Jessica Simpson Dropped from Record Label

A representative for the 28-year-old pop star turned country recording artist tells US Weekly, "She was on loan to Sony Nashville for her country album ... [Jessica Simpson] is and has always been an Epic artist ... She continues to be on Epic's label."

According to data from Nielsen SoundScan as reported by CMT.Com, "Jessica Simpson's country debut album, 'Do You Know,' sold 65,000 copies in its first week of release to debut at the top of Billboard's country albums chart and at No. 4 on the all-genre Billboard 200..."

It may have seemed as if Simpson were on her way back to the top alongside her sister, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, who garnered much media attention surrounding the birth of her first child, Bronx Mowgli Wentz, son of Simpson's husband and Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz.

However, there have been a few bumps in the road. Competing against wildly popular young singers like Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Miley Cyrus has not been easy for the "Employee of the Month" star.

In fact, things seem almost more difficult for the pop singer now than in the beginning when she seemed to constantly struggle to keep up with mega-star, Britney Spears, who has made a verifiably successful comeback with "Circus," her sixth studio album and accompanying tour.

"SF Gate" reports on April 10th, 2009 that "Do You Know" has sold less than 200,000 copies, a major disappointment for a star of Simpson's caliber. Compare that to the fact that Spears' "Circus" sold 505,000 copies in the United States in its first week alone.

Worse still, a shocking appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" left a stunned crowd in New York's Times Square when Simpson stopped singing mid-performance, citing technical difficulties.

The performance her "In This Skin" hit "With You" (which grew popular in tandem with Simpson's reality show, "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica," starring then husband, Nick Lachey) was unfortunately off-tempo and off-beat.

"Hold on, I know this is live TV, but I can't hear anything," Simpson said. Stunned crowd members in New York's Times Square blankly stared ahead as the singer started over, clearly jilted by what had happened while performing the chart-topping, number one hit.

US Weekly reports, "Simpson also struggled as she opened for Rascal Flatts this year, often flubbing lines or forgetting lyrics altogether."

Fans have been disappointed by the blonde star's performances, but her failure to appear at the Country Music Awards in Las Vegas just two days before the news of her lost record deal broke, left many questioning the singer's moves.

Sources express that her troubles may have arisen due the constant negative comments regarding Simpson's weight in tabloid magazines, on celebrity gossip websites and television shows, and by countless bloggers and readers on websites like YouTube, Twitter, MySpace, WordPress, and Facebook.

During an interview with Matt Lauer before the Super Bowl on NBC, even President Barack Obama joked about this very topic.

MSNBC reports that Lauer showed the cover of US Weekly magazine, a photo of the First Family in which the President is covered up by a photo of the vocalist. Lauer quips, "You got replaced by Jessica Simpson."

"Yeah, who's losing a weight battle, apparently," the President responded.

In Touch reported this week that Simpson's career is "hotter than ever," to which Chelsea Handler replied, "I guess by hotter they mean dropped by her record label."

"She's going to have to go to Rock of Love and be on that bus with Bret Michaels," the comedienne added.

"Either that or Dr. Drew's 'Sober House,'" added actor Cory Lewis Pearman.

If there is one thing we have learned from the Simpson family, it's that they always seem to bounce back from anything life throws at them. After Ashlee's infamous lip sync snafu on NBC's Saturday Night Live in October 2004, the public seemed to think her career was over. This is clearly not the case, as she appeared on the cover of Life & Style Magazine in January of this year.

Jessica Simpson scores a great deal of spokesmodel positions due to her seemingly "ditzy" comments, such as the major Pizza Hut deal which came out of her comment, "I don't eat buffalo," regarding buffalo wings on "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica."

Joe Simpson, successful manager of his pop star daughters, has always found a way to spin negative media attention into pure gold.

Final thought? Don't count Jessica Simpson out yet, folks. There is no telling what this famous family has in store for us.

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Sources:

http://www.jessicasimpson.com - Thank you, Jessica Simpson, Epic Records, and all involved with Simpson's music!
"Chelsea Lately" on E! Entertainment Television
CMT.Com (Country Music Television Official Website)
MSNBC - MSNBC.Com
Twitter - Twitter.Com
Us Weekly - UsWeekly.Com
In Touch Weekly - InTouchWeekly.Com
Billboard - http://www.billboard.com