Look up piece in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Piece or pieces may refer to:

• A single unit of something
• An informative or creative work, such as a work of art, journalism, academic research, etc.
  • Musical piece, a work of music, sometimes called an opus
• Chess piece
• Jigsaw puzzle piece
• Mouthpiece (disambiguation)
• A coin valued at less than the principal unit of currency
• A Scottish term for a sandwich
• Firearm
• Any apparatus used to smoke cannabis, but usually a pipe

Entertainment[link]

• Pieces (film), a cult horror film from 1983
• Pieces (video game), a Super Nintendo game

Music[link]

• Pieces (band), a band consisting of Buckethead and Brain
• Pieces (Erik Hassle album)
• Pieces (Dismember album)
• Pieces (Manassas album)
• Pieces (Kokia compilation album)
• "Piece" (Yui Aragaki song), a 2009 single from the album Hug
• "Pieces" (Fool's Garden song), a song by German pop band Fool's Garden
• "Pieces" (L'Arc-en-Ciel song), a song by Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel
• "Pieces" (Sum 41 song)
• "Pieces" (Chase & Status song)
• "Pieces" (Motor Ace song)
• "Pieces", a song by Anthrax from Volume 8: The Threat Is Real
• "Pieces", a song by Red (band)

Places[link]

• Piece, Silesian Voivodeship (south Poland)
• Piece, Pomeranian Voivodeship (north Poland)
• Piece, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (north Poland)

Other[link]

• Pieces (art installation)

See also[link]

• All pages beginning with "Piece"
• All pages with titles containing "Piece"
• Part (disambiguation)
• Portion (disambiguation)
• Section (disambiguation)
• Segment (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Paloma Faith
Faith performing in November 2010
Background information
Birth name	Paloma Faith Blomfield
Born	(1985-07-21) 21 July 1985 (age 26)[1][2] Hackney, London, UK
Genres	Soul, pop, jazz
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actress
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Epic Records, RCA Records
Website	palomafaith.com

Paloma Faith (born Paloma Faith Blomfield; 21 July 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. In 2009, she released her debut single "Stone Cold Sober" and her debut album, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?, which was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. Her album stayed within the top 40 album charts for over forty weeks. The album spawned five singles: "Stone Cold Sober", "New York", title track "Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?", "Upside Down" and "Smoke & Mirrors". Faith also recorded the theme song to the 2010 British film 4.3.2.1 and appeared on the charity record "I Put a Spell on You". Faith made her feature film debut in the 2007 remake of St Trinian's. She has since appeared in two more feature films, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and Dread. In March 2010, Faith revealed that she was working on a second album. Almost two years later, Faith announced that her second album would be called Fall to Grace and that it would be released on 28 May 2012. The album was preceded by the single "Picking Up the Pieces", which became Faith's highest charting single to date.

Early life[link]

Faith was born in Hackney, London to a Spanish father and an English mother who split up when Faith was two years old.^[1] Faith was raised by her mother in Stoke Newington.^[3] As a child, Faith was encouraged to dance by her mother and she took weekly ballet classes in Dalston.^[1] After completing her A-Levels, Faith went on to study for a degree in contemporary dance at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance,^[4] which Faith describes as "the worst experience of [her] life".^[1] Faith then went on to study for an MA in theatre directing at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design,^[5] funding her studies by working various part-time jobs, which included; a sales assistant at Agent Provocateur, a singer in a burlesque cabaret, a life model and a magician's assistant.^[3][5]

Music career[link]

2007–08: Career beginnings[link]

Faith's first foray into music began when she mimicked famous soul and jazz singers including Etta James and Billie Holiday, whom she admired and cites as influences for her own work.^[3][6] Faith met her managers Jamie Binns and Christian Wåhlberg of Lateral Management in 2007.^[7] Binns had been tipped off by the producer Peanut, a client who had recently worked with Faith in his studio and been suitably impressed.^[8] He met up with Faith shortly afterwards and was "completely blown away", later saying: "I wasn't sure what this girl was going to do – she was an actress and a singer – but there was just something about her in that artistic realness that when I came out of the meeting I called Christian and said, 'We have to do something with this girl!'"^[8] Although Faith had been looking for a manager, she was still wary about entering into a formal agreement with Binns and Wåhlberg. She instead wanted to build their relationship before any contracts were signed. The managers spent six months to a year helping Faith with the A&R process, setting up sessions, and guiding and advising her before Faith was officially signed to Lateral Management.^[8]

During her time at college, Faith worked in a pub where the manager asked her to front his band, which they later called 'Paloma and the Penetrators'.^[1] During a performance with the band at a cabaret show, Faith was scouted by an A&R man from Epic Records, who invited Faith to sing for the manager of the label.^[1] Twenty minutes into the audition, Faith asked the manager to turn his phone off and when he refused, she walked out.^[1] Epic A&R Joanna Charrington told HitQuarters "When she played a showcase for us it was clear that she was a star but the material was a bit generic. She didn't have the hit songs."^[7] Not being one hundred percent convinced the label executives decided to wait. During this time Charrington regularly checked Faith's MySpace page "to see if she had something that had a special direction or sound."^[7] After several months her attention was eventually piqued by "Broken Doll", which she thought was a well-crafted song with a "fantastic chorus and brilliant lyrics."^[7] Charrington told Epic managing director Nick Raphael "I think we should get this girl back in. She sounds like she is getting it now. We can help her get the songs."^[7] Faith revealed in an interview that the manager called her and offered her a contract saying he had seen many acts since and none had been as memorable as her.^[1] Faith turned down an opportunity to join Amy Winehouse's band and she began to write and perform her own songs.^[9]

Faith's first recognised work was the song "It's Christmas (And I Hate You)", which she recorded as a duet with singer-songwriter, Josh Weller in 2008.^[10] Faith's music is influenced by soul and jazz and her singing style has been compared favourably to those of Amy Winehouse and Duffy.^[11][12]

[edit] 2009–10: Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?

Faith released her debut single, "Stone Cold Sober", in mid-2009 and it reached Number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.^[13] Faith's second single, "New York" was released in September 2009.^[14] The song made its peak position in early October, peaking at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart.^[15] Faith then released her debut album, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?, on 28 September 2009.^[16] Faith wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album in the UK, Sweden and America and recorded it entirely in London.^[17] It debuted at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart and later peaked at number 9, it remained in the chart for sixteen weeks.^[18] The album became BBC Radio 2's 'Album of the Week' from the 19 September 2009.^[16] In the same year, Faith appeared as a guest vocalist on Basement Jaxx's Scars album and on American hip-hop artist MF Doom's album, Born Like This.^[19][20] Faith released her third single, the album's title track, "Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?" on 21 December 2009.^[21] The song did not perform as well as Faith's previous singles and failed to reach the top twenty. It peaked at number 64 in January 2010.^[22] In March 2010, Faith released her fourth single, "Upside Down", which peaked at Number 55 in the UK. To promote the album, Faith went on her first tour, featuring dates in the UK, Germany and France.^[23]

Faith performing at the 2010 Lovebox Festival

On 4 November 2009, Faith announced her first headlining tour of the UK and Ireland starting on 17 March 2010.^[5][24] The Times described the tour as being "full of theatrical artifice, but based on the rock-solid foundation of [Faith]'s sensational singing voice and a personality that sparkled like a rough diamond".^[25] Faith performed a live set for the BBC's Radio 2 Introduces... and gave an interview to the station's host, Dermot O'Leary.^[26] Faith also appeared on current events programme This Week discussing her views on the British education system with Michael Portillo. During this month she also appeared as a guest on Never Mind the Buzzcocks,^[27] performed the song "Upside Down" on The Hollyoaks Music Show, and performed her single "New York" on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. She also appeared on the BBC's Later with Jools Holland, recorded on 13 October 2009, and his live Hootenanny on 31 December 2009. Faith performed at numerous festivals throughout that summer, including T4 on the Beach. "Stone Cold Sober" was used as the backing track for a Rimmel commercial starring Lily Cole and the B-side, "I Just Wait", was used in a UK television alcohol awareness advert.^[5][28] Samsung's Corby mobile phone TV commercial featured Faith's "Technicolour" song. Faith became involved in an album artwork competition with BBC Blast in November 2009, in which teenagers won the chance to work alongside leading artists, photographers and music industry professionals to create new publicity artwork for the singer.^[29]

During an interview with Mayer Nissim of Digital Spy in March 2010, Faith revealed that she was working on a second album.^[30], and that if she continued to make losses for her record label they would drop her.^[30] Faith's manager subsequently refuted any suggestion that her contract with the label was under threat, saying that, on the contrary, debut album UK sales of 500,000 without a hit single is an impressive foundation for a long-term career, and Sony are "smart enough" to recognise that and are 110% behind her.^[8] Faith, along with Adam Deacon and Bashy, recorded the theme song to the 2010 British film 4.3.2.1. The track, titled "Keep Moving", was released on 28 May 2010.^[31] In the same month, Faith performed at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival with the The Guy Barker Orchestra. The performance was broadcast on BBC Radio 2.^[32] In June 2010, it was announced that Faith would re-release an updated version of "New York" featuring rapper Ghostface Killah.^[33] The single was released on 1 August 2010.^[33] Faith released a live EP album following an appearance at the 2010 iTunes Festival. The album charted at number 11 on the iTunes top 200 albums.^[34] Faith revealed in a September interview that she would be releasing her new single "Smoke & Mirrors" in October 2010.^[35] The track was the final single from her debut album and its video was uploaded to YouTube.^[35] It peaked at Number 140 on the UK Singles Chart.^[36]

[edit] 2011–present: Fall to Grace

In January 2011, Faith was nominated for "British Female Solo Artist" at the 2011 BRIT Awards.^[37] At the ceremony, Faith performed "Forget You" alongside Cee Lo Green.^[38] Faith appears on the charity single "Hard Times" alongside Plan B and Elton John.^[39] She also recorded the song "Desire" with Graham Coxon and Bill Ryder-Jones for a Converse campaign.^[40] During an interview with Popjustice, Faith revealed her second album would contain more "agony and suffering."^[41] The singer also hoped the album would be done with one producer as she wanted a "solid piece of work."^[41] She explained "I love the beautiful side of things like that Tom Waitsy, Rufus Wainwrighty, Ed Harcourt sort of stuff, and in contrast I like all the OutKast production, Gnarls Barkley and 'Beggin' and all that sort of sound. Contemporary but with a nod to the past. But you never know. You might just meet someone and something else would make sense."^[41] In July 2011, Faith revealed her frustrations about releasing the follow up to Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?. She did not know when the album was going to be completed and said the process was slow.^[42] She told Kristy Kelly of Digital Spy, "The album's not finished yet and I'm not sure when it will be. If I had my way it would be out tomorrow, but there are so many other people involved that nothing happens quickly."^[42] Faith also admitted being signed to a major record label made her feel under pressure to be instantly successful.^[42] On 7 February 2012, a writer for the Gloucestershire Echo reported Faith had been named as Artist in Residence for the 2012 Cheltenham Jazz Festival.^[43]

On 29 February 2012, Faith revealed her second album would be called Fall to Grace and that it would be released by RCA Records on 28 May 2012.^[44][45] Faith enlisted record producer Nellee Hooper and co-producer Jake Gosling to work with her on the project.^[45][46] Hooper told a writer for NME that he had not really heard of Faith as he was living in Los Angeles when her first album was released. He said Sony and RCA Records contacted him and suggested he meet her.^[46] Of Fall to Grace, Faith said "The new album has taken on a very cinematic mood. I am very excited to introduce my new sound into the world. Working with Nellee Hooper (Björk, Madonna) has been really inspirational."^[44] Faith told Dom Gourlay of Contactmusic.com that Fall to Grace is a personal record about a period of her life. Faith wrote and recorded the album in London.^[46][47] Fall to Grace was be preceded by the single "Picking Up the Pieces" on 20 May.^[44] It debuted at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart, making it Faith's highest charting single to date.^[48][49] On 4 April 2012, Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy reported Faith had joined The Voice UK as one of four guest mentors.^[50] Faith worked with coach Danny O'Donoghue during the battle rounds phase of the competition.^[50] She also performed "Picking Up the Pieces" during the fourth results show.^[51] To promote Fall to Grace, Faith performed "Just Be", a track from the album, on Later... with Jools Holland.^[52]

Acting career[link]

In 2006, Faith made her primetime television acting debut in the series Mayo. The following year she appeared in an episode of the BBC police drama HolbyBlue and made her feature film acting debut as Andrea in St Trinian's.^[28][53] In 2009, Faith appeared in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus as Sally, the girlfriend of the Devil (played by Tom Waits).^[28] She also appeared in horror film Dread as Clara Thornhill.^[5] Faith revealed that she was able to attend film auditions during promotion for her debut album, in the hope that she would land a role once all of her album commitments were over.^[6] In August 2010, Faith appeared in Channel 4's series Coming Up.^[54] She also appears in the short film, A Nice Touch with Dougray Scott.^[55] Faith became attached to appear in Wayne Holloway's untitled punk movie in 2012.^[56] Faith will make an appearance as cabaret performer, Georgia, in the BBC drama adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings.^[40][57] She auditioned for the role and stated "I don't think they even knew I was an actress. I went to an audition and they said that they liked my interpretation of the character and I said, 'I'm just being myself'."^[58]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? (2009)^[59]
• Fall to Grace (2012)

Singles

• "Stone Cold Sober" (2009)
• "New York" (2009)
• "Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?" (2009)
• "Upside Down" (2010)
• "New York" (feat. Ghostface Killah) (2010)
• "Smoke & Mirrors" (2010)
• "Picking Up the Pieces" (2012)

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paloma Faith

• Official website
• Paloma Faith on Twitter
• Paloma Faith on Facebook
• Paloma Faith discography at Discogs
• Paloma Faith at the Internet Movie Database
• Paloma Faith at Curtis Brown
• Paloma Faith portrait competition at BBC Blast

Ashlee Simpson
Simpson at the Paris Hilton: Marquee The Star Sydney 2012
Background information
Birth name	Ashley Nicolle Simpson[1]
Also known as	Ashlee Simpson-Wentz
Born	(1984-10-03) October 3, 1984 (age 27) Waco, Texas, United States
Origin	Richardson, Texas
Genres	Pop, pop rock
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actress
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Geffen
Website	ashleesimpsonmusic.com

Ashlee Nicole Simpson (born October 3, 1984)^[2] is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in 2004 with the success of her number-one debut album Autobiography. Her reality series, The Ashlee Simpson Show, aired for two seasons. Following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released her second number-one album, I Am Me (2005). Simpson assumed creative control over her third album, Bittersweet World (2008).

Biography[link]

1984–2003: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Simpson was born in Waco, Texas^[3] and raised in the Richardson area of Texas. She is the daughter of Tina Ann (née Drew), a homemaker, and Joe Truett Simpson, a former psychologist and Baptist youth minister who works as Simpson's agent. Simpson has an older sister, Jessica, who is also a singer and actress. She attended the same schools as her sister, Prairie Creek Elementary and Richardson North Junior High.

In 1987, when Simpson was three years old, she began studying classical ballet. Simpson enrolled at the School of American Ballet in New York City in 1995, a year in advance.^[4][5][6] During this time, Simpson suffered from an eating disorder for about six months but received treatment from her parents.^[7] Tina and Joe Simpson made the decision to relocate to Los Angeles, California for Jessica's singing career in 1999. Subsequently, Ashlee was cast in television commercials.^[8]

Eventually, Simpson made appearances in films and television series, including Malcolm in the Middle (2001), a minor role in The Hot Chick (2002), and a recurring role on the family drama series 7th Heaven (2002, 2003, and 2004).^[9] In the summer of 2003, she worked as a video personality for MTV. Occasionally, Simpson appeared on Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, a reality show documenting the married life of her sister Jessica and her former husband, Nick Lachey.

[edit] 2004–05: Autobiography, The Ashlee Simpson Show, and SNL controversy

Following the success of her sister Jessica's first album, Ashlee became one of her backup dancers. Simpson recorded a song entitled "Christmas Past, Present and Future" in 2002 for the holiday album School's Out! Christmas, which was later re-released on Radio Disney Jingle Jams in 2004 and 2005. In the summer of 2003, she released a song called "Just Let Me Cry" for the soundtrack to the film Freaky Friday. After her appearances on the School's Out! Christmas and Freaky Friday albums, Simpson signed a record deal with Geffen Records. Her first album, Autobiography, debuted at number one in the United States in July 2004, with first-week sales of around 398,000 copies. The album was certified triple-platinum by the RIAA in September 2004. Simpson co-wrote all of the album's tracks, describing it as "very true to my emotions",^[10] however, critical reviews were mixed.^[11] Rolling Stone magazine's Peter Relic characterised the album as a "mundane melange of Avril-ish brat pop and Sheryl Crow cod rock."^[12] The single which preceded the album, "Pieces of Me", was one of the biggest hits of the summer in the United States and was certified gold by the RIAA. The follow-up singles, "Shadow" and "La La", were less successful, although the latter became an RIAA-certified gold seller. At the Teen Choice Awards on August 8, 2004, Simpson received the "Song of the Summer" Teen Choice Award for "Pieces of Me", as well as the "Fresh Face" Award.^[13] She also won the Billboard Award for New Female Artist of the Year in December,^[14] and in the same month, Entertainment Weekly named her one of its Breakout Stars of 2004.^[15]

Jessica and Ashlee Simpson in Seoul, Korea in May 2010

As an accompaniment to her debut album, Autobiography, and to create interest in the beginning of her own music career, she filmed and appeared on her own reality television series, The Ashlee Simpson Show, which aired in the time slot following Newlyweds. It ran in the United States for eight weekly episodes over the summer of 2004 (a second season of 10 episodes aired from January to March 2005). The show dealt with the processes of writing, recording and performing Simpson's music, as well as aspects of her personal life. Simpson had a supporting role as an aspiring actress named Clea in Undiscovered. While her performance was met with indifference,^[16][17] the film itself was panned by critics^[18] and failed to reach the top 10 in its opening weekend,^[19] earning just $676,048 during its theatrical run. Her performance in the film earned her a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.

Simpson appeared as a musical guest on the October 23, 2004 episode of Saturday Night Live, where she was scheduled to perform two songs, "Pieces of Me" and "Autobiography". When she began singing "Autobiography", the vocals for "Pieces of Me" were heard again before Simpson had the microphone to her mouth. She began to do an impromptu jig when she realized the embarrassing error, and then left the stage. During the closing of the show, Simpson appeared with the guest host, Jude Law, and said, "I'm so sorry. My band started playing the wrong song, and I didn't know what to do, so I thought I'd do a hoedown."^[20] On October 25, Simpson called in to the music video show Total Request Live and explained that due to complications arising from severe acid reflux disease, she had completely lost her voice and been advised not to sing by her doctor. She said that because of the acid reflux, her father wanted her to use a vocal guide track for the performance. During the performance her drummer hit the wrong button, which caused the wrong track to be played. Simpson said of the incident, "I made a complete fool of myself."^[21]

[edit] 2005–06: I Am Me

Simpson at a Grammy party in 2008

On January 4, 2005, Simpson performed "La La" at the halftime show for the 2005 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. After her performance, many of the 72,000-plus spectators booed. Some viewers noted that Kelly Clarkson had performed in the show earlier to a much more positive reaction, and asserted that Simpson's performance was poor and very off-key.^{[22][23][24][25]} After the Orange Bowl performance, an internet petition was created at PetitionOnline.com, which requested that Simpson stop producing music. It soon became one of the most active of the site's petitions.^[26] In regards to the negativity towards her, Simpson said, "That's cool. You don't always have to be a fan of everybody's music", adding that she receives a great amount of support from her fans.^[27] Around the time of the petition, Cosmopolitan chose Simpson to be on the cover of their February 2005 issue, naming her the "Fun Fearless Female of the Year".^[28] Simpson's first North American tour ran from mid-February to late April 2005.^[29] The tour was described as "stripped down" without pyrotechnics.^[30] As well as material from Autobiography, Simpson performed her own unreleased song "Hollywood", The Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket", Blondie's "Call Me" and Madonna's "Burning Up".

Simpson's second album, I Am Me, was released on October 18, 2005. She wanted to incorporate the feel of music from the 1980s on the album, and unlike with her debut, she wanted to focus less on relationships and more on herself.^[31] The album debuted at number-one, selling around 220,000 copies in its first week;^[32] as of 2008, it had sold 944,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[33] Its lead single, "Boyfriend", became a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 while Simpson's next two singles, "L.O.V.E." and "Invisible" (a track not featured on the album), reached the top 40. Simpson began a concert tour in late September in Portland, Oregon and appeared on the October 8, 2005 episode of SNL to promote the album. The first song she performed on the show was "Catch Me When I Fall", a ballad written about her previous SNL experience, and she thanked the crowd after her second performance. In mid-December, Simpson collapsed after performing in Japan, and was briefly hospitalized, consequently cancelling an appearance at the Radio Music Awards. The collapse and her subsequent hospitalization were attributed to exhaustion as a result of her busy work schedule.^[34]

In March 2006, Simpson won an MTV celebrity surfing invitational competition, which also featured celebrities such as Meagan Good, Jack Osbourne, Ashley Parker Angel and Tony Hawk. On April 12, 2006, she hosted and performed at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards, where she won "Best Female Artist" and "Best Pop Video" for the single "Boyfriend".^[35] She began a summer tour on June 5, 2006, with Ashley Parker Angel as the opening act.^[36] Simpson said that after the completion of the tour, she would look at film scripts and continue her acting career.^[37] Simpson was cast as Roxie Hart in the West End production of Chicago from September 25 to October 28, 2006. She received mostly positive reviews.^[38] Her performance in the show was described as "dazzling and near flawless."^[39] During this time, she began dating Peter Wentz.^[40]

[edit] 2007–10: Bittersweet World, marriage, and motherhood

During 2007, Simpson recorded her third studio album, Bittersweet World^[41] with producers Timbaland, Kenna, and Chad Hugo.^[42] She described the album as being influenced by 1980s music—bearing similarities with I Am Me—while still incorporating elements of rock and pop and described her intention to go on tour to support the album.^[43] Geffen Records chairman Ron Fair said in December 2006 that working on Simpson's next album would be "very tricky" because of press scrutiny and "prejudices", but that Geffen would work with her to overcome that, "because she deserves to be heard and she deserves a shot."^[44] Bittersweet World was released in the United States on April 22, 2008 to mixed reviews.^[45] The album's first single, the Timbaland-produced "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)", was released as a digital download in December 2007,^[43] but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Little Miss Obsessive", was released in March 2008 and performed marginally better, reaching number 96 on the Hot 100.^[46] Bittersweet World has sold 126,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[47]

Simpson, pictured with former husband Peter Wentz in 2008. She divorced Wentz in 2011.

In April 2008, Simpson and Wentz confirmed their engagement.^[48] They married^[49] at Simpson's parents' residence in Encino, California, where her father officiated the ceremony. Two weeks later, she confirmed her pregnancy. Her surname changed from Simpson to Wentz and she was briefly known professionally as Ashlee Simpson-Wentz.^[50] Simpson gave birth to their first child, Bronx Mowgli Wentz, on November 20, 2008.^[51] She appeared alongside Wentz in the crime drama series CSI: NY in 2009.

Simpson returned full-time to television episodes by playing the role of Violet Foster in Melrose Place, the CW's revamp of the '90s series of the same name.^[52] She was originally signed to the show as a regular, but producers and CW executives decided to write out her character. Simpson left the show after 12 episodes and stated that she had known all along that her character would leave the show once the murder mystery storyline had concluded.^[53][54] After her departure from Melrose Place, Simpson reprised her role in the Broadway musical production of Chicago. She began her Broadway run on November 30, 2009 and performed in New York for eight shows a week until February 7, 2010.^[55]

2011–present: Fourth studio album[link]

On February 9, 2011, Simpson filed for divorce from Wentz, citing irreconcilable differences. She requested joint legal custody with visitation for Wentz, but sole physical custody and spousal support. She also asked that her name be restored to her birth name of Ashlee Nicole Simpson.^[56] Their divorce was finalized on November 22, 2011.^[57][58]

In an interview with Paper, Simpson stated that her fourth album would have a "folk feel".^[59][60] On the June 23, 2011 episode of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, Ryan Seacrest confirmed that Simpson had held meetings with record executives alongside previous collaborator John Shanks to plan the exact direction of her next album.^[61]

Musical influences and public image[link]

When Simpson first broke onto the music scene in 2004, she was set apart from her sister's already established image due to a different music style, different fashion choices, and a more assertive personality. Simpson's songs have been characterized by rock elements absent from her sister's music, and, particularly during her early career, Simpson would often wear outfits highlighting a rock or punk-influenced sense of style. She cites her childhood as being the time when she began to sing, and admits that she dreamed of being on Broadway and did not expect to break into the pop music scene.^[62] She trains with a vocal coach, and studies Etta James and Aretha Franklin albums for vocal inspiration.^[63] She has cited Gwen Stefani, No Doubt, Joan Jett, The Runaways, Madonna, Pat Benatar, Green Day, Alanis Morissette, Fiona Apple, Chrissie Hynde, and Debbie Harry from Blondie as her musical influences.^[64]

Simpson had a nose job in April 2006. In the May 2007 issue of Harper's Bazaar, she said that she was not insecure about her appearance and had not been beforehand. She said that plastic surgery was a "personal choice" that one should only decide to do for oneself and not for others.^[65] In a September 2007 interview, her father, Joe Simpson said of the surgery: "There was a real problem with her breathing and that was cured".^[66] In mid-2006, Simpson gave an interview to Marie Claire magazine, in which she was said to have "had it with Hollywood's twisted view of feminine beauty" and was photographed painting a pro-female mural with a group of underprivileged girls from Los Angeles' Green Dot Public School.^[67] By the time the magazine hit newsstands, Simpson had already had her nose job, and some Marie Claire readers complained that this was hypocritical. The magazine received over 1,000 letters of complaint and the magazine's new editor expanded the letters section of the September issue of the magazine to give readers a chance to vent their frustrations.^[68][69]

Simpson launched a collection of tops in partnership with the clothing retailer Wet Seal on April 22, 2008, the same day Bittersweet World was released.^[70] She also began appearing in commercials for Canadian retailer Zellers to promote their independent clothing line, Request, in mid-2008.^[71] Simpson appeared on the second episode of The CW's America's Next Top Model, Cycle 17 as a guest judge. She created a fashion line aimed at girls aged 7–16 in collaboration with her sister's successful brand. Simpson is the co-creative director of the line, which was released in the winter of 2011.^[72]

Filmography[link]

Theater[link]

Discography[link]

• Autobiography (2004)
• I Am Me (2005)
• Bittersweet World (2008)

Awards and nominations[link]

See also[link]

Dallas portal

• List of Ashlee Simpson concert tours

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ashlee Simpson

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ashlee Simpson

	Book: Ashlee Simpson
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Official website
• Ashlee Simpson on Twitter
• Ashlee Simpson at the Internet Movie Database

The Script
The Script, Nobel Peace Prize Concert 2008
Background information
Origin	Dublin, Ireland
Genres	Soft rock, alternative rock, blue-eyed soul, worldbeat
Years active	2001–present[1]
Labels	Sony Music Entertainment
Associated acts	mytown (1996-2001)
Website	thescriptmusic.com
Members
Danny O'Donoghue Mark Sheehan Glen Power

The Script are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Based in London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint Phonogenic, the band released their eponymous debut album in August 2008, featuring the hit songs "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" and "Breakeven". The album debuted at number one in Ireland and the UK.^[2] Their second album, Science & Faith, was released in September 2010, and contains the hit songs "For the First Time" and "Nothing". The album debuted at number one in Ireland and the UK, and number three on the US Billboard 200.^[2][3]

Their music has been featured in many video games and many popular television programs including 90210, Ghost Whisperer, The Hills, Waterloo Road, EastEnders, Made in Chelsea and The Vampire Diaries. Frontman Danny O'Donoghue is also a coach on The Voice UK.

Biography[link]

Danny O'Donoghue and Mark Sheehan met in a club in The Liberties area of Dublin, Ireland near the Guinness brewery, gravitating to each other through a shared liking of music, and in particular a love of R & B music (Rhythm and Blues). "At that time, MTV only came on in Dublin after midnight, it was the fuzzy channel, and for my generation urban culture was just a wave through us all," explains Sheehan. "It wasn't about gangs and guns; it was fashion and fun, singing and dancing." ^[4]

Mark and Danny were formerly part of a band that had formed in 1996 called mytown. Striking up a songwriting and production partnership, O'Donoghue and Sheehan's talent was recognized early, and, to their astonishment, they found themselves invited to Canada to collaborate with some of their production heroes, including such legends of modern R&B as Dallas Austin, Montell Jordan and Teddy Riley. They were based in the US for many years, but moved back to Dublin where they recruited Glen Power for their new band. He had been playing sessions from the age of fifteen, using the money to work on a solo project in his home. But that went on hold when his collaboration with Mark and Danny produced three songs in one week. The band signed to Phonogenic in 2005, and released an EP on Last.FM. The band's influences include a diverse group of artists that include U2, Coldplay, The Police, The Neptunes, Timbaland, and Van Morrison.^[5] O'Donoghue also made a reference to Amy Winehouse and Stevie Wonder while discussing his personal voice while singing. They have worked on a few collaborations with Amy Winehouse and Denzel Washington, varying styles and genres. He stated that the instrument he attempts to imitate is a violin, based on the string arrangements of Stevie Wonder, while Amy Winehouse is similar to a saxophone.^[6]

Danny and Mark started making demos for other artists, but when they met drummer Glen Power, the objective changed. The pair had never heard Power play, but they made a connection that motivated Sheehan to invite Glen on a working holiday to Los Angeles. In one week, the trio produced three songs. "It was like I found my home playing with these guys," says Glen. "I had never had a chance with any other band to express myself with such freedom." "Individually, we all had our own talents, but together it just went to another level," according to Danny.^{[cite this quote]}

In the beginning years of the band, Mark Sheehan's mother fell terminally ill, causing a lot of stress on the band and members, but it also had a positive effect on Sheehan's writing. With such strong emotional tension, the songwriter found new lyrics every day. Sheehan said that "That was the time when it finally came home to me how important music was to me, 'cause in my darkest moments that's what got me through." After Sheehan's mother's death, ten months after her diagnosis, Danny's father died four months later of a heart attack. Even with such trying moments in their early years, the band was able to rise out of it, albeit with somewhat bleak lyrics in several songs, as commented by Danny when referencing "We Cry": "There is not a lot of hope in the song, cause not everybody's life is full of hope. There's not always roses at the end."^[6]

[edit] The Script (2008–2010)

The Script performed "We Cry" for the first time on BalconyTV in Dublin on 13 September 2007.^[7] The band claimed that BalconyTV was the "first TV they ever did" and credited Michael Hunter as the "push we needed to propel us" when they won Best Band at the DanishTV Music Video Awards 2009 in the Pepper Club Dublin on 20 June 2008. At the awards the band said the award was their "first ever".^[8] The Script released their debut single "We Cry" on 14 April 2008. "We Cry" received "Single of the Day" on RTÉ 2FM, Today FM and by Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1, where many radio presenters heavily supported the band.^[9] The single peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart,^[10] giving the band their first top 20 single. The track also performed well on the Irish Singles Chart, peaking at number 9 and giving the band their first top ten single in their home country.^[10] The Script also performed 'We Cry' on one of the CW's TV series, 90210.

Their second single, "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", was released on 15 September 2008.^[11] The single reached number 2 in Ireland, Denmark, and the UK.^[12] The band released their debut album, The Script, on 11 August 2008. Following the success of "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one with sales of 20,240 copies where it stayed for eleven weeks. The album spent three weeks in the top ten and was the eighteenth best selling album in the UK of 2008. The album also entered the Irish Albums Chart at number one, holding the top spot for five weeks.^[13] It had, as of January 2009, spent 2 wks. in the top 10. The Irish office of Sony BMG music presented the group with their first multi-platinum disc for over 600,000 sales of their debut album, The Script.^[14]

The band's third single, "Breakeven", was released in Ireland on 21 November 2008 and in the UK on 29 December 2008. The single was an instant success on the Irish Singles Chart. After entering the chart at number forty, it spent one week before entering the top ten at number ten giving the Script their third top ten single in Russia. The single has, to date, spent 4 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 21. The band's fourth single "Talk You Down" was released in March 2009.^[15]

On 9 November The Script received an award at the World Music Awards for 'Best Selling Irish Act' of 2008 and on 19 February 2010, they won 'Best Live Performance' at the Meteor Ireland Music Awards. The band has confirmed that they plan to write a track for Leona Lewis's second album.^[16] In December 2008, the band were confirmed to be supporting Take That at their concert at Croke Park on 13 June 2009. The band played at the Cheerio's Childline concert on the opening night of Dublin's 02. They played among big stars Enrique Iglesias, Anastacia and many more.

On 7 April 2009 the band was confirmed to be supporting U2 on their third concert at Croke Park, which took place on 27 July 2009.^[17] On 29 April 2009, the band announced that their next single would be Before The Worst, to be released on 15 June 2009.^[18] On 17, 18 and 21 July 2009, The Script opened for Paul McCartney at the historic first concerts at New York's Citi Field^[19] and for U2 at Dublin's Croke Park.

The band's bonus track and B-side "Live Like We're Dying" was re-recorded by American Idol 2009 winner Kris Allen as the first single off his self-titled album. Allen's version of "Live Like We're Dying" was digitally released for download on 21 September 2009.^[20]

On 2 December 2009 the band's single "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" was featured as a remix on the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show during the Enchanted Forest segment.

On 16 April 2010, their first U.S. single "Breakeven" was certified Platinum by the RIAA (the Recording Industry Association of America), selling over one million copies in the U.S. and has since peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 2010. The band performed a headline tour in the United States that kicked off in San Diego on 11 October 2010 at the House of Blues and ended on 7 November 2010 at the House of Blues in Boston, Massachusetts.^[19] On 21 May 2010, they appeared live on NBC's Today Show as part of the show's outdoor Toyota Concert Series.

[edit] Science & Faith (2010-2011)

The Script announced a new album and single on their website on Monday, 19 July 2010. The first single from album Science & Faith, "For the First Time", was released in the UK on 20 August 2010 and the album followed on 13 September 2010. In the United States, "For the First Time" was released on iTunes on 8 November 2010, with "Science & Faith" was released on 18 January 2011.^[21] The song was first released in the United States on AOL Music on 29 September 2010.^[22] "For the First Time" has entered the UK charts at #5 and moved up to #4 the following week and entered the Irish charts at #1. The music video features Bono's daughter Eve Hewson. Science & Faith entered the Irish Album Chart and the UK album chart at #1.

The Script recorded their album in London, and vocalist Danny O'Donoghue says that the economic crisis in Ireland is "a microcosm for the rest of the world." He talks about people being stripped of everything that they own and how it inspired the band to write the songs for the new album. Danny says, "We're dealing with complex emotions in the simplest of ways, that's what we battle with in these songs." The subject matter might sound bleak at first, but Science & Faith is about optimism. "With Irish people, no matter how bad things get, you always pick yourself up and carry on."^{[cite this quote]}

On Friday, 24 September at 9:00am tickets for The Script's three nights at The O2 Dublin, two nights at The Odyssey, Belfast & two at The INEC, Killarney went on sale and sold out in less than 40 minutes, with over 60,000 tickets sold. On 1 October at 9:00am tickets for The Script arena tour in March 2011 went on sale. The tickets for all 12 arenas around the UK sold out in 5 days. They also announced that they would play a "Homecoming" concert at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. This is part of the Science & Faith Tour and will be their biggest headline show to date.

The Script also took part in Children in Need 2010. The Script will be participating in the VH1 Best Cruise Ever and sailing to Cozumel 28 April-2 May 2011. The Script took part in BRMB's live 2010 with acts such as The Saturdays, Mark Ronson and Mcfly. The Script were nominated for Best International Act at the 2011 Brit Awards. The Script announced that they will perform at: Pinkpop festival, V festival, Oxegen, Isle of Wight Festival, T in the park, Thetford Forest Show, iTunes Festival, Skanderborg Festival, Sudoeste Festival, Tennents ViTal.

The Script also played to the biggest indoor crowd of 18,300 people at The Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg South Africa 24 June 2011.

They later went on to play their official biggest crowd ever on 2 July 2011 in Dublin's Aviva Stadium, and performed to a sold-out crowd of 50,000 people. The Coronas and Tinie Tempah were support acts on the night.

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• The Script (2008)
• Science & Faith (2010)

Tours and shows[link]

• Science & Faith Tour
• iTunes Festival 2011
• Isle Of Wight Festival 2011
• Radio City Music Hall - October 9, 2012
• V FEST 2011
• World Tour October 2012

Awards and Nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• The Script at MySpace
• The Script at Billboard.com
• The Script on BalconyTV – Music With Nothing
• BBC Talking Shop: The Script by Neil Smith, 17 April 2008 at ITV
• BBC Music Club: The Script
• The Script CD review in MTVMexico.com
• Talk You Down Review at Daily Music Book
• The Script Interview in the Virgin Red Room
• Project This = Love, home to the only charity group for fans of The Script