I Am Me
Encyclopedia
I Am Me is the second studio album
by singer Ashlee Simpson
. The first single
from the album was "Boyfriend
", and the second single was "L.O.V.E." I Am Me was released in the United States
on October 18, 2005 (see 2005 in music
) and debuted at number one in sales. The album produced two top 25 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Simpson worked with John Shanks
and Kara DioGuardi
on this album, as she did on her first album, 2004's Autobiography
. Shanks produced the album, and Simpson co-wrote all the songs with Shanks and DioGuardi. On December 15, I Am Me was certified Platinum
by the RIAA for its shipments of over one million copies in the U.S. (as of April 2008, it had sold 987,000 copies). A new single from Simpson, "Invisible", was reportedly going to be included on a re-release of I Am Me in mid-2006, but was canceled. The song was later included as in international bonus track on Simpson's next album, Bittersweet World
.
so the record company's not asking for the record right away or anything." She also said that she wanted to "get the pre-jitters or anything that was going wrong out of my system. And when I went in everything started going smooth. It was fun." According to Simpson, she felt less pressure when recording I Am Me than she did when recording Autobiography.
I Am Me is, like its predecessor, a mixture of rock
and pop
; it has been described as similar to Simpson's first album, and Simpson herself has said that she wanted it to be "familiar" to Autobiography. Some differences have also been noted. I Am Me has been said to be influenced by '80s
music, and Simpson herself said "I just love '80s music" and "It's just so light and fun, and that was a lot of what I wanted to do on this record." Prior to recording I Am Me, Simpson had said she wanted to incorporate more of the feel of '80s music into her next album, as some of her favorite music is from that time.
I Am Me has been called more musically "aggressive" than Autobiography and incorporates a range of musical styles; it has been called "dynamic" and "ambitious". Simpson's father and manager Joe said that his daughter had to be held back from "the places she wanted to go" as an artist, because, he said, if she changed too quickly her fans would be left behind. Simpson has mentioned how she tried "new sounds" when working on the album, citing in particular the song "Burnin Up", which was described by one reviewer as "a fairly credible stab at Clash
-style dub". This song is not a cover
of the early Madonna
song ("Burning Up
") that Simpson covered live during her February–April 2005 tour.
Lyrically, the album reflects Simpson's different life experiences since her last album; in particular, two songs deal with Simpson's emotions following her failed performance on Saturday Night Live
in October 2004, in which she used a backing track due to illness, only to have the wrong track played, thus making the presence of the backing track obvious and embarrassing her on live television. This incident left Simpson the target of a great deal of criticism and humor at her expense. The first song on the album that deals with the incident is "Beautifully Broken", which strikes a positive tone of overcoming as Simpson finds beauty in failure—"the song is kind of about when you're in bed and you're crying and you don't want to get up the next day ... it's about finding that inner strength and finding that part in yourself that's like, 'Yes, I can put my head up and I can continue.'" "Catch Me When I Fall", the second song on the album dealing with the incident, is a piano-driven ballad
which reflects weakness and sadness and deals with a feeling of loneliness. The theme of accepting imperfections is reflected in a hidden message that is included in the CD case. Simpson has said of the album: "The record is dark meets light in a sense. I feel everyone has a dark side. This album is about finding the positive, finding the lighter side as well." Simpson mentioned in an AIM
interview online that she chose the title I Am Me "because I've been through a lot of highs and lows this year, but no matter what happens to me I always stay true to who I am." Simpson has also mentioned how the lyrics on the album reflect her different feelings at different times, the ups and downs she experienced: "We all get sad sometimes, and we all want to dance and party, too."
Like Autobiography, many of the songs deal with relationships. "Coming Back For More" is, as Simpson calls it, a "fun, dancey song about an ex-boyfriend" and their relationship that won't come to an end. "I Am Me" is an energetic song in which Simpson responds with hurt and anger to her boyfriend being with another girl, and insists: "I am me, and I won't change for anyone". "In Another Life" is, in Simpson's words, "a cute romantic song about when you meet a guy and it's kind of like he knows everything about you before you really get to know him, and you feel comfortable with him right away. And he makes you feel beautiful." "Say Goodbye", the melancholy album closer, deals with the ending of a relationship. Other songs cover a variety of topics: "Boyfriend" is a response to rumors or accusations that she stole another girl's boyfriend (although rumors suggest it is about her alleged affair with Lindsay Lohan
's ex-boyfriend, Wilmer Valderrama
, Simpson has said it is not about "one person in particular", but is instead about a situation many girls can relate to); "L.O.V.E." is about girls going out and having fun without needing any guys; "Eyes Wide Open" is a "spooky song" about Simpson's feeling that there was a ghost living in her house.
In 2009, Miley Cyrus
covered the international bonus track "Kicking and Screaming" for her The Time of Our Lives
EP. Although Simpson co-wrote the song with Shanks and DioGuardi, Simpson was not credited for her writing contribution on Cyrus' EP.
"Boyfriend" officially hit radio on September 6 and its airplay rapidly increased afterward; it debuted on the Hot 100 in September at number 71, rose greatly the next week to number 24, and eventually reached a Hot 100 peak of number 19, making it Simpson's second most successful song on the Hot 100 to date. The song's music video
premiered on MTV
's Making the Video
on September 12.
"L.O.V.E." was the second single, as Simpson first said in an MSN Internet chat on October 26. Prior to its release as a single, "L.O.V.E." debuted on the Billboard Hot 100
at number 78 in late October, and re-entered at number 76 in December; it subsequently reached its peak at number 22. The "L.O.V.E." video also spent 10 total days at number one on MTV's video countdown show Total Request Live
. "Catch Me When I Fall" charted on the Billboard Pop 100
at number 93 on the strength of its downloads, although it was not released as a single.
Simpson made several notable television appearances, including a return to Saturday Night Live
on the night of October 8–9 (during which she performed "Catch Me When I Fall" and "Boyfriend"), to promote I Am Me and its singles. On the album's release date, October 18, Simpson performed "Boyfriend" and "Coming Back For More" on Good Morning America
, and she appeared for an interview on Live with Regis and Kelly
, although she did not perform. Later in the day she appeared on Total Request Live, where she performed "Boyfriend". She also sang "Boyfriend" on the October 21 episode of The Tonight Show
and was on the October 22 episode of Larry King Live
(guest-hosted by Ryan Seacrest
) for an interview, along with her father/manager Joe. On the October 24 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show
she sang "Boyfriend" and was interviewed; on November 1 she was in Canada
to promote the album and appeared on MuchMusic
's MuchOnDemand
for an interview.
Simpson began promoting "L.O.V.E." with a performance on The Late Show with David Letterman on November 21, followed by a performance of the song on the November 22 episode of The View. On December 6, she sang "L.O.V.E." as part of a performance with Pretty Ricky
at the Billboard Music Awards. Simpson sang "L.O.V.E." on the first episode of CD USA
, which aired on January 21, 2006, and was also interviewed on the show.
Simpson went to the UK to promote I Am Me and "Boyfriend" in late January 2006; on February 5 she performed "Boyfriend" on Top of the Pops Reloaded
. Later in February, in the U.S., Simpson was awarded with a "Bounce Back Award" at the TRL
Awards, which aired on February 25, and performed "L.O.V.E." on the occasion. Simpson hosted the MTV Australia Video Music Awards on April 12, 2006, and performed both "Boyfriend" and "L.O.V.E."
Simpson performed the songs "Boyfriend", "L.O.V.E." and "I Am Me" for Sessions@AOL
on the Internet prior to the album's release. The album was available for listening on MTV.com's "The Leak" in the week prior to its release, beginning October 11. Wal-Mart
released an exclusive package which includes the I Am Me CD and a DVD.
According to a rumor initially reported in March 2006, there would be a re-release of I Am Me with at least one new song. It was subsequently stated in an article in the June/July 2006 issue of Teen People that there would be a re-release of the album with the new song "Invisible"; Simpson also said this in interviews, but as of January 2007, no release date for the re-release had been announced and therefore the re-release plans were presumably dropped. Simpson filmed the music video for "Invisible" in May, and it premiered on June 19.
, with another stage of the tour starting on November 9 in Portland, Maine
. During 2006 she performed on several dates in the spring; in early May she performed at SunFest
in West Palm Beach, Florida
. Subsequently she embarked on a major summer tour, the L.O.V.E. Tour (with "L.O.V.E." being expanded to stand for "Love Others Value Everyday"), which began on June 5 in Santa Barbara, California
and at its outset was scheduled to run for 32 shows, concluding on July 29 in Clarkston, Michigan
. Ashley Parker Angel
was an opening act for Simpson; The Veronicas
also opened on the first few shows of the tour, but had to cancel their participation in the tour due to a problem with the vocal cords of one of the singers, Lisa Origliasso. During the concerts of this tour, Simpson had a number of costume changes, including a "risque" outfit for "La La
", and performed a cover of the Eurythmics
song "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
". She also performed a cover of "Why Don't You Do Right?
".
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
score of 43, based on 13 reviews.
A BBC review of the album was positive, calling it "confident yet searching" and saying that it "flirts with 80s production throughout and produces a more mature, tighter sound than some of her peers." Stylus also gave it a favorable review; while saying that it "isn't as consistently strong a record as Autobiography", it calls I Am Me "more-than-respectable" and "a very good record". Another review called it "a solid pop/rock album" with strong songwriting that "should go far to re-establish Ashlee Simpson as a legitimate artist", giving it three-and-a-half stars (out of five).
Rolling Stone
gave it a negative review, rating it slightly lower than it had previously rated Autobiography: I Am Me received one-and-a-half stars, while Autobiography received two (out of five). The Rolling Stone review called the album "a collection of eleven soulless tunes that fail to even qualify as guilty pleasures" and said that "in venturing to offer something for everyone, Simpson offers nothing for anyone." Allmusic also gave the album a negative assessment (and a rating of two stars out of five), saying that "unlike Autobiography, this simply is no rock & roll fun — the songs aren't catchy, the attitude is dour, the productions are cold and distant, all highlighting the deficiencies in Ashlee Simpson as a singer, while burying the likeable persona she had on both her debut and her MTV show
." Blender
said that, in comparison to Autobiography, "the songs are soggier, the sentiments more banal", and calls I Am Me a "sophomore slump
", giving it two out of five stars.
Another review called the album "solid but unspectacular", crediting Simpson with going "in directions that Avril Lavigne
has never thought of" but wishing that Simpson displayed more "obnoxious grit" on the album.
magazine grouped it among the numerous "heavily anticipated albums" of the season whose sales had "fizzled", such as Alicia Keys
' Unplugged
and Rod Stewart
's Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook 4
, which had been released the same week as I Am Me. As of April 2008, I Am Me has sold 944,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan
.
In Australia
, I Am Me debuted at number 35 without a single being lifted from it before its release. "Boyfriend" was released the week after I Am Me was released. However, I Am Me failed to chart again after its debut and dropped out completely.
In the United Kingdom
, in the absence of any promotion, I Am Me debuted at #160, selling just 1,392 copies in its first week. However, in late January 2006, Simpson went to the UK to promote "Boyfriend", several months later than in the U.S.; the single was released in the UK on 30 January 2006, and hit #12 in its first week; also, the album climbed to #50 in the UK in mid-February 2006.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by singer Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Nicole Simpson is an American singer and actress. In 2004, she rose to prominence with the success of her number-one debut album Autobiography and the reality series, The Ashlee Simpson Show. In October 2005, following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released...
. The first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from the album was "Boyfriend
Boyfriend (song)
"Boyfriend" is a single by American singer Ashlee Simpson, the first from her 2005 album I Am Me . It has rock-guitar music produced by John Shanks, who collaborated with Simpson on her 2004 debut album Autobiography, and like all the songs on I Am Me, it was written by Simpson, Shanks and Kara...
", and the second single was "L.O.V.E." I Am Me was released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on October 18, 2005 (see 2005 in music
2005 in music
-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
) and debuted at number one in sales. The album produced two top 25 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Simpson worked with John Shanks
John Shanks
John Matthew Shanks is a modern rock writer and Grammy Award–winning producer.Born in New York City, Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17....
and Kara DioGuardi
Kara DioGuardi
Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, music publisher, A&R executive, composer and TV personality. She writes music primarily in the light pop-rock, dance, and R&B genres. DioGuardi has worked with many popular artists; her songs have appeared on more than 159...
on this album, as she did on her first album, 2004's Autobiography
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 Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum in the U.S. Musically, it combines elements of rock and pop....
. Shanks produced the album, and Simpson co-wrote all the songs with Shanks and DioGuardi. On December 15, I Am Me was certified Platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
by the RIAA for its shipments of over one million copies in the U.S. (as of April 2008, it had sold 987,000 copies). A new single from Simpson, "Invisible", was reportedly going to be included on a re-release of I Am Me in mid-2006, but was canceled. The song was later included as in international bonus track on Simpson's next album, Bittersweet World
Bittersweet World
Bittersweet World is the third studio album by American recording artist Ashlee Simpson. It was released in the United States on April 22, 2008. Simpson worked on the album with producers Timbaland, Chad Hugo, and Kenna. It has been described by Simpson as a "fun party album" with a "silly and...
.
Background
I Am Me was released about fifteen months after Autobiography, which was released in July 2004. According to Simpson, following her concert tour from February to April 2005, she was supposed to take a month off, but began working on the album early; as she said, "I got home and got bored, so I called John Shanks and was like, 'Can I come in the studio? Let's get a head startHead start (positioning)
In positioning, a head start is a start in advance of the starting position of others in competition, or simply toward the finish line or desired outcome...
so the record company's not asking for the record right away or anything." She also said that she wanted to "get the pre-jitters or anything that was going wrong out of my system. And when I went in everything started going smooth. It was fun." According to Simpson, she felt less pressure when recording I Am Me than she did when recording Autobiography.
I Am Me is, like its predecessor, a mixture of rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
; it has been described as similar to Simpson's first album, and Simpson herself has said that she wanted it to be "familiar" to Autobiography. Some differences have also been noted. I Am Me has been said to be influenced by '80s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
music, and Simpson herself said "I just love '80s music" and "It's just so light and fun, and that was a lot of what I wanted to do on this record." Prior to recording I Am Me, Simpson had said she wanted to incorporate more of the feel of '80s music into her next album, as some of her favorite music is from that time.
I Am Me has been called more musically "aggressive" than Autobiography and incorporates a range of musical styles; it has been called "dynamic" and "ambitious". Simpson's father and manager Joe said that his daughter had to be held back from "the places she wanted to go" as an artist, because, he said, if she changed too quickly her fans would be left behind. Simpson has mentioned how she tried "new sounds" when working on the album, citing in particular the song "Burnin Up", which was described by one reviewer as "a fairly credible stab at Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
-style dub". This song is not a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the early Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
song ("Burning Up
Burning Up
"Burning Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her self-titled debut album. It was released as the album's second single on March 9, 1983, in some countries as a AA side single with "Physical Attraction"...
") that Simpson covered live during her February–April 2005 tour.
Lyrically, the album reflects Simpson's different life experiences since her last album; in particular, two songs deal with Simpson's emotions following her failed performance on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in October 2004, in which she used a backing track due to illness, only to have the wrong track played, thus making the presence of the backing track obvious and embarrassing her on live television. This incident left Simpson the target of a great deal of criticism and humor at her expense. The first song on the album that deals with the incident is "Beautifully Broken", which strikes a positive tone of overcoming as Simpson finds beauty in failure—"the song is kind of about when you're in bed and you're crying and you don't want to get up the next day ... it's about finding that inner strength and finding that part in yourself that's like, 'Yes, I can put my head up and I can continue.'" "Catch Me When I Fall", the second song on the album dealing with the incident, is a piano-driven ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
which reflects weakness and sadness and deals with a feeling of loneliness. The theme of accepting imperfections is reflected in a hidden message that is included in the CD case. Simpson has said of the album: "The record is dark meets light in a sense. I feel everyone has a dark side. This album is about finding the positive, finding the lighter side as well." Simpson mentioned in an AIM
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
interview online that she chose the title I Am Me "because I've been through a lot of highs and lows this year, but no matter what happens to me I always stay true to who I am." Simpson has also mentioned how the lyrics on the album reflect her different feelings at different times, the ups and downs she experienced: "We all get sad sometimes, and we all want to dance and party, too."
Like Autobiography, many of the songs deal with relationships. "Coming Back For More" is, as Simpson calls it, a "fun, dancey song about an ex-boyfriend" and their relationship that won't come to an end. "I Am Me" is an energetic song in which Simpson responds with hurt and anger to her boyfriend being with another girl, and insists: "I am me, and I won't change for anyone". "In Another Life" is, in Simpson's words, "a cute romantic song about when you meet a guy and it's kind of like he knows everything about you before you really get to know him, and you feel comfortable with him right away. And he makes you feel beautiful." "Say Goodbye", the melancholy album closer, deals with the ending of a relationship. Other songs cover a variety of topics: "Boyfriend" is a response to rumors or accusations that she stole another girl's boyfriend (although rumors suggest it is about her alleged affair with Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
's ex-boyfriend, Wilmer Valderrama
Wilmer Valderrama
Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama is an American actor and television personality, known for the role of Fez in the sitcom That '70s Show, hosting the MTV series Yo Momma, and voicing the character of Manny in the children's show Handy Manny.-Early life:Valderrama was born in Miami, Florida the son of...
, Simpson has said it is not about "one person in particular", but is instead about a situation many girls can relate to); "L.O.V.E." is about girls going out and having fun without needing any guys; "Eyes Wide Open" is a "spooky song" about Simpson's feeling that there was a ghost living in her house.
In 2009, Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
covered the international bonus track "Kicking and Screaming" for her The Time of Our Lives
The Time of Our Lives (EP)
The Time of Our Lives is the first extended play by American recording artist Miley Cyrus. The EP was released on August 28, 2009 by Hollywood Records, initially as a United States' Wal-Mart exclusive. With alterations in artwork and track listing, an international edition was issued October 16,...
EP. Although Simpson co-wrote the song with Shanks and DioGuardi, Simpson was not credited for her writing contribution on Cyrus' EP.
Promotion
Initially, the first single was planned to be "L.O.V.E.", and the album was going to be titled In Another Life. Soon after these things were announced, however, the first single was changed to "Boyfriend" and the album title to I Am Me."Boyfriend" officially hit radio on September 6 and its airplay rapidly increased afterward; it debuted on the Hot 100 in September at number 71, rose greatly the next week to number 24, and eventually reached a Hot 100 peak of number 19, making it Simpson's second most successful song on the Hot 100 to date. The song's music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
premiered on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Making the Video
Making the Video
Making the Video is an MTV show, consisting of half-hour episodes, which chronicles the process of filming various music videos. Usually the director outlines the concept of the video and the show often includes light-hearted and humorous moments. It always concludes with a premiere of the...
on September 12.
"L.O.V.E." was the second single, as Simpson first said in an MSN Internet chat on October 26. Prior to its release as a single, "L.O.V.E." debuted on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at number 78 in late October, and re-entered at number 76 in December; it subsequently reached its peak at number 22. The "L.O.V.E." video also spent 10 total days at number one on MTV's video countdown show Total Request Live
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
. "Catch Me When I Fall" charted on the Billboard Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
at number 93 on the strength of its downloads, although it was not released as a single.
Simpson made several notable television appearances, including a return to Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
on the night of October 8–9 (during which she performed "Catch Me When I Fall" and "Boyfriend"), to promote I Am Me and its singles. On the album's release date, October 18, Simpson performed "Boyfriend" and "Coming Back For More" on Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, and she appeared for an interview on Live with Regis and Kelly
Live with Regis and Kelly
Live! with Kelly is a syndicated American television morning talk show, hosted by Kelly Ripa. The show has aired since 1983 in New York City and 1988 nationwide. Tony Pigg has been the show's announcer since its inception...
, although she did not perform. Later in the day she appeared on Total Request Live, where she performed "Boyfriend". She also sang "Boyfriend" on the October 21 episode of The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
and was on the October 22 episode of Larry King Live
Larry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
(guest-hosted by Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
) for an interview, along with her father/manager Joe. On the October 24 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
she sang "Boyfriend" and was interviewed; on November 1 she was in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to promote the album and appeared on MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
's MuchOnDemand
MuchOnDemand
MuchOnDemand was an hour-long per broadcast viewer interactive television program aired on MuchMusic, Monday through Friday at 5pm ET. It was broadcast live from the Much broadcasting studio on 299 Queen Street West in Toronto. The Best of MuchOnDemand, aired Sundays at 10am ET, highlighting the...
for an interview.
Simpson began promoting "L.O.V.E." with a performance on The Late Show with David Letterman on November 21, followed by a performance of the song on the November 22 episode of The View. On December 6, she sang "L.O.V.E." as part of a performance with Pretty Ricky
Pretty Ricky
Pretty Ricky is an American R&B/hip hop group originally made up of Diamond "Baby Blue" Smith, Spectacular Smith, Corey "Slick 'em" Mathis, and Marcus "Pleasure P" Cooper. In 2007, Pleasure P left the group to pursue a solo career...
at the Billboard Music Awards. Simpson sang "L.O.V.E." on the first episode of CD USA
CD USA
CD USA, which debuted in 2006, is an American music television show airing exclusively on DirecTV's" The 101" network in the United States. The show is an American version of CD:UK, a similarly themed music show on ITV in the UK. Its hosts are John Wynn, Becky Baeling, and formerly, Jonathan...
, which aired on January 21, 2006, and was also interviewed on the show.
Simpson went to the UK to promote I Am Me and "Boyfriend" in late January 2006; on February 5 she performed "Boyfriend" on Top of the Pops Reloaded
Top Of The Pops Reloaded
Top of the Pops: Reloaded is a weekly children's music show broadcast as part of the Saturday morning CBBC schedule on BBC Two. It was based on the show, Top Of The Pops, following on from its predecessor Top of the Pops Saturday....
. Later in February, in the U.S., Simpson was awarded with a "Bounce Back Award" at the TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
Awards, which aired on February 25, and performed "L.O.V.E." on the occasion. Simpson hosted the MTV Australia Video Music Awards on April 12, 2006, and performed both "Boyfriend" and "L.O.V.E."
Simpson performed the songs "Boyfriend", "L.O.V.E." and "I Am Me" for Sessions@AOL
Sessions@AOL
Sessions@AOL is a special avenue of programming conducted by AOL Music. Originally an AOL exclusive, Sessions@AOL can now also be seen as an avenue for non-AOL users as well. Sessions@AOL consists of exclusive and intimate performances of songs by popular musicians, with likes of bands such as...
on the Internet prior to the album's release. The album was available for listening on MTV.com's "The Leak" in the week prior to its release, beginning October 11. Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
released an exclusive package which includes the I Am Me CD and a DVD.
According to a rumor initially reported in March 2006, there would be a re-release of I Am Me with at least one new song. It was subsequently stated in an article in the June/July 2006 issue of Teen People that there would be a re-release of the album with the new song "Invisible"; Simpson also said this in interviews, but as of January 2007, no release date for the re-release had been announced and therefore the re-release plans were presumably dropped. Simpson filmed the music video for "Invisible" in May, and it premiered on June 19.
Touring
To promote the album and single, Simpson began touring on September 21 in Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, with another stage of the tour starting on November 9 in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
. During 2006 she performed on several dates in the spring; in early May she performed at SunFest
SunFest
SunFest is a musical and art festival held annually on the first week of May in West Palm Beach, Florida. Being the state's largest waterfront music and art festival SunFest attracts more than 275,000 visitors. The festival and the patrons that it attracts have a very positive impact on the...
in West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
. Subsequently she embarked on a major summer tour, the L.O.V.E. Tour (with "L.O.V.E." being expanded to stand for "Love Others Value Everyday"), which began on June 5 in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
and at its outset was scheduled to run for 32 shows, concluding on July 29 in Clarkston, Michigan
Clarkston, Michigan
Clarkston, known officially by the name City of the Village of Clarkston, is a small city located within Independence Charter Township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 882 at the 2010 census.-Overview:...
. Ashley Parker Angel
Ashley Parker Angel
Ashley Parker is an American singer and actor also known as Ashley Parker Angel.-Early years:Ashley Parker was born Ashley Ward Parker, the child of Darren and Paula Parker, and raised in the town of Redding, California. His grandparents are of German and Irish descent...
was an opening act for Simpson; The Veronicas
The Veronicas
The Veronicas are an Australian electrorock, pop-punk and rock band. Twin sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso formed the band in 1999 in Brisbane. They have their own line of clothing which was released in 2007....
also opened on the first few shows of the tour, but had to cancel their participation in the tour due to a problem with the vocal cords of one of the singers, Lisa Origliasso. During the concerts of this tour, Simpson had a number of costume changes, including a "risque" outfit for "La La
La La (song)
"La La" is a song by the American singer Ashlee Simpson from her 2004 album Autobiography. In the U.S., it began its run as the album's third and final single on radio and television in November 2004; in the United Kingdom , a CD single was released in January 2005.-Song information:"La La", the...
", and performed a cover of the Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
song "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (song)
Marilyn Manson released a cover version of "Sweet Dreams " as the first single from the EP, Smells Like Children. This version became an MTV staple and helped to establish the band in the mainstream. It also appears on the band's greatest hits album, Lest We Forget: The Best Of...
". She also performed a cover of "Why Don't You Do Right?
Why Don't You Do Right?
"Why Don't You Do Right?" is an American blues- and jazz-influenced pop song – now a standard – written in 1936 by Kansas Joe McCoy. It is a twelve-bar minor key blues form with a few chord substitutes, it is considered a classic "woman's blues" song....
".
Critical reception
Initial critical response to I Am Me ranged from mixed to unfavourable. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 43, based on 13 reviews.
A BBC review of the album was positive, calling it "confident yet searching" and saying that it "flirts with 80s production throughout and produces a more mature, tighter sound than some of her peers." Stylus also gave it a favorable review; while saying that it "isn't as consistently strong a record as Autobiography", it calls I Am Me "more-than-respectable" and "a very good record". Another review called it "a solid pop/rock album" with strong songwriting that "should go far to re-establish Ashlee Simpson as a legitimate artist", giving it three-and-a-half stars (out of five).
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave it a negative review, rating it slightly lower than it had previously rated Autobiography: I Am Me received one-and-a-half stars, while Autobiography received two (out of five). The Rolling Stone review called the album "a collection of eleven soulless tunes that fail to even qualify as guilty pleasures" and said that "in venturing to offer something for everyone, Simpson offers nothing for anyone." Allmusic also gave the album a negative assessment (and a rating of two stars out of five), saying that "unlike Autobiography, this simply is no rock & roll fun — the songs aren't catchy, the attitude is dour, the productions are cold and distant, all highlighting the deficiencies in Ashlee Simpson as a singer, while burying the likeable persona she had on both her debut and her MTV show
The Ashlee Simpson Show
The Ashlee Simpson Show is a television reality show about the life of Ashlee Simpson. The first season, taped from 2003 to mid-2004, focused on the beginnings of her career as a singer and the recording of her debut album, Autobiography...
." Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
said that, in comparison to Autobiography, "the songs are soggier, the sentiments more banal", and calls I Am Me a "sophomore slump
Sophomore slump
A sophomore slump or sophomore jinx refers to an instance in which a second, or sophomore, effort fails to live up to the standards of the first effort...
", giving it two out of five stars.
Another review called the album "solid but unspectacular", crediting Simpson with going "in directions that Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
has never thought of" but wishing that Simpson displayed more "obnoxious grit" on the album.
Chart performance
I Am Me debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, as did its predecessor, Autobiography; however, I Am Me did not achieve the same level of success as Autobiography. Whereas Simpson's first album sold 398,000 copies its first week of release in the U.S., I Am Me sold only about 220,000, according to Billboard; sales for the album declined 67% in its second week, when it sold about 73,000 copies and fell to number six on the Billboard 200. In its third week, the album sold about 54,000 copies, a sales drop of 25%, and it fell on the chart to number ten. Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine grouped it among the numerous "heavily anticipated albums" of the season whose sales had "fizzled", such as Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
' Unplugged
Unplugged (Alicia Keys album)
Unplugged is the first live album by American recording artist Alicia Keys. It was recorded as part of the television program MTV Unplugged on July 4, 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York City, and released in the United States on October 11, 2005 by J Records, including...
and Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
's Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook 4
Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook 4
Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook 4, released October 18, 2005, is the fourth album of Pop standards by Rod Stewart.-Chart Performance:Thanks For The Memory reached #2 in the USA, and #3 in the United Kingdom.- Certifications :...
, which had been released the same week as I Am Me. As of April 2008, I Am Me has sold 944,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, I Am Me debuted at number 35 without a single being lifted from it before its release. "Boyfriend" was released the week after I Am Me was released. However, I Am Me failed to chart again after its debut and dropped out completely.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, in the absence of any promotion, I Am Me debuted at #160, selling just 1,392 copies in its first week. However, in late January 2006, Simpson went to the UK to promote "Boyfriend", several months later than in the U.S.; the single was released in the UK on 30 January 2006, and hit #12 in its first week; also, the album climbed to #50 in the UK in mid-February 2006.
Charts
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
5 |
| Austrian Albums Chart Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
4 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
1 |
| Japan International Albums Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
3 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
2 |
| Venezuelan Albums Chart | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
Certifications
| Country | Providers | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | CRIA Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... |
Gold |
| Venezuela | APFV | Gold |
| U.S. | RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
2x Platinum |
Track listing
External links
- Ashlee Simpson's Official Website
- Ashlee Simpson at Geffen RecordsGeffen RecordsGeffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...