MusiC ManiaC: [New Album] Ashlee Simpson : Bittersweet World Download it!

For The Third Album

By Billbord.com

Ashlee Simpson has set an April 22 release date for her third Geffen album, "Bittersweet World," which, as previously reported, features production from Timbaland and the Neptunes' Chad Hugo.

The first official single, "Little Miss Obsessive," boasts guest vocals from the Plain White T's Tom Higginson. The track has yet to land on any Billboard charts.

Released digitally in December, album track "Out of My Head (Ay Ya Ya)," also failed to chart but has sold 117,000 digital downloads in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Simpson indulges her '80s fetish throughout the project. The sassy "Boys" imagines the Cardigans' "Lovefool" atop a Chic rhythm, and there's a "Beat It" vibe on the chugging "Rag Doll." "I almost wish I lived my 20s in the '80s," says Simpson, who was born in 1984. "A lot of the record is a bit cheeky. Sometimes I'm writing about something serious, but it was fun for me to kind of goof around as well."

Simpson put in a fair share of 14-hour days in the studio; often she'd leave at night and return the next morning to find that Hugo had crafted a song based on conversations from the previous day. "Everybody really had their hands in this album," she tells Billboard.

In recent weeks, Simpson has been busy with radio promo stops, in-store appearances at Wal-Mart and midnight club shows. Upcoming appearances include Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards on March 29, "Today" on April 18 and "Dancing With the Stars" on April 22. A summer tour is in the planning stages.

Review By Buzznet

So we've all heard the hype over Miss Simpson's third studio album. Originally rumored to be titled "Color Outside the Lines" the new title, "Bittersweet World," reportedly came from something her boyfriend Pete Wentz yelled during sex. While the public has already heard a sampling of tracks ("Murder," the first single "Outta My Head (Ay ya ya)" and the next single "Little Miss Obsessive"), they have yet to experience the true power of this album.

Perhaps it's a bit weird for Miss Simpson to have partnered with so many different artists on BW, but they all lend themselves well. Not only does "Murder" feature a rap by Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy and "Little Miss Obsessive" features vocals by Tom Higgenson of the Plain White Tees, but there is also a host of, dare I say it, Wentz-ian guest stars. Between a guest vocal appearence by Panic at the Disco lead singer Brendon Urie on the track "Pass the Hash Pipe (Dinner with my Family)," and an alarming guitar solo on "How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Doing the Guy You Want)" provided by Ryland Blackinton of Cobra Starship, it seems that Wentz has managed to make a mark on his girlfriend's music career. Production by the likes of Timbaland and Patrick "tiny little sex god" Stump make the album pop like a bottle of champagne. Cheap champagne. Okay, medicocre priced champagne that you get blitzed on at your older sister's college graduation, but hey, it's not like you ASKED to be there! Even better is a moment in "Boys" where Ashlee participates in a freestyle rap off with Adam T. Siska (credited as "Sisky Biz") from The Academy Is...

Perhaps the biggest shock was Wentz's voice appearing on the album. During a break in "Follow You Wherever you Go" Wentz's signature scream interjects, spewing apparently complimentary things about Simpson, such as "if there's flowers in your halo I want honey forever" and "sometimes I stare at the sun until the dots in my eyes remind me of you." Though Pete Wentz had reportedly announced he was NOT appearing on Ashlee's new album, it appears the doucheking himself has misled his fans again. Way to go, Pete.

Overall, I give this album four out of five stars because Papa Joe didn't bribe me enough to give it five.

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