http://www.cnn.com/2008/S...index.html


NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- When Jessica Simpson announced plans to go country after her last pop album flopped, there was a collective eye roll in Nashville.


Jessica Simpson's song "Come On Over" has gotten a warm reponse from country radio.

To some skeptics, it appeared to be a calculated move to follow in the footsteps of other pop stars who have found success by crossing over to country radio. After lackluster album sales, acting disappointments and bad press over her high-profile romances, Simpson certainly needed a boost.

But "Come On Over," Simpson's debut single from her upcoming country album, is not only winning over those same skeptics, it's gaining ground on country radio. A flirtatious, steel guitar-laced slice of pop country, the song has cracked the top 30 on Billboard's country singles chart.

"The best way to sum this up is what program directors have been telling our promotions staff: 'I really wanted to hate this record, and I don't. I love this,' " said Tom Baldrica, vice president of marketing for her label, Sony BMG Nashville.

Despite her crossover potential, that's not what the label or the Texas-born Simpson seem to have in mind with the single, which was co-produced by John Shanks, who's also worked with Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch and Melissa Etheridge.

"If other folks want to play it, we're not telling them not to," Baldrica said, "but our focus is on country. We want to make sure she's in this format because this is where she belongs."

John Hart, a Nashville-based marketing researcher, says the song appeals to young, active listeners who are more likely to call radio stations and attend concerts and events. It tested in the top five in his online sampling the past few weeks and also did well in random telephone surveys that reach country's more traditional base.

"I don't think people were anticipating the song to be that good," said John Paul, program director at KUPL in Portland, Oregon. His station has been playing the song for two weeks in light rotation.

"It's a good song regardless of who sings it, but having her sing it -- whether you like her or hate her, everybody knows who Jessica Simpson is," he said. "And I think there's a lot of credibility that she co-wrote the song. "

Country fans have seen a steady parade of artists from outside the genre. The Eagles, John Mellencamp and Bon Jovi made inroads, and Simpson is currently joined on the upper half of the chart by Jewel and Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker.

But Simpson, 27, may have a special challenge because of her tabloid persona. These days, the pop star/reality star/movie actress is better known for her relationships (Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is her current beau) than her music.

"We were certainly aware of that and knew that it would be an issue in some places," Baldrica said. "But like everything, if you have it in the music then everything else has a tendency to take care of itself."

Simpson comes to country after her last pop album was a commercial and critical failure -- it sold just 299,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album "Do You Know" is expected to be released in September; The title track was written by Dolly Parton, who sings background vocals.

For her part, Simpson is promoting the song pretty much the same as any new country singer. She courted fans at last month's Country Music Association festival in Nashville and will perform at state fairs and visit radio stations.

"She's done what a lot of newcomers and established stars have done by putting out fun, uptempo, put-the-top-down-and-cruise type songs," remarked David Scarlett, senior editor of Country Weekly magazine. "It's a great way to introduce herself. I think country audiences will be receptive based on the music they hear. If they like what they hear, they're going to embrace her. And so far, she's done very well."

From Mariah wannabe to Faith Hill wannabe in about 10 years.

the thing is jessica has NEVER been a big seller, i mean her first album sold a million her second was barely gold, her third benefited from the hottest tv show on earth at the time so it had nothing to do with the music, it had to do that everyone fell for her "dumbness" act, and her last record was about gold, so where is she this RECORDING STAR??? Once again she is a Media Star.

And the thing is that the title "country" is thrown on everything that gets recorded in Nashville, Jovi did a record in Nashville and everyone called it a country record, wasnt, Jewel's new one is considered country, its just acoustic singer songwriter stuff, the format of POP used to be for singer songwriter stuff, now its reserved for Jesse McCartney and AShley Tisdale
[Edited 7/3/08 15:20pm]

My mother liked her when she was a Mariah wannabe. So desperate. Maybe she is just a media star. Obviously nobody has taken her recording career very seriously (least of all, the people she works with and herself).

I've never really liked country music much, except for a few people like Cash, Parton, Nelson etc, so this just re-enforces my dislike for the genre. Jessica is talentless!

VinnyM27 said:

But most of them are just that, media stars. this is why i hate when they drift into doing magazines and movies, because its the trap, and to me the main reason why you get artists less focused on their albums. I mean this is why back in the day you would get tons of albums from an artist and they would build a catalog, now, you have to blow up from day one, we have to see them everywhere, know everything about them, see them from looking hot to seeing them buying groceries, and then seeing them in movies and commercials. So everyone from Beyonce to Jessica to Justin are media stars and thats where it is for them, they can talk about Music being their life, but, their lives are being this "media" star, if music was their lives they would have 10-12 albums by now and not care where they charted and what they looked like.

HamsterHuey said:

its so funny to me. I am sure they would love that on the radio stations.. they ran that standard country format on it.. shit, sounds identical to anything new with faded out country..

Is country really anything but what used to be POP?? I mean ever since the days of Shania and Faith Hill, country hasnt been country. Im by far an expert on country but i do know that the "real" country music fans, arent feeling things like Taylor Swift. But this is what happend really in every genre

Sdldawn said:

it does nothing for me except it helps me get rid off my boner.

I haven't cared for Jessica Simpson since Irresistible

Jessica Simpson is a bore,no matter what style of music she makes!

This shit is just boring. While she does have an OK voice that simply isn't enough.
If she wants to sell some units she should do a Playboy spread or appear topless in some B-movie. That would make her some money at least, even if it might not help her CD sales.

Country stations are eating this song up. Its gonna be big over there. I am not a country fan by any means, but this doesn't sound half bad to me.

Also, just to note, she just got awarded "Best Boobs in Hollywood" or something like that. I swear I heard that on like Access Hollywood or another of those tabloid celebrity shows. ha ha ha... um...gotta say she's got a nice rack that is for sure...

purplehippieonthe1 said:

She doesnt have to sell records which is what i have been saying over and over, these peeps are MEDIA stars, just like a Beyonce or a Justin etc....check the top 10 Female money earners in Music last year....Jessica made over 20 million dollars, about 1% of that was on music. On that top 10 female list the only one that actually is a "music" star and not media, was Norah Jones.

HamsterHuey said:

Wow that's actually pretty good. I may have to pick it up on my next trip to the music store.
[Edited 7/5/08 12:30pm]

lastdecember said:

The problem Jessica Simpson has musically is that she's not distinctive at all from her peers. Even when she started out and had the pipes to be sort of a blond Mariah Carey-type singer, she was overshadowed by Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and was considered just another teen pop singer. And when she originally released In This Skin, the album totally flopped on the charts. It didn't pick up any significant sales until her reality show with Nick Lachey blew up on MTV. And her last pop record, A Public Affair, didn't sell well after her divorce, and also at that time the media was more concerned with her private life than her music. Her country record is actually pretty good as far as mainstream country music is concerned, but now everyone will be comparing her to Carrie Underwood.

728huey said:

Well that whole era, no one was distinctive, not that this era has anyone distinctive, but that POP era, really didnt do anything but make alot of good looking blondes on the female side, whether it was Xtina,Jess,Britney,Mandy or Willa ford etc...and the same on the guy front, you had all the countless boy bands but no one stood out, it was all catchy but it was pretty much all the same song. If it was a talent contest, seriously i would go with Jessica, because i think she is better at "singing" than xtina, though i feel xtina will be more respected throughout the business mainly because Jessica is the "odd" one out, the goof ball, the divorce girl, the girl that dates the horrible quarterback that cant win a big game etc...But watching Jessica the last few years, country or what is now country is where she belongs, its safer, its clearly more lucrative market, and regardless she actually has respect of pioneer like willie and dolly, and really do you need much more.

lastdecember said:

Only thing is... here in Nashville, there are countless blonde-bombshell singers who could wipe the stage with her. Yeah, a lot of them are waitresses at local restaurants during the day... ... but for all her notoriety, JS isn't going to make anyone forget about Carrie Underwood or Taylor Swift, who both have MAJOR industry machinery backing them.

ThreadBare said:

But thats the thing, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift arent country, and niether is Jessica. Cutting an album in Nashville doesnt make it country, the last decade everytime an artist cuts a record in Nashville they get called country, everyone called the Bon Jovi record "lost highway" a country album, did they listen to it? NO because anyone who did clearly knew it was not a country album, Richard Marx's last 2 studio albums were done in Nashville, and again got country play, but anyone who heard them knows they were "pop" records. But this is what its like in every genre with Labelling acts, people think Linkin Park is a rock band, are you kidding me, they are a hip hop act, with some guitars, limp bizkit with better lyrics. The thing is country is the new POP now, and better yet its now the "blonde" white female zone, from Carrie to Taylor to now Jessica and now everyone thinks Jewel is country. But like i say i dont care about the label just cut good music whoever you are.

lastdecember said:

I agree.

Funny thing is, Nashville's responsible more, these days, for authentic CCM and gospel than it is for TRUE COUNTRY. A lot of pop stars live here to chill between projects, and there's a real appreciation for good music here. But, there's also a big rift between real-country artists and pop-country poseurs. The line between the two is getting really blurry, though.

ThreadBare said:

But i mostly blame radio and the labels too. I know that Jon Bon Jovi didnt send his singles only to country stations, and its beyond nasville recording too, its all changing, i mean, John Mellencamp all of a sudden only getting "country" play and yet he is doing rock records? the same thing with the Eagles? It seems that if you play acoustic guitar you are now called country.

bet she gives incredible rim jobs

lastdecember said:

As a country singer, I can tell you that these days, the difference between rock and country is a banjo and a southern accent in a lot of cases.

Still, Jessica's perfect for the pop country thing. She'll make a record, and it'll do okay and then she'll probably move on to something else.

Now all we need is Katharine McPhee to return to her Irish roots and it will be like back in the good old days.