded her to do it because it would be about the production of her album: "...I thought that was kind of cool. You're actually seeing a deeper look into how this album got made." She also wanted to distinguish herself from her sister by showing their differences, including their different musical styles and tastes. In the show, some of the early stages of songwriting are seen, and she is seen working with Steve Fox and Stan Frazier, as well as John Feldmann of the band Goldfinger, Guy Chambers, and the producing team The Matrix. Later, she begins to work with John Shanks, who became the producer of her album, and she is also seen working with Kara DioGuardi as well, on "Pieces of Me".

Simpson said of making the album: "It's a lot of work. From finding the right label to the actual recording, it took about nine months, then it was followed by the publicity work." In an extensive list of thank-yous in the album's liner notes, Simpson includes Benji and Joel Madden of the band Good Charlotte, with whom she worked on a song that did not make it onto the album.[33]

Track listing

  1. "Autobiography" (Simpson, Kara DioGuardi, John Shanks) – 3:34
  2. "Pieces of Me" (Simpson, DioGuardi, Shanks) – 3:37
  3. "Shadow" (Simpson, DioGuardi, Shanks) – 3:57
  4. "La La" (Simpson, DioGuardi, Shanks) – 3:42
  5. "Love Makes the World Go Round" (Simpson, Shanks) – 3:45
  6. "Better Off" (Simpson, DioGuardi, Shanks) – 3:27
  7. "Love Me for Me" (Simpson, Shelly Peiken, Shanks) – 3:27
  8. "Surrender" (Simpson, DioGuardi, Shanks) – 3:20
  9. "Unreachable" (Simpson, Stan Frazier, Steve Fox, Robbie Nevil, Billy Mann) – 3:53
  10. "Nothing New" (Simpson, DioGuardi, Shanks) – 3:06
  11. "Giving It All Away" (Simpson, John Feldmann) – 2:56
  12. "Undiscovered" (Simpson, Shanks) – 4:56

Bonus tracks

Some editions contain one or more of the following:

  • "Harder Everyday" (Simpson, Feldmann, Benji Madden)
  • "Sorry" (Simpson, Fox, Frazier)
  • "Endless Summer" (Simpson, DioGuardi, Shanks)

Personnel

  • Ashlee Simpson – vocals; background vocals (tracks 1–4, 10 and 12)
  • Kenny Aronoff – drums (tracks 1, 3, 5, 8 and 10)
  • John Shanks – guitars, bass; keyboards (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 12); background vocals (tracks 1, 5, 7, 8 and 9)
  • Kara DioGuardi – background vocals (tracks 1–4, 6 and 10)
  • Jeff Rothschild – drums (tracks 2, 4, 11 and 12)
  • Jamie Muhoberac – piano, organ (track 3)
  • Patrick Warren – Chamberlin (tracks 3 and 12)
  • Abe Laboriel, Jr. – drums (tracks 6, 7 and 9)
  • John Feldmann – original programming (track 11)
  • David Campbell – string arrangement (tracks 3 and 12)

Production

  • Producers: John Shanks, Jordan Schur
  • Engineers: Mark Valentine
  • Mixing: Jeff Rothschild, John Shanks
  • Mastering: Ted Jensen
  • A&R: Jeff Rothschild
  • Photography: Mark Liddell
  • Design: Soap Design Co.

References

Notes

  1. ^ Gundersen, Edna (28 July 2004). "Ashlee Simpson shows big sister how it's really done". {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
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  3. ^ Sheffer, Gabriel (6 August 2004). "CD Review: Ashlee Simpson, "Autobiography" (Geffen)". {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
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  5. ^ "Autobiography review". 2 August 2004. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
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  7. ^ Relic, Peter (5 August 2004). "rollingstone.com Autobiography review". {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  8. ^ Burns, Todd. Ashlee Simpson: Autobiography. Stylus. July 21, 2004. Retrieved September 11, 2005.
  9. ^ Rashbaum, Alyssa (11 August 2004). "Ryan Cabrera, Ashlee's Ex, Sets Sights On Album, Sorority Tour". {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  10. ^ Template:Web reference simple
  11. ^ D., Spence (29 July 2004). "Ashlee Simpson Interview". {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
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  13. ^ Template:Web reference simple
  14. ^ "Autobiography review". 2 August 2004. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Moss, Corey (17 February 2005). "Ashlee Simpson Soldiers On, Like Always, Through Tour-Launch Snafus". {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  16. ^ Template:Web reference simple
  17. ^ Template:Web reference simple
  18. ^ Whitmire, Margo (7 October 2005). "Charles Earns First Platinum RIAA Award (Autobiography reaches triple-platinum)". {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  19. ^ Template:Web reference simple
  20. ^ Stevenson, Jane (5 November 2004). "Ashlee Simpson's CD tops charts in U.S., has slower start in Canada". {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
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  22. ^ Template:Web reference simple
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  28. ^ "Pop Stars Jessica and Ashlee Are Pop's Stars". 29 October 2004. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  29. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (25 October 2004). "Ashlee Blames Gastric Distress For 'SNL' Lip-Synch Snafu". {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  30. ^ Pulskamp, Andrew (5 January 2005). "Ashlee Simpson's Halftime Performance Falls Flat". {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  31. ^ Graham, Renée (11 January 2005). "Ashlee Simpson's career comes courtesy of Daddy dearest". {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  32. ^ Template:Web reference simple
  33. ^ Template:Web reference simple
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