Jessica Simpson Says She Was ‘Mad at Music’ After Being Dropped by Her Record Label (Exclusive)

Jessica Simpson is reflecting back on her early music days. 

The singer, 44, sat down for a chat with Fancy Hagood on an upcoming episode of Trailblazers Radio, and PEOPLE has the exclusive first look. During the conversation, she recalled being “mad at music” when she was dropped from her record deal after the release of her hit 2008 country album, Do You Know.

“I took a long break,” Simpson told Hargood. “I was mad at music a bit. After being dropped with a number one country album, I was dropped and I just never understood it. They just said I would never recoup if I didn’t give them part of the brand, but my brand was already successful.”

She went on to say that she was warned not to pursue a career in music. “They told me not to do it. They thought it would ruin my career just like they thought reality TV would ruin my career, and it didn’t.”

Through it all, Simpson just wanted people to see her as relatable. “That’s so important I believe as a musician, I’m not going to be the one up there that [is] like, ‘Oh my God, I want to be just like Jessica.’ I want people to say, ‘Oh my God. I’m just like Jessica.’ That just works for me. That thought process,” she said. 

Simpson returned to music with her EP Nashville Canyon, Pt. 1 in March. She performed live for the first time in 15 years that same month. Her music career initially kicked off in 1999 with the debut album Sweet Kisses.

The singer released seven studio albums before tapering off around 2010. Her 2008 country album, Do You Know, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums, and peaked at No. 4 in Top Album Sales. However, her record label still decided to drop her after the release.

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In a 2023 cover story with Bustle, she said, “It wasn’t my choice to have Scott Storch or all these producers that [cost] a million dollars a track… I didn’t control those budgets. We were just yes-people. And in saying yes to everything, I lost it all.”

The “Blame Me” singer also told Hagood, a singer-songwriter himself, that she had to be in a certain mindset to return to the music industry. 

“I feel like there’s so many façades that we put up, so many different things,” Simpson explained. “This time, I know I have three kids and I want to be a good role model to them, but they know me just the way this music is, which is so nice. Because my kids have thought that I’ve been putting out music this whole time because I’ve had writing sessions at my house and I wanted to put music out a long time ago. I’ve always wanted to put music out. It just never felt like the right time. And I’m an intuition gut follower.”

Speaking of trusting her gut, Simpson revealed that she wrote the EP in Nashville because she felt a special connection to the city after her older daughter wanted to celebrate her birthday there.

“Instead of singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ she wanted us to sing ‘I Saw the Light’ and play Hank Williams that morning we were in Nashville because that’s where she wanted to go… And she’d never been. And I woke her up with that song and it just hit me. The light. It was like the light’s here,” she said. 

“This is where I discover myself,” Simpson continued of Nashville. “This is where I’m born free… I did a gospel record at 14 here. I got to write my first songs here. I wrote my whole country record here, and I was always so safe.”

Tune in to the full episode live on Saturday, April 26, at 2 PM PT / 4 PM CT on Apple Music Country, or listen anytime on Apple Music.