These days you can’t pick up a tabloid magazine without seeing Jessica Simpson’s picture in there somewhere. The world wants to know about her… mostly about her personal life. Let’s face it… she young, she’s beautiful and a lot of people just love to feed off of any gossip they can get. It’s hard not to believe all that you hear and read about people so I had no idea what to expect when I went to see her last month in Monterey, CA. I had heard that her security detail is insane and that she wasn’t really approachable so I was a bit nervous but they could not have been more wrong.
Jessica Simpson was booked by David Drew Productions as the headliner with newcomers Brownell and Richey (Can You Duet) as the opening act for the Monterey County Fair on Friday, August 15 and I was brought in to shoot both the show and the meet & greet. I could not believe how many people were in line for that M&G… WOW! When Jessica came out she was wearing a beautiful flowing dress with high heels and was drop dead GORGEOUS! For those of you that want to think that she is airbrushed or not as pretty in person… WRONG… her pictures do not do her justice! She stood there for what seemed like an hour meeting her fans and signing autographs. She was the epitome of graciousness. She took the time to sign whatever her fans wanted….including their clothes and had a huge, beautiful smile on her face the whole time. She talked with each and every one of them and made all of them feel special. There were so many little girls there that just worshipped her and she was so sweet with all of them. I was pleasantly surprised at how personable and friendly Ms. Simpson really is. This had me kind of excited to see her live show. In all honesty I have never been a big fan of her music so I was skeptical at first but was ready to see for myself.
Jessica was introduced to the crowd with a taped audio intro by none other than the legendary Willie Nelson who co-starred with Jessica as Uncle Jessie in the 2005 film The Dukes of Hazzard. It was a wonderful introduction and had the crowd pretty pumped. She opened the show with These Boots Were Made For Walkin’ which was a remake of the 1960’s Nancy Sinatra hit done for the movie in which she played the character of Daisy Duke. I must admit… the girl definitely has the SEXY thing going for her. She then did a ballad called Still Beautiful and did a wonderful job… really great song. All in all she performed about 15 songs that included You’re My Sunday, Sippin On History, Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under (Shania Twain cover), Man Enough and several others. She did a nice cover of the classic song Preacher Man and closed with her latest hit Come On Over! She got a fantastic response from the crowd and was quite the entertainer. I was impressed. She is much more than “just a pretty face”. She has an electrifying stage presence and sings quite well. She definitely had the audience eating out of her hand.
I think that Jessica Simpson is a force to be reckoned with. She’s only 28 years old and has not only survived a very public and somewhat nasty divorce but already has 5 albums under her belt and with her recent move into the country music genre this latest album Do You Know, which was just released earlier this month, looks to be a huge success. She started her own line of footwear and is having HUGE success with that. She’s been working hard and striving for success since she was 12 years old and look at her now… she’s done it! She’s proof that having the drive and sheer determination to go for your dreams really pays off. I’m not saying it has been easy for her but the fact that she keeps on trucking no matter what the media and the tabloids say about her tells me that this is one STRONG and sexy woman. Jessica Simpson is a survivor and proof that you can’t keep a good woman down. I admire her strength and perseverance and will look forward to whatever comes next in her life. Way to go Jessica.
