Jessica Simpson is going back to her Southern roots. The singer–slash–shoe mogul was born and raised in Texas, but she has been living in Los Angeles for years. However, a recent stay in Nashville has allegedly been giving the star second thoughts about the Hollywood life.
The "I Wanna Love You Forever" belter will be back with a new studio album in 2024. This will be her first in more than 13 years — though she manages to secure headlines with or without a headlining gig — and she’s been recording the new material in Nashville, after relocating her family there from Los Angeles last summer. Per a recent interview with Footwear News, the former reality TV star dubbed the Tennessee capital "a retreat" for her where she feels "so enlightened."
It’s like a retreat for me. I get to just crawl up inside my head and embrace my heart. I feel so enlightened there. Writing music has become a beautiful therapeutic thing for me that I didn’t know was so natural, but it’s because I haven’t done it in so long.
Being back in the studio was also a sanctuary for the singer who is often mistaken for Britney Spears. She put out seven studio albums between 1999 and 2010, and she said she's loved working on music again:
It’s just nice to know that I’m meeting myself back in this place, as a woman, and after going through everything that I’ve been through in my life. There’s a sense of freedom and empowerment.
Apparently, Simpson loved her Southern sojourn so much that she might just be making it permanent. People reported this September that the business mogul put the $22 million, 13,274-square-foot mansion she shares with husband Eric Johnson and their three children—son Ace Knute, 10, and daughters Birdie Mae, 4, and Maxwell Drew, 11—in the Hidden Hills neighborhood of L.A. on the market.
The move comes after she told E! News in August about how much she was loving Nashville life and how living outside of the heavily paparazzied, high-pressure Hollywood world allowed her to feel less "on guard." The star has famously withstood public prodding into everything from her romantic relationships with exes like Nick Lachey to her weight fluctuations, which she has been open about. Speaking about her love for the Tennessee city, she said:
Being in Nashville, even my kids are like, 'You laugh the whole time. You're so happy. It's because I'm not on guard. I'm with a lot of like-minded people. It's not about the celebrities—it's really about the music and the heart and the conversation.
She also discussed with E! News how the Nashville stay helped her reignite her musical ambitions and how she finally feels ready to make her long-awaited singing comeback. Speaking about said return to music, she said:
I'm not nervous at all, but if you were to ask me two years ago when I was talking about coming back to music, I was frightened. But now, I know exactly what I want...I'm building my own platform. I'm doing it for the first time—the way I would—without a label telling me I need to do this song or use this producer. It's all me.
So is a permanent move to The Music City in the cards for Simpson and her family? A source told Life & Style in September that it's looking likely:
She’d been toying with the idea of relocating but wasn’t sure how her children would adjust. Jessica was thrilled by how happy they were there, and it has her thinking of making a more permanent move.
No matter the location, Simpson fans are no doubt excited that a new album is imminent. Per her chat with Footwear News, the record is set to be released in early 2024, with a concert tour to follow. So, as we wait for this long-awaited album, we'll be sure to keep you posted on her potential permanent move to Nashville and her music.
