Jessica Simpson took to the stage for the first time in eight years, singing a duet with Willie Nelson at the Orange County Fair on Thursday, August 9. It marked the first time her husband and kids have ever seen her sing for an audience.
“It’s not every night that a legend invites you to join him on his stage,” the Newlyweds alum, 38, captioned an Instagram pic with Nelson on Friday, August 10. “And my husband and kids got to see me perform for the first time! I love you @willienelsonofficial.”
Simpson wore a black belted minidress and boots as she took the stage with the country music veteran to perform “I Will Be Your Fool.” She smiled broadly as she sang but appeared to wipe a tear from her eye at one point in a video posted on YouTube.
Her husband Eric Johnson and their kids, Maxwell, 6, and Ace, 5, weren’t the only ones there to cheer on the fashion designer; her mom and dad, Tina and Joe Simpson, also shared pics from the performance.
“Last night was pure magic!” Tina wrote on Instagram. “This girl knows how to make her momma proud! Back on stage after 8 years and it seemed like she never left!”
The singer’s fans also took to her Instagram account with messages of support.
“We definitely need you back on stage performing so glad to see this!” one commented, while another wrote, “Please put a new album out! It’s time.”
Simpson hasn’t released an album of original music since 2008’s Do You Know, but she teased a return to recording during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres in 2017.
“It’s been a long time. My husband has never seen me perform, and we’ve been together seven years,” she told DeGeneres, adding that she’d recently bought Ozzy Osbourne‘s house, which has an underground recording studio.
“I probably have about 38 songs,” she revealed.
She also shared a pic with Nashville singer/songwriter Annie Bosko on Instagram in February and revealed that they were writing songs together.
