Britney Spears, left, and Jessica Simpson, right.
Originally appeared on E! Online.
Jessica Simpson knows the other pop stars of her time were irresistible.
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WATCH HEREAnd that's why the “Public Affair” singer, 44, believed she was "never gonna win" when it came to breaking into the industry in the early aughts as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera topped charts.
“I was never gonna win, because I had someone like Britney and Christina ahead of me, who were selling so many more records,” Simpson told Rolling Stone in an interview published March 21. “I didn’t want to dance, I didn’t want to wear a head mic."
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SIGN UP “But I agreed to do it, because I worked for Sony, and I didn’t want to let them down,” she continued. "I felt like I was constantly letting people down. Even myself, probably because I wasn’t singing words I wrote.”
However, she found success when she began to do her own songwriting, earning her first number one single, "With You," in 2004.
READ: Jessica Simpson Performs on Stage for First Time in 15 Years Following Eric Johnson Split
Now, over 20 years later, the "Irresistible" singer is writing her own music once again — this time, in Nashville. On March 21, Simpson released her new five-song EP, "Nashville Canyon: Part 1" — her first new tracks in nearly 15 years.
Instead of continuing in the vein of her fellow early aughts pop girls, she’s finding inspiration from artists across many genres including Patty Griffin, Alabama Shakes, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and especially Brandi Carlile.
And putting out new music isn't the only recent life change for the singer. In January, Simpson and husband of 10 years Eric Johnson, who share daughters Maxwell Drew, 12, and Birdie Mae, 5 and son Ace Knute, 11, announced their separation. Though, in her statement to E! news, the "Employee of the Month" alum emphasized, "Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them."
"I don’t know why my heart gets tossed around but I’m one of the lucky ones," she explained to People in February. "At least I have my children and I still have Eric. He’s still very much a part of my life and will always be."
Plus, she has her music to lean on.
"Discovering this music is something I did on my own," she added. "Thank God I had Nashville, it was just a way of me owning myself and declaring it."
PHOTOS: Jessica Simpson
