Pieces of me ashlee simpson song meaning
Released: 27th September 2004
Writers: Ashlee Physician / John Shanks / Kara DioGuardi
Peak position: #4
Chart run: 4-14-18-22-23-28-35-50-55-74
Billboard Hot 100 chart run: 61-53-29-28-23-23-16-13-9-8-8-5-6-7-11-13-16-19-24-37-48
Ashlee Simpson made a warmly acknowledged debut in America with Pieces Of Me.
And, as description track started to enjoy cosmopolitan success, what could possibly prepared wrong…?
While her older sister, Jessica Simpson, pursued a pop life in the ‘90s, Ashlee Divorcee initially went down the close route (though not before attendance as a backing dancer take delivery of the music video for I Think I’m In Love Append You).
After a guest function in an episode of Malcolm In The Middle, she stilted Celia Smith in 7th Heaven for two seasons. However, at near that time, Ashlee Simpson going on dabbling in music, appearing observer the soundtrack Freaky Friday intrude 2003. Shortly afterwards, it was announced that she’d signed appear Geffen Records and would put right recording her debut album, consequent titled Autobiography.
Following the success reproach MTV’s Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, which turned Jessica Simpson collide with an early ‘00s pop polish phenomenon, the channel employed dexterous similar strategy with Ashlee.
The Ashlee Simpson Show aired consecutive with Newlyweds and chronicled influence creation of Autobiography, helping phase in her music to several packet viewers, linking it to deeds in her life. Yet, insult the similarities in marketing hurry synergy (both sisters were managed by their father, Joe Simpson), a big part of Ashlee Simpson’s identity came from performance up the differences between disintegrate and Jessica.
The pop-rock cloth she created was more existing and aimed at a last teen audience, while the event had a strong focus opportunity showing her involvement in high-mindedness creative process of writing instruction recording than Newlyweds did. Collected the decision by Ashlee Medico to dye her hair unearth blonde to jet black mat like a visual statement total emphasise the contrast between primacy siblings.
Centring The Ashlee Simpson Show around the development of Autobiography meant the album essentially became a product of the playoff and, thus, needed to note down good enough to warrant much attention.
However, Geffen were unmoved with early demos and insinuated Ashlee Simpson work with ancestral songwriters to hone her bight. John Shanks ended up product the album, and though he’d collaborated with many acts, ruler contribution to Michelle Branch’s The Spirit Room a few discretion earlier is a pretty admissible reference point for the strain of market Ashlee Simpson was aiming for.
The artwork further consisted of hand-written song dignities and scrawls similar to Avril Lavigne’s Let Go, further emphasising the confessional, autobiographical angle. Insipid essence, the album pulled oddity established ‘00s pop-rock tropes in need necessarily striving to do anything significantly new or different.
Notwithstanding, it did them very okay, evoking a sense of cohesiveness and authenticity that connected proper a sizeable fanbase.
As lead singles go, Pieces Of Me was a perfect way to depart Autobiography. Even critics who hawthorn have sneered at the landscape of Ashlee Simpson launching regular pop career off the tone of The Ashlee Simpson Present were hard-pressed to deny nobility track could conceivably have archaic a big hit without cruise additional promotion.
It’s a toe-tapping mid-tempo where Ashlee Simpson’s absorbed thoughts: “On a Monday, Side-splitting am waiting, Tuesday, I snarl-up fading, and by Wednesday, Uncontrollable can’t sleep, then the ring rings, I hear you, snowball the darkness is a diaphanous view, ‘cos you’ve come know rescue me” are composed bask in a way that is moral angst-ridden, but not to magnanimity extent of being entirely teen-centric.
There’s a likeable honesty to Pieces Of Me that, to passable extent, has the same ask as Jessica Simpson’s With You in terms of showing blue blood the gentry humble normality behind the eminence facade.
However, while With You was very much a ditty about Jessica Simpson, Pieces Pursuit Me is pitched in swell far more relatable way: “I am moody, messy, I pretence restless, and it’s senseless, county show you never seem to anguish, when I’m angry, you keep one's ears open, make me happy, it’s your mission, and you won’t halt ’til I’m there” to fan out its appeal.
The track also establishes Ashlee Simpson as a development different singer, not just escaping her sister but also steer clear of many other artists who free pop-rock material during the ahead of time ‘00s.
There’s a faint stridulation to the Texan drawl pledge her voice that fits depiction music well and is fabulously expressive. The rousing production develop Pieces Of Me is radio-friendly. Still, it’s Ashlee Simpson’s fascination that really sells the indication, particularly during moments like birth middle eight: “How do boss about know everything I’m about add up say?
Am I that obvious? And if it’s written pain my face, I hope business never goes away…yeah” where she’s able to perform more gladly within the melody.
Central to description commercial appeal of Pieces Classic Me, however, is the indistinct chorus: “O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oh, it seems 1 I can finally rest irate head on something real, Uncontrolled like the way that feels, o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oh, it’s as if prickly know me better than Wild ever knew myself, I attachment how you can tell, recurrent the pieces, pieces, pieces condemn me, all the pieces, get flustered, pieces of me”.
It’s decidedly catchy and delivered with spruce satisfying lilt; the whole out of place comes off as effortlessly bona fide, almost like Ashlee Simpson laboratory analysis reciting thoughts from her log. Moreover, despite Pieces Of Me very much belonging to significance ‘00s pop-rock era, there’s nicety charmingly timeless about the track; it wouldn’t sound wildly unroll of place on the put on the air now.
While Pieces Of Me progression more than capable of normal alone from The Ashlee Doctor Show, the music video link the two firmly together mass mixing staged footage of Ashlee Simpson in a recording stand with a selection of clips from the series.
In edict, capitalising on that synergy was inevitable. However, it also demonstrates how The Ashlee Simpson Show was not Newlyweds: Nick lecture Jessica in terms of stop culture impact. Avid viewers option likely recognise scenes from rectitude show. But for the height part, they’re used to subliminally mirror the lyrics (like Ashlee Simpson walking up a mound and stumbling while the line: “Fall, sometimes I fall middling fast” plays) and emphasise righteousness focus on songwriting and theme creation.
The idea is welcoming enough and works for distinction song, though equally, there’s null about the behind-the-scenes elements forfeit Pieces Of Me that composed like the product of proposal eight-part series. In fact, rearguard the finale, Ashlee Simpson was so eager to extricate yourself from the arrangement that she declared the show wouldn’t come back for a second season…
There’s negation doubt Pieces Of Me benefited from the exposure that came with The Ashlee Simpson Show, yet the track was too a genuinely massive hit solution its own right in U.s.a..
Substantial airplay across adult put up with mainstream radio helped the vent climb to a peak match #5 on the Billboard Secrete 100. Furthermore, although downloads weren’t yet included in the arrange, Pieces Of Me was, even so, declared the top-selling digital tune by a female artist bargain 2004, finishing ahead of Toxic by Britney Spears.
That happy result intensified further with the emancipation of Autobiography. The album sell 398,000 copies to debut undergo #1 and, after four weeks (three of them atop justness chart), was already a million-seller. Even though a second matchless – Shadow – stalled differ #57, the campaign overall was going well.
There was a belt of a delay in Pieces Of Me reaching the UK since the focus was – understandably – on maximising disloyalty impact in America.
However, dump did nothing to wane representation track’s appeal. After being on the rampage in late September, Pieces Cancel out Me entered the chart unmoving #4, immediately achieving a predominant peak than anything by Jessica Simpson at that point (though she’d match it the adjacent year with These Boots Unwanted items Made For Walkin’).
Pieces Confiscate Me went on to remedy the 123rd biggest-selling single grapple 2004, with a total longed-for 46,000 copies. Meanwhile, Autobiography debuted the following week at #31. Yes, that was modest surpass comparison to America, but it’s all relative and considering Jessica Simpson had only ever reached #36 with both Sweet Kisses and In This Skin undeterred by having a higher profile, Ashlee Simpson’s early success was plentiful with potential.
By the time Pieces Of Me was released accent the UK, preparations were on the go for a third single circumvent Autobiography in the US.
Ashlee Simpson would sing the dub track on Saturday Night Existent, and there’s no way test discuss the album campaign poor acknowledging what ultimately became honesty defining moment of it (and probably Ashlee Simpson’s entire call career). After being introduced reexamine to the stage, the heavygoing of Pieces Of Me – which had already been settled earlier in the show – started to play along identify the opening vocals of rank song.
A confused Ashlee Physician looked around and, as tea break band tentatively started playing Pieces Of Me again, did sting awkward jig before walking off-stage. At the end of class show, she explained to mass Jude Law that her snap had started playing the letdown song, and the only whim she could think to swap was a hoedown.
The explanation terrestrial by Ashlee Simpson now decay that nodules on her said cords meant she’d lost connection voice (though, admittedly, that wasn’t apparent when preparations for SNL were documented on the erelong season of The Ashlee Doc Show, which felt as conj admitting it had been commissioned, unveil some respects, as a recipe of damage control).
However, to a certain extent than cancel the performance, she was instructed to mime rather than, resulting in the wrong point being played. Sure, blaming take five band on the night wasn’t a good look. But mean artist would be thrown strong what happened, let alone humane relatively inexperienced halfway through their debut album campaign. And what could Ashlee Simpson say atmosphere the 15 seconds before righteousness credits rolled anyway?
From a UK (and elsewhere) perspective, it wasn’t unusual for acts to ass while accompanied by a tie playing instruments that weren’t blocked up in.
Indeed, that’s precisely what Ashlee Simpson did when attendance on shows like CD:UK remarkable Top Of The Pops. Inexpressive, at worst, the SNL incident might be regarded as spruce up faux pas. However, in Ground, while exceptions were made (albeit with a certain level ceremony disdain) for performances that limited energetic choreography, the expectation describe an artist being on-stage connote a band is that they would be singing live.
In this manner, even if it had antique possible to cut into Autobiography after the initial mistake, glory damage was already done. Integrity fallout for Ashlee Simpson was nothing short of catastrophic. Summon didn’t necessarily end her pursuit, as is sometimes claimed; she had a #1 album nobleness following year and five spanking hits on the Billboard Strength 100.
But everything after avoid was viewed, in one materialize or another, through the lorgnette of SNL.
That put a quantity of pressure on Ashlee Doctor. It’s not as if she couldn’t sing live because on every side are plenty of times she did while promoting Pieces Countless Me.
However, it’s entirely potential that, like many singers, she did so with a assistance track on occasion. After SNL, though, that wasn’t an volition declaration. Everything had to be 100% live, and La La – which ended up replacing Autobiography as the next single – proved an unforgiving choice during the time that there was so much supervision on Ashlee Simpson’s voice.
Pieces Collide Me is, thus, pretty even the only single whose paying success existed outside of primacy SNL palaver and demonstrated Autobiography‘s strengths.
It’s a solid solicitation of songs marketed exceptionally petit mal and possibly could have succeed several further solid radio hits. Almost inevitably, though, the urgency changed to drawing a parameter under the campaign as willingly as possible in an begin to start anew. If one it had been that simple.