Dance-pop singer Jessica Simpson
was born and raised in Dallas, TX, beginning her performing career as a member
of her church choir; at 12, she also auditioned unsuccessfully for The Mickey
Mouse Club. While attending church camp the following summer, Simpson was discovered
by the head of a tiny CCM label, spending the next three years recording her debut
album; the label folded before the record could be released, however, although
a small pressing was eventually funded by her grandmother. The teen nevertheless
became a hit on the Christian Youth Conference circuit, also sharing bills with
Kirk Franklin, God's Property, and Ce Ce Winans; seeking to expand her popularity
in the secular market, Simpson signed to Sony, touring in support of boy-band
sensations 98° prior to releasing her 1999 major label debut Sweet Kisses,
which launched the smash "I Wanna Love You Forever."
A second studio
effort, Irresistible, appeared in spring 2001. Despite the MTV coverage of the
album's title track, Simpson's sophomore effort didn't fare as well as her first
album. The following year, Simpson married her longtime boyfriend, 98° crooner
Nick Lachey. She also went on to appear in several episodes of That 70s Show,
but it took Simpson until summer2003 to become a bona fide celebrity. She and
Lachey's MTV-produced reality show, Newly weds, captured countless moments of
the couple's first year of marriage. Simpson's third album, the much more mature
In This Skinappeared in July. First single "Sweetest Sin" was a moderate
chart hit, but thanks to the success of Newlyweds, Simpson's teetering career
got a second chance. Other marketing opportunities surfaced for the bubbly and
ditzy Simpson, for she had become America's sweetheart. In This Skin's second
single "With You" was a favorite among the MTV crowd and by spring 2004,
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