Ashlee Simpson’s seminal album Autobiography is turning 20 this year, and she’s already hard at work on a plan to commemorate the occasion.
“I am starting to work on the rerelease,” Simpson, 39, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, February 13, at the launch party for fashion brand Falguni Shane Peacock’s “Golden Hour Glow Up” set with Chivas Regal. “I’m going to celebrate that album. Maybe I’ll go in and redo some of the songs, but I’m definitely going to do a performance around the anniversary.”
Simpson also teased that she may release a few new songs when the anniversary rolls around this summer. “I’d love to do some Pride shows too,” she added.
Her husband, Evan Ross, chimed in to note that Simpson will “go big” for the occasion. “It’s time,” she confirmed. “Two decades!”
Earlier this month, Simpson teased attendees at Christian Siriano’s New York Fashion Week afterparty with an impromptu performance when the DJ played a few of her songs and grabbed the mic to sing along.
“I did not expect that to happen, but it was a blast. It was so much fun,” Simpson told Us. “Christian pulled me up there. We were talking about [the anniversary], so I think he was inspired to pull me up there. … He’s the best.”
Autobiography debuted on July 20, 2004, and included the hit singles “Pieces of Me” and “La La.” The album’s title track also served as the theme song to MTV’s The Ashlee Simpson Show, which aired from 2004 to 2005. The show’s first season documented the process of recording Autobiography.
Simpson followed up Autobiography with 2005’s I Am Me and 2008’s Bittersweet World, but aside from the 2012 single “Bat for a Heart,” she hasn’t returned to music. Last year, she told Popsugar that she’s “very ready” to get back in the studio.
“I have the itch,” she said in October 2023, noting that her daughter, Jagger, is a big fan of her mom’s music. (Simpson shares Jagger, 8, and son Ziggy, 3, with Ross and son Bronx, 15, with ex-husband Pete Wentz.)
“I’m like, ‘Yes, Jagger, we’re going to jump around and dance,’” Simpson said. “I’m inspired that my daughter is so inspired by my old albums.”
In the same interview, Simpson noted that Bronx “has the best taste in music” — and she often looks to him for recommendations. “I’m like, ‘Put your playlist on,’” she explained. “And he’ll now introduce me to artists I haven’t heard.”
With reporting by Travis Cronin
