Autobiography (Ashlee Simpson album)
Autobiography is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Ashlee Simpson. Released in the United States by Geffen Records on July 20, 2004, the album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Musically, it combines elements of rock and pop. Critical reception for the album by critics was mixed. Autobiography has sold more than five million copies worldwide.
Three singles from Autobiography were released: "Pieces of Me"—the first and most successful 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.[4]
Background[edit]
Simpson described the process of writing the album's twelve songs as being similar to keeping a diary, and before the album's US 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."[5] The lyrics primarily deal with love and heartbreak; in particular, much of the album's lyrical content was inspired by Simpson's breakup with her boyfriend at the time, Josh Henderson. She has described the album as being "very honest" and "very true to my emotions"—"I wasn't afraid to say that I was hurting and how I got over it."[6] 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, in part for his work as producer on Autobiography[7]—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.[8]
The album incorporates rock as well as pop elements, which contrasts with the heavily pop-oriented music of sister, Jessica. One reviewer noted that, unlike Jessica's music, Autobiography "relies on glitzy guitars and big power-pop riffs".[9] On her reality show, Simpson emphasized that she did not want to make her music like pop singers such as her sister or Hilary Duff; instead, she has cited musicians such as Chrissie Hynde and Joan Jett as influences.
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 just wanted "to be like her sister". Simpson also said that she did not want to meet with Jessica's record label (Columbia) because she wanted to be signed because of her music, rather than her sister.[10] 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."[6] 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."[11] 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 the song "Harder Everyday", which was released as an international bonus track.[12]
Composition[edit]
The title track, which was also the theme song to her MTV reality series The Ashlee Simpson Show, opens the album by introducing Simpson, who sings "got stains on my t-shirt, and I'm the biggest flirt" and "if you want my auto, want my autobiography / baby, just ask me". The Village Voice review described the song as "wrist-pumping Joan Jett rock candy",[13] but Stylus labelled the track "an age-old trope and a boring one at that". "Pieces of Me", a song about the comfort and happiness Simpson found in her relationship with Ryan Cabrera,[6] has been characterised as a soft rock ballad with "stringy guitar riffs".[14] "Shadow", described by People magazine as the "most personal song" on the album,[15] is a slower tune in which Simpson recounts playing a lesser role to her sister when she was younger, but eventually finding her own identity.[6]
The album continues with "La La", a song with sexual lyrics that Simpson has described as "tongue-in-cheek".[16] One reviewer described "La La" as a "punk inspired, fast beat, screaming anthem".[17] "Love Makes the World Go Round", which epinions.com described as having a "Duff vibe",[18] talks about the disappointment of an ending relationship. "Better Off", which has been described as a "bubbly" song[15] and as a "chunk of pop/rock goodness",[18] and "Love Me For Me", which has been called "Joan-Jett-esque"[15] and which Simpson has said is about "self-appreciation"[19] 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"; epinions wrote that it is on this track that Simpson sounds "most loose and carefree".[18]
"Unreachable" combines a piano line and vintage Chamberlin sounds with lyrics dealing with regrets about rushing into a relationship. Simpson has described "Nothing New" as being about her frustration with an ex-boyfriend's "dramas" until she is ultimately "finished with him",[11] 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.[6] The album's closing track, "Undiscovered" (which Simpson has described as a favorite of hers[6]), was written after her breakup with Josh, and is described by epinions.com as a song with "haunting strings" and "mellow guitars";[18] in the song, Simpson ponders what might have been in a lost pairing. Non-US pressings follow with "Harder Everyday", and the United Kingdom edition adds "Sorry", while the Japanese edition closes with "Endless Summer". The US Wal-Mart edition of the album also included an access code to download a reduced-quality version of "Sorry" on the internet.
Commercial performance[edit]
In the US, Autobiography was 2004's biggest debut album by a female artist, and in September the RIAA gave the album a triple platinum certification.[43][44] Following its July 20 release, it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling about 398,000 copies;[45] 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.[46]
In Canada, where the album's release corresponded with the US, it sold about 3,000 copies in its first week (number 37 on the album chart);[47] it rose on the chart to number eight at one point and went double platinum in February 2005.[48] The album was released in the UK on October 4, 2004, and debuted at number 31 on the album charts.[49] 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 UK, 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 number 36 in Switzerland[50] and number 29 in Norway.[51] Simpson's success in album sales with Autobiography outshines that of her sister Jessica, who despite having a singing career since 1999, failed to attain major success with record sales until she appeared on her 2003 reality television show. Geffen President Jordan Schur said of Simpson'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 expressed surprise at the degree of her album's success: "I just hoped my album charted. I didn't expect it to be number one in the country! It was a huge shock."[10] In Brazil the single "Pieces of Me" was the theme of the soap opera "America" and made huge success selling about 15,000 copies of the album in the country.[52]