Whats up with Ashlee Simpson?
I think the answer you’re looking for is marketing synergy. Nobody has mentioned this yet, but Ashlee is famous largely because of her older sister Jessica. Jessica’s career (like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake et al) was decades in the making; many years and many $$$ of dollars were spent by the Simpson family and various record labels and agencies to manufacture Jessica. Ashlee’s subsequent rise to prominence is just a “value add.” Buy one pop star, get another one free! A new pop star has to spend many years singing at local shopping malls and opening for other acts before she builds enough recognition (and performing ability) to be ready for prime time. It’s both time-consuming and expensive, and for every Britney Spears there are 4 or 5 girls trained and promoted by a record label who fail to catch the public’s imagination. They’re essentially a wasted investment — a very expensive investment. Ashlee on the other hand is a sure thing: she gets a decade’s wo
The problem is that a whole lot of people actually like Ashlee Simpson. I like Ashlee Simpson. Being in the UK, I know very little about her as a person or a celebrity, but her first album (“Autobiography”) is really rather nicely put together. It’s not as good as either the Hilary Duff or Lindsay Lohan albums (“Most Wanted”, “Speak”), but it’s still incredibly competent in the way most “real” bands fail to be. That it required very little involvement from Simpson herself is one of the most intriguing things about it, especially considering the title. Haven’t listened to the second album (“I Am Me”) much yet, but am hoping it’s just as good.
