Speaker 1: We used to get this free Pinkberry from this guy
Speaker 1: all the time, and Danielle and I were like, oh
Speaker 1: my god, he's gonna get fired. And when I tell you,
Speaker 1: he would give us free pingberry every single time, and we.
Speaker 2: Went to pink You're the part you're skipping that's important
Speaker 2: is we went to Pinkberry seven days a week, oh
Speaker 2: my god, every single day, which was at some point
Speaker 2: the one on Sunset when we used to live in
Speaker 2: West Hollywood, Okay, And every single day we would go
Speaker 2: in there at some point and get Pinkberry, and if
Speaker 2: he was there, he would just give it to us
Speaker 2: for free every single time everything. And I, as you know,
Speaker 2: don't love free stuff because I feel obligated. And a
Speaker 2: half the time I would only have twenties and I
Speaker 2: would want and so then I would end up paying
Speaker 2: twenty dollars in.
Speaker 3: The tip jar for the poor.
Speaker 2: Would I'd be like, could you please just charge me
Speaker 2: for the pinkberry because I'm losing money on the tip
Speaker 2: in the tip jar.
Speaker 1: But yeah, and we'd say he's gonna get fired, and
Speaker 1: we'd say he's probably just a huge boy meets world,
Speaker 1: like this is insane.
Speaker 3: It's so weird. Because he never said anything, never said
Speaker 3: like I loved you on Boy Meets World.
Speaker 4: Nothing.
Speaker 3: And then after about six months of going.
Speaker 1: There, I mean hundreds of dollars.
Speaker 2: We get pinkberry and another person serves it to us
Speaker 2: and says, no, I'm not.
Speaker 3: Allowed to charge you.
Speaker 1: Josh.
Speaker 3: Josh would be mad if I charged you, and.
Speaker 1: We were like, oh my god. Now he's involving other
Speaker 1: people in his scheme.
Speaker 3: This is so weird.
Speaker 2: Then the next time we go, Josh is there and
Speaker 2: he goes, oh, I heard you met my my coworker
Speaker 2: last time, and I'm glad he didn't charge you.
Speaker 3: He would have been in trouble. And we were like,
Speaker 3: huh yeah, and he goes, uh.
Speaker 2: This is embarrassing. But I have to ask, and I
Speaker 2: go what. He goes, were you on a TV show?
Speaker 2: And I said yeah, I was on Boy Me's World.
Speaker 2: He goes, that's so funny. I I've never seen it,
Speaker 2: but my coworker told me that that you were, so
Speaker 2: I didn't know.
Speaker 3: I didn't. I'm so sorry I didn't know.
Speaker 1: He said, that's cool, that's that's cool.
Speaker 3: Sorry to have a good day.
Speaker 4: So why is he giving you free do you still
Speaker 4: not know?
Speaker 5: Is there no end to this story. I thought, O,
Speaker 5: d oh, you're killing me. So you still don't know,
Speaker 5: no idea. Hundreds of dollars, hundreds of dollars.
Speaker 2: There and we don't get it. And I also got
Speaker 2: Captain Crunch on it all the time, totally chewed up
Speaker 2: the roof of my mouth.
Speaker 6: Captain Crunch is amazing and the only reason I'm upset
Speaker 6: with having left social media is one of my first
Speaker 6: tweets was how has Captain Crunch never been promoted?
Speaker 4: Because come on, these.
Speaker 6: Guys been a she's obviously doing something wrong. And Captain
Speaker 6: Crunch himself from his verified account, I mean tweeted back
Speaker 6: and said it because Admiral Crunch makes no sense. Oh so
Speaker 6: I was like, okay, this is why people do social
Speaker 6: media because Captain Crunch.
Speaker 5: Himself absolutely the real Captain Crunch.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the real I'm sorry, it's captain well it is,
Speaker 2: but it's he's a captain.
Speaker 6: But still he's I want to know what's going you know,
Speaker 6: he's got to have some some serious problems to not
Speaker 6: be promoted, to ask.
Speaker 3: I know, No, you're right, that's been a long time.
Speaker 4: Yeah, he's been.
Speaker 1: He's getting away free pink Bury to customer.
Speaker 4: That could be it. It could be he could be
Speaker 4: Josh's uncle.
Speaker 6: I'm dying to know what Josh is thinking as he's
Speaker 6: just giving away. And and because it's the it would
Speaker 6: be one thing if it was like, okay, you know
Speaker 6: I always get but to then bring in his coworker
Speaker 6: to say, I'll be pissed if you charge these people.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Also, the coworker definitely knew who she was, So
Speaker 1: how did you even not have that conversation with the coworker.
Speaker 3: That's what doesn't make any sense.
Speaker 5: With it.
Speaker 7: You.
Speaker 6: So it's not that he had a crush on you.
Speaker 6: I mean it is, but Jensen's there, so it's not
Speaker 6: like she's a pretty girl.
Speaker 3: No, no, yeah, I don't know. It's a very it's
Speaker 3: a mystery niversity genuine.
Speaker 1: When he told us, it looked so real.
Speaker 3: Oh my god, the history of the universe. I don't
Speaker 3: have to say about it.
Speaker 4: Amelia Earhart, Sean Benay, Josh.
Speaker 3: Berry, Joshah, Pinkberry. Yeah, those are the things.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, is Pinkberry still a thing?
Speaker 3: Yeah, there's one in North rich Okay, never had.
Speaker 4: It in my life.
Speaker 2: We took Adler to Pinkberry for his first ever frozen
Speaker 2: yogurt and I'll never forget it because Adler had never
Speaker 2: had it before. And so he takes a bite of it,
Speaker 2: and he's like a little hesitant at first, and then
Speaker 2: he's like, oh yeah, this is pretty good, and then
Speaker 2: he takes another bite, and he takes another bite and
Speaker 2: then all of a sudden, Jensen goes what's happening? And
Speaker 2: I just look at Adler and Addler's like this.
Speaker 1: His eyes are just bulging out. There's like his mouth
Speaker 1: is shivering.
Speaker 3: He's like, and I go, oh god, oh wait, he
Speaker 3: has a brain.
Speaker 5: Freezing brain freeze, first ever brain freeze, first ever brain freeze.
Speaker 3: And I just fully saw it.
Speaker 1: He was like, and then when it stopped, he looked
Speaker 1: at us like I was gonna.
Speaker 4: Die so much better it. Yeah.
Speaker 7: No.
Speaker 6: The first time I ever learned that. The way my
Speaker 6: brother and sister in law raised my nephews far different
Speaker 6: than I was raised is we were in Amsterdam and
Speaker 6: they were little, little kids, and we found one ice
Speaker 6: cream shop all the way across the city still open,
Speaker 6: and the adults wanted to go out do something. So
Speaker 6: I said, you know what, I'll take the boys and
Speaker 6: we'll go and we'll find ice cream, and we walked
Speaker 6: through the streets of Amsterdam for like an hour to
Speaker 6: get to this place. And we finally get there and
Speaker 6: my nephew is probably seven at this time, and he
Speaker 6: looks up and says, my brother and I will split
Speaker 6: a small fat free chocolate. And I was like, who
Speaker 6: the hell are these children and how do I get them.
Speaker 4: Away from my brothers?
Speaker 6: Immediately I'm like, we walked an hour for the two
Speaker 6: of you to split a small fat free chocolate?
Speaker 4: Are you kidding me?
Speaker 6: I was so upset, couldn't go too little.
Speaker 4: I was like, your uncle's here, what do you want this?
Speaker 4: You don't even have to finish it. They split a
Speaker 4: small cup, nothing on top, nothing of fat free frozen yogurt.
Speaker 3: Rill needed to spend more time with those children.
Speaker 6: Oh my god, just try walking the streets of Amsterdam
Speaker 6: by the way with two little kids, like, no, don't
Speaker 6: look over there, don't look over there, don't look over there.
Speaker 4: What's that smell? Nothing? Nothing, don't look over there. Oh.
Speaker 6: It was amazing because you'll walk by like a coca
Speaker 6: cola add it'll just be a naked woman like by coke,
Speaker 6: and it's like, wait a minute, Okay, this is what
Speaker 6: whoa whoa Yeah it's uh but yeah fat free yogurt split.
Speaker 4: I was so Depresedub'll share one.
Speaker 3: I was like, oh my god, who are what did
Speaker 3: you get?
Speaker 6: The double triple Sunday fudge? Whatever the hell it was
Speaker 6: where it was like, I'm eating this and winning a shirt.
Speaker 6: So sit there and watch me.
Speaker 3: Welcome to Pod Meets World.
Speaker 4: I'm Danielle Fischel, I'm Rider Strong and I'm wilfred Ell.
Speaker 4: Both I'm both today.
Speaker 2: Oh, Rider Strong is not with us because he has
Speaker 2: finicky internet.
Speaker 4: No internet today, no internet.
Speaker 3: He tried, he was on for a few minutes.
Speaker 2: Things were looking good, and then he disappeared and he
Speaker 2: was the first froze.
Speaker 6: The freeze was great because we were like, it was
Speaker 6: right when he's going to say Rider Strong, and he froze,
Speaker 6: and we were like, is he.
Speaker 4: Contemplating his name?
Speaker 3: Is he thinks he's forgotten? Yeah? That is what it
Speaker 3: looked like.
Speaker 2: Well, Las Vegas Week continues, and today we have a
Speaker 2: banger as we prep for season seven. It marks Boy
Speaker 2: Meets World's entry into the year two thousand and As
Speaker 2: pre we figured, it gets no more y two K
Speaker 2: than a two thousand and two to two thousand and
Speaker 2: three season of Say What Karaoke filmed at the MTV
Speaker 2: Summerhouse in the Hamptons, hosted by Danielle Fischer and a
Speaker 2: guy named Stephen from the Real World, and judged by
Speaker 2: this week's very special guest. It was when I first
Speaker 2: got to know her, spending one of the best summers
Speaker 2: of my life with an effortlessly cool pop star, driving around,
Speaker 2: sharing secrets and laughing NonStop, all with the backdrop of
Speaker 2: a pre paparazzi trl society.
Speaker 7: Ah.
Speaker 4: The good old day, good old times.
Speaker 2: She was just about to release Autobiography, her debut album
Speaker 2: that would hit number one and go on to sell
Speaker 2: five million copies worldwide. And yet there she was, down
Speaker 2: to earth, funny, beautiful, and for some reason posing for
Speaker 2: pictures pretending she had.
Speaker 3: Pickles for eyebrows. I have that photo. What I have
Speaker 3: A great picture with her holding two pickles.
Speaker 2: Above her eyebrows, right, cute. Listen, we had fun. Don't
Speaker 2: ask what we did.
Speaker 3: Ah.
Speaker 2: Her and her sister Jessica dominated pop culture at an
Speaker 2: almost once in a generation level. It's experiencing the highs
Speaker 2: and lows that came with celebrity at the time. Something
Speaker 2: I think should be examined then condemned in modern day
Speaker 2: criticism with words like misogyny and bullying. You see, kids,
Speaker 2: the two thousands got very weird, especially for famous women.
Speaker 2: We were talking to her just weeks before I Am
Speaker 2: Me a group of seven shows in Las Vegas at
Speaker 2: the Venetians Voltaire Theater. It's a return to music for
Speaker 2: the dedicated mom of three, a celebration for her fans,
Speaker 2: those of us who consider songs like Pieces of Me,
Speaker 2: La La Boyfriend and the entire Bittersweet World album to
Speaker 2: be wildly underappreciated jams. Oh don't believe me. Ask Rolling
Speaker 2: Stone in the New York Times, both outlets who've recently admitted.
Speaker 3: That we fumbled what we had with her.
Speaker 2: Young Alanis lyrics at first, then later throwback synthpop, all
Speaker 2: born too early for its proper credit. But today we
Speaker 2: will give credit where credit is due. Please welcome to
Speaker 2: pod meets World. The loveliest spirit and a true survivor.
Speaker 2: It's Ashley Simpson Ross.
Speaker 7: Hash I doing this right.
Speaker 3: It was not your fault. We were running like two minutes. Wait, guys,
Speaker 3: it's me.
Speaker 7: Also with technology, I'm so bad at it.
Speaker 4: I mean this is too terrible.
Speaker 7: It's nice having like a sixteen year old son because
Speaker 7: I'm like, he's not here right now, He's in Japan.
Speaker 7: I'm like, what do I do?
Speaker 3: What is Bronx doing in Japan?
Speaker 7: He's out there with his dad right now, like just Pat,
Speaker 7: he's been out there for just living life. Summer trip.
Speaker 4: Oh that's awesome, beautiful face too. I'm jealous.
Speaker 7: I mean, I need him right now. I'm doing technology.
Speaker 3: I know, hello, FaceTime him? I need you. What time
Speaker 3: is it in Japan?
Speaker 7: Oh my, I'm like, am I doing this Instagram right?
Speaker 4: Like, yeah, She's going to need his help to FaceTime him. Though,
Speaker 4: that's the problem I know exactly.
Speaker 7: I don't know, but like that's the nice thing about
Speaker 7: having a team. Now, Like we just saw you at
Speaker 7: the mall. I had the shirt on I'm we wearing.
Speaker 2: I was literally planning when we started our interview to
Speaker 2: talk about how lovely it is to see you for
Speaker 2: the first time. And then we ran into each other
Speaker 2: at the Topanga mall.
Speaker 3: Mall my mall too, guys.
Speaker 4: Are we neighbors? Are we all neighbors? That's a.
Speaker 7: Flying place for the hoo. And you know what is
Speaker 7: so funny here's about like how funny life is with Jagger.
Speaker 7: Didn't realize who you were. And then I told her
Speaker 7: after and she was like, oh my god, Mom, she's.
Speaker 3: Yeah, girl meets world. Of course that's like in her
Speaker 3: in her ballpark.
Speaker 7: Oh my god. I was dying. She was like, oh
Speaker 7: my god, can we like go back and color like Jagger?
Speaker 7: You can see if any time, we'll.
Speaker 3: Do lots of get togethers, we'll do lots of hay we're.
Speaker 7: At that to pay them all.
Speaker 2: Do your kids like the mall the same way we
Speaker 2: all liked the mall when we were teens.
Speaker 7: It's so funny because I feel like even with my husband,
Speaker 7: he's like, I've never known somebody who likes the mall,
Speaker 7: Like why do you like to go to the mall?
Speaker 7: Like thank you, Hey, you're going to the mall? Like
Speaker 7: that's where you're taking the kids to the mall.
Speaker 3: Yes, that's what we grew up doing, the mall. Yeah,
Speaker 3: so do mine.
Speaker 2: So my son started his first day of first grade yesterday.
Speaker 2: And on the little form thing you fill out, you
Speaker 2: know what his name is, what school he goes to,
Speaker 2: what his what are some things he loves? I said,
Speaker 2: what do you love and he said, my mom, my, dad,
Speaker 2: the mall, and everyone in my family.
Speaker 7: It's like, there's so many opportunities. Go to movies, you
Speaker 7: can go to the.
Speaker 3: Arcade, some food. If you're not really that hungry, you
Speaker 3: can stop the food, get a snack.
Speaker 4: That the mall was higher on the list than his brother.
Speaker 3: Yeah, brother fell into everyone in my family. Yeah he
Speaker 3: didn't get.
Speaker 7: I like him all.
Speaker 2: My happy place mine too, absolutely, and Ashley, I have
Speaker 2: been so excited to get you on the podcast, not
Speaker 2: just so we could catch up, but because you are
Speaker 2: essentially doing the music equivalent.
Speaker 3: Of our podcast in Vegas.
Speaker 2: You're at the Venetian revisiting your music career, but instead
Speaker 2: of a podcast, you're doing it with a whole string
Speaker 2: of shows, and we are talking to you just a
Speaker 2: few weeks before your first show.
Speaker 3: How are you feeling about it all.
Speaker 7: I'm feeling so good. I'm really excited about the show.
Speaker 7: I mean, honestly, just being in that room. And I
Speaker 7: have so many like female players now too, which is
Speaker 7: so hot, and new players revisit that music and for
Speaker 7: me to revisit and revisit the things like I wrote
Speaker 7: when I was eighteen, revisiting that has been so much
Speaker 7: fun for me and just like bringing it to twenty
Speaker 7: five right now, I'm so excited, honest. And another thing
Speaker 7: like that really like drove me to it was my daughter,
Speaker 7: like all of a sudden, like her and her friends
Speaker 7: were like hello, Hello, like v and like I was like,
Speaker 7: how is this like happening? I'm like Pat Benatar to you?
Speaker 8: You know what I mean, Like there was like a
Speaker 8: letter for me and all that, and then there was
Speaker 8: like Pat and like yeah, yes, I love what I understand.
Speaker 7: And you know, I'm like the older tear.
Speaker 2: How did it come together? Who approached you? Did you
Speaker 2: have to be convinced? Was it your brainchild? How did
Speaker 2: it come about?
Speaker 7: My husband and I were like, oh God, Like you know,
Speaker 7: I've been wanting to play again and I've been wanting
Speaker 7: to music out. And I did a twenty year anniversary
Speaker 7: of my first album last year and I did like
Speaker 7: I just played three songs, and when the three songs
Speaker 7: were over, I was like.
Speaker 4: Got that too, It's not enough.
Speaker 7: I wanted to keep going. So this just felt like
Speaker 7: organic and fun. Vegas is like so sexy and close
Speaker 7: and it just like gives you that vibe where you
Speaker 7: can be nostalgic. I've seen his mother, Diana Ross play there.
Speaker 7: She's amazing, and like, it's just a place where I
Speaker 7: think Vegas is like open to so many fun things.
Speaker 7: So for me, it was just like the right opportunity.
Speaker 7: And for me, I'm like a person who like waits
Speaker 7: for that door. I'm like, Okay, here's an open door,
Speaker 7: and this is the moment I'm going to see what
Speaker 7: this brings.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's interesting because when we started this podcast we
Speaker 6: didn't know what was going to happen either. There's just
Speaker 6: kind of okay, we're going to talk about what it
Speaker 6: was like we were a certain age and we've got
Speaker 6: you know this, seven years of our life has been
Speaker 6: captured and we can But then it brought up a
Speaker 6: whole lot of stuff we didn't expect to be churned up.
Speaker 6: And you're kind of reliving certain things, not all of
Speaker 6: it great. Have you noticed that you're kind of going
Speaker 6: through some of the same emotions as you're going back
Speaker 6: through your catalog?
Speaker 7: Oh my god, Yeah, and every you I get to
Speaker 7: relive everything. But yes, and and also like a lot
Speaker 7: of like great Like actually I met Danielle we were
Speaker 7: working what was it MTV in the Hampton's Springburger, Summer
Speaker 7: Beach it was Summer Beach House.
Speaker 2: Yes, when the year they brought back Say What Karaoke,
Speaker 2: Oh My God, which I.
Speaker 3: Think was like two thousand and two, two thousand.
Speaker 7: And three, it was yeah, because I didn't come out
Speaker 7: with my music. I was writing music, but I didn't. Ah. Yeah,
Speaker 7: I was on seventh time in.
Speaker 3: Yeah and we.
Speaker 2: Honestly, it's one of my most favorite memories of my
Speaker 2: entire life is the time Ashley and I got to
Speaker 2: spend together that summer.
Speaker 3: We just don't anyone else seeing.
Speaker 7: Me at them all the other day, I was like, oh,
Speaker 7: I'm doing this, but I was like, oh.
Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, we just there. We had such a great time.
Speaker 2: I don't know what anyone else was doing, but the
Speaker 2: two of us, he really did. It was like every
Speaker 2: It was like every vision you have of what two
Speaker 2: teen girls released on their own in New York and
Speaker 2: the Hampton's minus pillow fights.
Speaker 3: We didn't have any pillow fights.
Speaker 2: But otherwise, you know, why didn't we Why didn't we
Speaker 2: ruined the w in Times Square?
Speaker 7: That was like the place they would put us.
Speaker 3: That's where they put us up.
Speaker 7: Because even when like it was like seventh teven. I
Speaker 7: feel like I was always at the w Were you guys.
Speaker 3: Too, No, we never got to New York.
Speaker 4: I never said anywhere.
Speaker 2: Well, you immediately sold out all of your first dates
Speaker 2: when they were announced, and so then they added more.
Speaker 3: Did you see that coming or was it a surprise
Speaker 3: to you?
Speaker 7: It was a surprise to me. I mean I didn't
Speaker 7: really know what to expect for me. I was just like, oh,
Speaker 7: like in general, to get back to play those songs
Speaker 7: and the twenty five version of it, which is like
Speaker 7: what I've been being in the room enjoying is I'm like, oh, Ashley, Yeah,
Speaker 7: because a lot of my lyrics, like I go through
Speaker 7: and every day when I was younger, it was like therapy.
Speaker 7: I'd go to the studio, Like my boyfriend broke up
Speaker 7: with me, I'd go to the studio write about it.
Speaker 7: And what people don't do in their music anymore are bridges.
Speaker 7: And that's like yours. That's like your light, that's your
Speaker 7: and so like every song like I have that, and
Speaker 7: I'm like, ah, you always found it even though you
Speaker 7: were young and going through so much. You know, I
Speaker 7: feel like I always was like finding that, And I
Speaker 7: feel like as a four year old woman. I'm still
Speaker 7: able to connect that and see so much of that
Speaker 7: and I'm like, ooh yeah, I was.
Speaker 3: Like, yeah, girl, yeah, proud of you.
Speaker 7: Like, well, it's so hard because you don't pat yourself
Speaker 7: on the back at that time. Yeah, it was like
Speaker 7: at this age, now you can be like, oh that
Speaker 7: was really good.
Speaker 2: Isn't it nice too to be able to look back
Speaker 2: and give that younger version of you that you were
Speaker 2: so hard on.
Speaker 3: A nice hug, be like, I mean, do you do
Speaker 3: the same? Absolutely? It's like, wow, you were you weren't
Speaker 3: that awful? Why are you so? Why were you so
Speaker 3: hard on yourself?
Speaker 7: Danielle?
Speaker 3: Yeah, because like I was so hard on myself. And
Speaker 3: look I look back now and I'm like, what you
Speaker 3: were doing great? Look at you go, look at you.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's it's so nice to like, yeah, to
Speaker 2: feel a sense of pride.
Speaker 7: Like a freeing moment, I think, and I can't wait
Speaker 7: to be there and play the shows. And for me,
Speaker 7: it's just been nice, like just the testament of like
Speaker 7: my fans now you know, they're all adults, the kids
Speaker 7: that were like nine and eleven that came to my
Speaker 7: show back in the day, they're like grown Corona dimmy
Speaker 7: Lovado and I mean even so that was another moment too,
Speaker 7: because she used to cover my song La La on
Speaker 7: her tour and I went and paid it with her.
Speaker 7: He's like, God, that was so much fun, and like
Speaker 7: how much I respect her as an artist and the
Speaker 7: fact that she was playing that was so nice. That
Speaker 7: is to me, those moments like led to this to
Speaker 7: me to like be here now and I'm so excited. Also,
Speaker 7: my daughter, she's like the ones, Like she came to
Speaker 7: my rehearsals the other day She's like, Mom, you sound
Speaker 7: so good. And I was like, because she didn't know
Speaker 7: that side of me, just like, yeah, give me this.
Speaker 4: Mom, Yeah, your mom.
Speaker 3: Exactly right now.
Speaker 2: Well, we have established that everyone is ready for Ashley
Speaker 2: Simpson Ross in twenty twenty five. But I wanted to
Speaker 2: talk a little bit about your past as well, because
Speaker 2: it is a common trivia question. But I'm not sure
Speaker 2: everyone knows you weren't the youngest person ever admitted to
Speaker 2: the School of American Ballet at age eleven? Wow ah,
Speaker 2: how did that come about? Growing up in Texas? How
Speaker 2: did you then find yourself in ballet?
Speaker 7: You know, my mom like always my mom's like my
Speaker 7: best friend still, you know my mom.
Speaker 3: I know your mom, yes, but.
Speaker 7: She always kind of supported our dreams. And Jessica and
Speaker 7: I like grew up entertaining, which I'm sure you guys did. Wow, yeah,
Speaker 7: where you're at. And for me, ballet was just something
Speaker 7: like I started at such a young age and I
Speaker 7: took it so seriously. Like by the time I was
Speaker 7: in third grade, I was on point. So I was
Speaker 7: like dancing with seventeen year olds by the time I was,
Speaker 7: you know, very young to Prince Lord.
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh.
Speaker 7: Here. But you know, for me, I think that the
Speaker 7: one great experience about that. So then I would go downtown.
Speaker 7: I lived in Dallas, and I'd go downtown. I'd auditioned
Speaker 7: for all the ballet schools, so like then I was
Speaker 7: like accepted, you know, full scholarships. So like you're all
Speaker 7: baby two U Sab you know those things. And then
Speaker 7: I always loved Sab in New York City ballet, so
Speaker 7: I went there. But yeah, I mean it's like one
Speaker 7: of those things that's still like engraved in my body.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Well you mentioned your sister Jessica, who then became a
Speaker 2: global pop star and a reality TV pop culture phenomenon.
Speaker 2: How did the takeoff of her career start the trajectory
Speaker 2: of your career. You started as a backup dancer for her, right, yeah, okay,
Speaker 2: so how did that start shaping your future? And when
Speaker 2: did the record deal discussion start?
Speaker 7: Okay? So I did as I would do this summer
Speaker 7: as I was offered the year to go there, and
Speaker 7: then my family, my sister got signed to Columbia that
Speaker 7: the second year I went to sav it was a
Speaker 7: summer I went actually, and they were like, oh, you
Speaker 7: can go a year and got signed in. My family
Speaker 7: was like, we're going to move to LA and it
Speaker 7: was actually funny enough, but that year I was like, oh,
Speaker 7: you know, like I love ballet, but I'm not gonna
Speaker 7: be Avallerina, you know. So they were like, you could go,
Speaker 7: you can stay, you can go to New York and
Speaker 7: do school there at Julliard, go to or you can
Speaker 7: come with us to LA. And I was like, oh,
Speaker 7: I'm going to go to LA. I'm going to go
Speaker 7: to acting and I'm going to like you know, because
Speaker 7: I also like dreamed of like theater and acting and
Speaker 7: just like a different world of stage other than one thing.
Speaker 7: So I went with my family, and they were like,
Speaker 7: you can dance back up for your sister. And I
Speaker 7: was her background dancer. Now, mind you, I'm not a
Speaker 7: hip hop dancer. So I'm working with all these great
Speaker 7: dancers like keep down, get low. It's like sometimes I'm
Speaker 7: a half beat behind, and I got it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I can't imagine. I can't imagine ballet translating super
Speaker 2: easily to hip.
Speaker 7: I'm great with modern.
Speaker 6: Why is that one girl in the background on point?
Speaker 5: No?
Speaker 7: But it was just such a cool experience to have
Speaker 7: that with my family, and you know, you guys know
Speaker 7: that time. It was a time where like I felt
Speaker 7: very like like I wanted to cover her and support
Speaker 7: her as well. Like the world was just so different
Speaker 7: with artists and everyone and judgment, Like oh, the magazines
Speaker 7: and went the comments that people felt like they could
Speaker 7: say about people. I was like, did you just say
Speaker 7: that about my sister? You know, I felt very like protective.
Speaker 7: But I feel like having that moment, it taught me
Speaker 7: so much about myself as an artist. So my parents
Speaker 7: let me have my friend come out on tour with
Speaker 7: me and guitar tech for the guitar players, so I
Speaker 7: could write my own songs. Oh, so I danced here
Speaker 7: until at sixteen I left and went to Seventh Heaven
Speaker 7: and started writing my first album. But having that time,
Speaker 7: I think really taught me what I wanted, what I needed,
Speaker 7: as you know, like, oh, I will not let you
Speaker 7: tell me what to do or this label tell me
Speaker 7: what to do or who I'm supoub beat. I mean,
Speaker 7: I was lucky to have a whole big sister that
Speaker 7: I got to learn from.
Speaker 2: Yeah, what an incredible education, you know, like a hands on,
Speaker 2: right right up close, look at it, right. Was there
Speaker 2: a culture shock for you coming from Texas moving to
Speaker 2: La Like, was there did your family have a culture shock?
Speaker 7: Feeling well, where did we move to Hassin Heights? And
Speaker 7: then yeah, I mean I think there was a little
Speaker 7: bit of a shock. But then I think there was
Speaker 7: like a group of like Texas people that friends with.
Speaker 7: Some of them are like still my best friends to
Speaker 7: this day. So I think there was a difference and
Speaker 7: was it was different? But then we mostly traveled on
Speaker 7: on tour, so that part was just like fun and
Speaker 7: experiencing like the silliness of that with a bunch of
Speaker 7: like girls on tour and what that is.
Speaker 2: And you know, so was that with Kevin, your first
Speaker 2: acting experience.
Speaker 7: No, what was it? I did like a funny like
Speaker 7: one line and hot Ship or a few lives, hot shit,
Speaker 7: okay and nice seven. Yeah.
Speaker 4: Wow, I'm so curious.
Speaker 6: I'm sorry, I'm just so curious because you have a
Speaker 6: very unique insight in that very rarely do you meet
Speaker 6: people that have been both in the music industry and
Speaker 6: the acting industry, And so I'm curious how it's too
Speaker 6: big a question to say how different are they? But
Speaker 6: is there one side of the industry that is quote
Speaker 6: unquote less toxic.
Speaker 4: Than the other side.
Speaker 6: We keep hearing like, because I only know the acting
Speaker 6: side of the of the industry, and they're always like, okay,
Speaker 6: well you know, as young actors, it can be this
Speaker 6: can be bad or that can be bad. And then
Speaker 6: we hear people often saying, whoa man, you should see
Speaker 6: what the music industry is like.
Speaker 4: So I'm curious.
Speaker 6: Was it that big a difference being a young entertainer
Speaker 6: in the music side of the industry as opposed to
Speaker 6: the acting side of the industry.
Speaker 7: I mean, there are different in different ways, but like
Speaker 7: I said, like I feel like, yeah, I mean, the
Speaker 7: music industry at that time was definitely you know, I
Speaker 7: had a lot of highs, had a lot of lows, right,
Speaker 7: And I think for me, I guess it was just
Speaker 7: that moment of also and that's where I look back
Speaker 7: and give myself a hug because I always stayed grounded.
Speaker 7: I was, like I am. I think being an actress
Speaker 7: or a singer, actor or anything, it's not letting people
Speaker 7: dictate what you are or any failure or this audition
Speaker 7: or that or this you know, music or this performance
Speaker 7: which I've had, but dictating who you are or your
Speaker 7: self worth. And I think for me, like I don't
Speaker 7: know what it was inside of me, but I would
Speaker 7: dig to that and say I was there, I wrote this,
Speaker 7: this is about me, this is my life, and you
Speaker 7: know you would find that strength within yourself. And I mean,
Speaker 7: I think they're both tough though, right, but Kevin Kevin
Speaker 7: was so nice. I mean, that's like a great family.
Speaker 7: I had Beverly Mitchell, and I was there like writing
Speaker 7: songs like Rachel Blanchard. She'd run my lines with me
Speaker 7: every day and I was there writing songs and they
Speaker 7: would come to my trailer and listen to like the
Speaker 7: new song I wrote. And at the same time, I
Speaker 7: was also filming my reality show, The Ashley Show, So
Speaker 7: it was like a lot of war is going.
Speaker 2: On, so so many things to keep track of, which,
Speaker 2: like you said, giving yourself a big hug for the
Speaker 2: fact that you have always remained authentic for as long
Speaker 2: as I've known you, no matter what's been going on,
Speaker 2: You've always just seemed like Ashley, You've always just maintained
Speaker 2: who you were at your core, even while writing the
Speaker 2: waves of highs and lows that no matter what industry
Speaker 2: you're in, life just throws at you.
Speaker 7: Right, And I mean I think like it's God hopefully
Speaker 7: our most important lesson we can give to our children
Speaker 7: because now it's like social media and everything expectations and like,
Speaker 7: definitely you know it's everywhere.
Speaker 3: Now, Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 7: But what I was going to say though, the other
Speaker 7: thing about acting was the day that I finished Seventh Heaven.
Speaker 7: Because you have to have connnuity with your hair and whatnot,
Speaker 7: I went to CVS and I bought a hair dye
Speaker 7: box with brown hair.
Speaker 4: And taking the Power Back, Taking the Power Back.
Speaker 7: My video for Pieces of Me, my single, and I
Speaker 7: call everyone, I'm like, I just want you to know
Speaker 7: I have brown hair and it's from a box at CBS.
Speaker 3: Did you like the way it turned out? Did you
Speaker 3: like the brown?
Speaker 7: I mean I did, and then I kept going and
Speaker 7: it was darn. I mean, I don't know. I mean,
Speaker 7: it was all like doing life in those young ages
Speaker 7: you're in. You're like almost at that time, like your
Speaker 7: college years. So it's like, yeah, apartment, You're experimenting your
Speaker 7: color and your hair, every color. You know, you're doing
Speaker 7: everything and it's all everyone.
Speaker 2: So Autobiography, your debut album, came out in two thousand
Speaker 2: and four. As you mentioned, it turned twenty last year.
Speaker 2: It was five times platinum, hit number one on the
Speaker 2: Billboard Top two hundred, and it is filled with teen angst.
Speaker 3: Now title in mind?
Speaker 2: Was the album a proper representation of who you were?
Speaker 7: And it's so funny because I go hibiography. Well, now
Speaker 7: you know, you're like, oh, it was like autobiography now exactly,
Speaker 7: But it was at that time because for me writing,
Speaker 7: it was like every day I'd go in with like
Speaker 7: my fresh breakup, my fresh boyfriend, like this is me,
Speaker 7: love me for me, and you know, with all those
Speaker 7: you know, it was literally like the diary of my
Speaker 7: life and having like Kara Diaguardian, John Shanks with me.
Speaker 7: It was like they were my therapist and we were
Speaker 7: in this room of like this writing session every day,
Speaker 7: which was yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: Well you were and are very different than your sister Jessica.
Speaker 2: I saw a recent interview you guys did and for
Speaker 2: New York magazine, and she talked about how you are
Speaker 2: the cool one, she was the rule follower and you
Speaker 2: really forged your own path. What was it like for
Speaker 2: the two of you having each other by your side
Speaker 2: through the wild ride that was the two thousands.
Speaker 7: I mean, I think it's like been the biggest blessing.
Speaker 7: And that interview was so much fun because I was
Speaker 7: interviewing her, so I just like on her, I'm like okay,
Speaker 7: like trying to study her new album, and I was
Speaker 7: like I was like okay, man, And I felt so
Speaker 7: like professional about it.
Speaker 3: You're a serious journalist.
Speaker 7: I'm going to interview you.
Speaker 3: So cute.
Speaker 7: But I think just having each other where it's this
Speaker 7: unspoken sisterhood. You know, it's just us. We don't have
Speaker 7: a brother or sisters, just us. And I think it's
Speaker 7: this unspoken understanding of everything everywhere we've been and throughout life,
Speaker 7: you know. And I think just and we had My.
Speaker 3: Mom was like our third yeah, the third sister.
Speaker 4: My mom.
Speaker 7: Everyone like, we go to the same nail salon. Everyone's like,
Speaker 7: is it Tina or Ashley?
Speaker 3: It's so funny.
Speaker 2: Do people do people tell your mom you guys sound
Speaker 2: alike my mom and I know, yeah, like, oh yeah,
Speaker 2: my mom and I too. No matter which one of
Speaker 2: us is calling, people never know which one of us.
Speaker 7: It's so funny. No, but having Jessica has just like
Speaker 7: been like a lifeline. Honestly, Yeah, so great.
Speaker 2: The Ashley Simpson Show was another example of an undertaking
Speaker 2: totally ahead of its time. It was a reality show
Speaker 2: launching pad chronicling you making music. Was the show an
Speaker 2: overall positive experience for you? I mean you've gone on
Speaker 2: to do it again with your husband Evan. But did
Speaker 2: you ever regret putting your teenage personal life on TV?
Speaker 7: Not? I mean sometimes because now Jaggers found it my daughter,
Speaker 7: Oh so.
Speaker 3: Just now there's some regret.
Speaker 7: Okay though, because the like that my best friends on
Speaker 7: the show, Stephanie and Lauren, they're on the show with
Speaker 7: me and they're like the godmothers of both my children.
Speaker 7: And there's many silly moments. I mean, the only thing
Speaker 7: that kills me is like my voice. I'm like I
Speaker 7: like this, ye, I'm like, oh my god, what was
Speaker 7: this talking? I think, like naturally hearing the sound of
Speaker 7: your voice. But then that one really kills me. But
Speaker 7: I think for me though, it was so important because
Speaker 7: it was such a window to my life and what
Speaker 7: was changing. And I feel like it was like there
Speaker 7: have been like my Sister's show, the Newlyweds and the
Speaker 7: Osbourne's and this was like kind of the first of
Speaker 7: that kind of like making like doing like an album,
Speaker 7: but not like making a band somebody putting right following
Speaker 7: the process. And also because I'd been there during Newlyweds
Speaker 7: a lot of the times, I'm like, get out on
Speaker 7: my face. I definitely always had like a little I'm
Speaker 7: probably like much nicer now than I like. I just
Speaker 7: felt like I needed to be like, yeah, right right,
Speaker 7: you needed.
Speaker 2: To protect you felt like everyone there there's always the
Speaker 2: possibility somebody's going to try to cross the line, and
Speaker 2: you were always going to be very quick to be
Speaker 2: like I'm not going to allow you to cross the
Speaker 2: line exactly.
Speaker 7: But then I would always remind myself, it's okay, be vulnerable.
Speaker 7: This is you opening up and so I'm I do
Speaker 7: love that. And then Evan and I did a show.
Speaker 7: I don't I don't even know what year that was,
Speaker 7: but then I was like, oh, yeah that's not for me.
Speaker 3: Now, Okay, so not anymore.
Speaker 7: I'm like nothing.
Speaker 6: You know, so you're talking, you talk about your process
Speaker 6: and then how it was, you know, when you're doing
Speaker 6: that show. It's kind of the whole process you're going through.
Speaker 6: But a huge question.
Speaker 4: How does one write a song?
Speaker 7: Hah? You know. I started writing when I was young,
Speaker 7: and for me, like, I think it's just like finding
Speaker 7: the team, the theme, and like I would be in
Speaker 7: my car driving every day, like what just happened to me? What?
Speaker 7: You know? I'm like, God, I mean I was dealing
Speaker 7: with like first boyfriends and you know, oh, a lot
Speaker 7: of the times I like to start with the concept okay, yeah,
Speaker 7: concept and like what is that concept? And especially during
Speaker 7: that time, because so many things were new, and like
Speaker 7: having first boyfriends and first heartbreaks and you know, god,
Speaker 7: I had a boyfriend that was like you look fat.
Speaker 7: You need to get on the treadmill. I'm like, you
Speaker 7: get ready for what I'm about to say. I think
Speaker 7: that there was just so many you know, feelings and
Speaker 7: like for me, it was like every day, like what
Speaker 7: you know what I was going through. Yeah, So I
Speaker 7: think you start with the concept, then you get a guitar,
Speaker 7: and then you just melodies or you know, and and
Speaker 7: it really depends like every day. I mean in those
Speaker 7: sessions it was different. It was like meet John and
Speaker 7: Kara Dio Gordy and we were like an incredible team.
Speaker 7: So it was like we became family. So it just
Speaker 7: kind of became like this every day. But I think
Speaker 7: like a writing camp is great as well.
Speaker 2: Okay, And with a writing camp is that you and
Speaker 2: a bunch of other writers together pitching ideas like a
Speaker 2: writer's room.
Speaker 7: Like you can like go into a writer's room like writing.
Speaker 6: Yeah exactly, Yeah, Okay, I saw I saw actual camp,
Speaker 6: Like it's you go to it.
Speaker 4: It's like camp Rock, you do obstacle.
Speaker 7: There's like I'm just saying for people, I haven't actually
Speaker 7: done a writing camp, but like I have wrote with
Speaker 7: different writers. Oh, like we are connected, we are feeling
Speaker 7: each other. This music is going to be in the
Speaker 7: right place.
Speaker 4: It always. It's just the whole process fascinates me.
Speaker 6: Because I saw a documentary Forget What It was called,
Speaker 6: but they were talking about they're interviewing a bunch of
Speaker 6: musicians who said, it's you don't write a song like
Speaker 6: it's given to you by some other universe, Like it
Speaker 6: just pops in and it just you don't know where
Speaker 6: it comes from where, And it's just if as someone
Speaker 6: who has no musical talent, it's so fascinating to see.
Speaker 7: I mean definitely when I was younger, younger would annoy
Speaker 7: my parents so much, like I had like my guitar player,
Speaker 7: this other guitar player, and we would be like singing
Speaker 7: like I don't need you to be my backseat driver,
Speaker 7: really loud, like love it block at night, Which is
Speaker 7: funny because now and Wronx my son, he's great at
Speaker 7: writing and great at playing, but him and his friend
Speaker 7: definitely play a loud at night. Oh like the circle
Speaker 7: of everything.
Speaker 3: So are your kids in the industry?
Speaker 7: If?
Speaker 3: If not? If they wanted to be, would you allow
Speaker 3: them to be.
Speaker 7: They are not in the industry. I would allow them
Speaker 7: to be at their own pace. Okay, I would never
Speaker 7: push it. I would just say I think the most
Speaker 7: important thing and this age is developing your craft and
Speaker 7: deciding what you want with it. Okay, I would never
Speaker 7: you know, be like, let's ployees go beyond on the show.
Speaker 8: I really want to be in a stage, mom.
Speaker 7: You know what. I really want to sit on set
Speaker 7: and have you rolled your eyes at me?
Speaker 2: Our other co host who would normally be here, but
Speaker 2: his internet is not working today.
Speaker 3: A writer.
Speaker 2: His son has started doing some voiceover work and he's
Speaker 2: been having to drive him around auditions and he's like,
Speaker 2: how did this happen? I used to be the kid
Speaker 2: in the back seat not that long ago, and now
Speaker 2: I'm driving around LA and trafficked for my son.
Speaker 3: It's crazy how it happens.
Speaker 7: Yeah, but you know, I think it's like, I mean,
Speaker 7: i don't know what your thoughts are, but I'm definitely open.
Speaker 7: I definitely see my daughter. I mean, she takes acting classes,
Speaker 7: she likes I think when she's ready, you know.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and as long as she's not knocking down your
Speaker 2: door begging to do it now, you're not trying to
Speaker 2: rush it along like you said, let them lead the.
Speaker 7: Pace, get on the stage. I'm I'm not saying she's
Speaker 7: not knocking on the door.
Speaker 2: Okay, Okay, she's yeah, ucations patients, deer patients, she just
Speaker 2: want to or either. Will only has a step daughter
Speaker 2: who is in her mid thirties, so it's a little
Speaker 2: she's I don't think she's gonna.
Speaker 4: Change for hers now. She's pretty set in her ways
Speaker 4: at this point.
Speaker 3: Yes, she's a wonderful interior designer. That was an interior design,
Speaker 3: but I always need it now.
Speaker 6: So you mentioned that reality isn't for you anymore, But
Speaker 6: would you ever consider getting back in front of the
Speaker 6: camera in an acting job.
Speaker 7: Yes, definitely, and I'd love to do like more theater
Speaker 7: I did Chicago. I did it on the West End
Speaker 7: and Broadway and Hollywood Bowl.
Speaker 3: Are you roxy Heart?
Speaker 7: It was Roxy? Yeah. I played it so many different
Speaker 7: times in my life, which was so fun, Like the
Speaker 7: first time I played it in London, I was like
Speaker 7: twenty two, and then I did it on Broadway when
Speaker 7: I was twenty five, after I had had Bronx, and
Speaker 7: then when I did it at the Hollywood Bowl, which
Speaker 7: was so cool because I just started dating Evan. His
Speaker 7: mom had a show there the week before and she
Speaker 7: first met his mom, Diana or else that's the first
Speaker 7: time I met her.
Speaker 3: Was that's so cool?
Speaker 2: Yeah, So you met her at the Hollywood Bowl the
Speaker 2: week before you then played the Hollywood that's cool.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and then.
Speaker 7: I'm playing like, when I'm doing Vegas, it'll be our
Speaker 7: eleventh year anniversary in the thirties, when I have a
Speaker 7: show that's amazing. On our tenth we got that romantic
Speaker 7: women because you.
Speaker 3: Got to do something nice for ten.
Speaker 4: Listen.
Speaker 2: I want to talk to you about Bittersweet World too,
Speaker 2: because over the years it has finally gotten the credit
Speaker 2: that it deserved. But before I get there, I wanted
Speaker 2: to talk to you a little bit about the Internet,
Speaker 2: because I have always seen the SNL performance as a
Speaker 2: real mask off moment for the toxicity that would later
Speaker 2: become online bullying.
Speaker 4: Yep.
Speaker 2: And we've all said, we've all heard that, like, oh,
Speaker 2: we've grown a bit.
Speaker 3: As a society.
Speaker 2: But I wanted to ask you, as a person who
Speaker 2: has felt the unwarranted wrath of its stupidity, do you
Speaker 2: think we have grown it all as a society when
Speaker 2: it comes to understanding that celebrities are human beings who
Speaker 2: have flaws and make mistakes and also are real people.
Speaker 7: I think it's a different era, you know. I don't
Speaker 7: think if it was that moment and this era, would
Speaker 7: it be that, you know, I think during that time,
Speaker 7: I mean, the bullying was insane, insane, And that's what
Speaker 7: I was saying too earlier too about being a human
Speaker 7: and being a human that oh, like oh she did
Speaker 7: lose her voice. Oh that doesn't mean she didn't write
Speaker 7: these songs and this is like her and like we
Speaker 7: can't go back and see her on tour, which I
Speaker 7: feel like I was able to do. But then my
Speaker 7: whole life I did like tell people like and I
Speaker 7: was like, what am I trying to tell people? Like yeah,
Speaker 7: oh but night before him every night, like my fans know,
Speaker 7: and I had to know that in my heart, like oh,
Speaker 7: I'm selling out the Greek like you know, like I
Speaker 7: am doing that, and like, yes, I've had a up
Speaker 7: and downs, just like every other human. But I do
Speaker 7: think it's evolved. But also it hasn't, you know, in
Speaker 7: some ways. But it's evolved, Okay, but I think different
Speaker 7: now for us, we had the magazines and this now
Speaker 7: everything's kind of more fleeting. Yeah, now it's more like
Speaker 7: here it is to be on your shoulders forever. Right
Speaker 7: now everything is like a little bit more fleeting and fast.
Speaker 4: We just have less attention spans.
Speaker 7: Now, so that's yeah, everyone's on the phone too much.
Speaker 6: Exactly, You've got TikTok and you've got everything anything over
Speaker 6: ninety seconds, and an entire generation isn't going to follow.
Speaker 4: It isn't going to watch. So yeah, crazy.
Speaker 3: Well, Bittersweet World?
Speaker 2: Was it album you executive produced yourself and it really
Speaker 2: felt like it was your vision?
Speaker 1: Did it?
Speaker 3: Was it? How was that album different for you?
Speaker 7: Oh? That album was like I was just ready to
Speaker 7: move into something different on that album, And when I
Speaker 7: listened to it, I mean, it's actually fun because during
Speaker 7: the Vegas show, I'm playing three of the songs from it.
Speaker 7: Oh boys, a little miss obsessive and out of my head.
Speaker 7: But looking back at it, it's so funny because I
Speaker 7: do wish I would have evolved that album more because
Speaker 7: some of the songs, I'm like, I love like where
Speaker 7: I was going, but I would have like But it's
Speaker 7: funny because this is before, this is two thousand and seven,
Speaker 7: this is before there's like a lot of big artists
Speaker 7: out that ended up doing that. So it was like
Speaker 7: kind of like the beginning again.
Speaker 3: You were ahead of your time. You have been ahead
Speaker 3: of your time.
Speaker 7: I feel like there was some songs like ooh when
Speaker 7: I heard it, I'm like, good, I wish I'm goud
Speaker 7: have like wrapped up or like you know, i'd go.
Speaker 7: But I'm so proud of the album because I was
Speaker 7: taking such chances of something. Yeah, and there are songs
Speaker 7: that like, I love love love on that album, and
Speaker 7: then songs that I'm like, oh, I would like to read
Speaker 7: that one.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Oh, can't.
Speaker 6: You I mean, as an artist ever done that if
Speaker 6: it's if it's yours, and you're like, you know what
Speaker 6: I wish I did with this song?
Speaker 4: Can't you just take it? And then just yeah, I'm sure.
Speaker 7: I mean, I'm still like proud of it, but like
Speaker 7: you know, sonically or things like that, You're like, I
Speaker 7: mean I think lyrically was really cool, So I mean
Speaker 7: just some of it You're like, well was also two
Speaker 7: thousand and seven, so yeah, said it was before Yeah, Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean you could definitely make the case that had you,
Speaker 2: like you said, you you look back and you think,
Speaker 2: which I would.
Speaker 7: Have just out of my head and boys like which
Speaker 7: I've been playing right now, I'm like, these are like,
Speaker 7: oh that was good.
Speaker 2: Yes, And you enlisted names like Timbaland, Chad Hugo, Kenna,
Speaker 2: Jay Rock some of the best in the biz, and
Speaker 2: you made an album that I truly believe was overlooked
Speaker 2: and helped usher in the nineteen eighties electro pop sound
Speaker 2: that basically rules pop music.
Speaker 7: Now that's what I was yeah inspired by, Yes, Yeah.
Speaker 2: And that album was also a catalyst for a twenty
Speaker 2: eighteen article in the New York Times where the headline
Speaker 2: was just was Ashley Simpson underappreciated? And then this year
Speaker 2: we saw Autobiography, your debut picked as number two hundred
Speaker 2: and thirty seven on Rolling Stone's Top two hundred and
Speaker 2: fifty Albums of the twenty first Century.
Speaker 3: Damn that does any of that feel?
Speaker 4: Like?
Speaker 3: Does that feel redeeming for you? Do you hear that
Speaker 3: and think, yes, I does that? That feels good? That
Speaker 3: that feels nice? That does feel good good good as
Speaker 3: it should.
Speaker 7: Yes, that definitely feels good. And yeah, I feel like
Speaker 7: in those moments and even in that record, it was
Speaker 7: just kind of going with the things like I was
Speaker 7: inspired by, and like I told you, I was definitely
Speaker 7: so inspired by the eighties, even from like such a
Speaker 7: young age. Yeah, getting to play with that and those
Speaker 7: like sounds, and I mean even with autobiography, So yeah,
Speaker 7: just this is.
Speaker 2: All a big pad on our show Get Yeah, it's
Speaker 2: a big group out.
Speaker 6: So you're talking because now I'm I'm not hugely musically fluent,
Speaker 6: but I love eighties music. So it leads me to ask, then,
Speaker 6: what did you listen to growing up? What were your
Speaker 6: favorite bands when you were a.
Speaker 7: Little Okay, So I loved like the Pretenders, I mean
Speaker 7: me like, I love Pretenders, Blondie, w Harry Jones, Jets, you.
Speaker 3: Know, good so good.
Speaker 4: Yeah, thought they were.
Speaker 7: Like women of strength, but yeah, they were just so
Speaker 7: cool in my rocket.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Harry was hanging out with the Ramones for God's sakes,
Speaker 4: I mean it was awesome.
Speaker 3: What are you most looking forward to with your Vegas shows?
Speaker 7: I mean, I'm most looking forward to just playing this set,
Speaker 7: playing for the fans. The room is so beautiful and sexy,
Speaker 7: and I'm excited to bring it this like fun rock
Speaker 7: edge and just like myself, and I'm excited to play
Speaker 7: the songs. And you know, I think just getting there
Speaker 7: and seeing what the first day feels like. I'm so
Speaker 7: happy I have seven shows and I feel like every
Speaker 7: show would be different, and I'm looking forward.
Speaker 3: To that so great.
Speaker 2: I'm sure you have been asked in every interview, but
Speaker 2: I know all of our listeners want to know.
Speaker 3: Do you ever think new music could be in your future?
Speaker 7: Definitely? You know, I've been writing here and there, and
Speaker 7: I think right now, like the moment is it's like,
Speaker 7: let's enjoy this, you know, the like path now the
Speaker 7: future and see what that opens up, you know for
Speaker 7: me in my heart, you know, and once you know,
Speaker 7: once I'm there, then I'll really know. I love that,
Speaker 7: you know, I still like whatever I do. I still
Speaker 7: want to take my business school.
Speaker 3: That's great. And those are the two places we got
Speaker 3: to go.
Speaker 4: You know, Pretzel, I'm all day now.
Speaker 3: Actually it's not far well you can go.
Speaker 4: To it's a big commitment.
Speaker 2: Actually, if you could go back, as you're prepping for
Speaker 2: these anniversary shows and you could tell young Ashley one thing,
Speaker 2: what would you tell young Ashley twenty years ago?
Speaker 7: I would just look at myself and be like, you
Speaker 7: are doing.
Speaker 3: Good, Yes, you're doing great.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think so much. You know, so you've done
Speaker 7: having that dancer background and everything, we just you know,
Speaker 7: beat ourselves down and just to look at yourself and say, wow,
Speaker 7: like you are doing so good, look at.
Speaker 3: Your Yeah, that makes me so happy.
Speaker 2: I'm so grateful you spent your time with us this morning.
Speaker 2: I'm so excited for your Vegas residency.
Speaker 4: I love you so much.
Speaker 2: It was so great to see you. I want to
Speaker 2: come see your show. I also want to see you
Speaker 2: again at the mall. We also our neighbors. We need
Speaker 2: to get our kids together and just hang out. I'd
Speaker 2: love to get to know your husband better as well.
Speaker 2: So yeah, let's please.
Speaker 7: Let's do it.
Speaker 3: Let's do it. Ashley, thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 7: Thank you, thank you, fine, bye bye.
Speaker 3: Isn't she great?
Speaker 4: She's amazing.
Speaker 6: She's amazing, And it's one of those things where I
Speaker 6: don't know her music all that well. So I keep
Speaker 6: hearing you and Jensen talking about kind of the underrated
Speaker 6: songwriting and all that stuff.
Speaker 4: I just I gotta go listen. I gotta at some.
Speaker 6: Point realize apparently there's music after nineteen ninety one.
Speaker 2: Yes, and Will, just like when you were like, I
Speaker 2: don't think I'm going to know very many of the
Speaker 2: Backstreet Boy songs, and then when you're sitting there and
Speaker 2: you're at the Sphere show and you're listening, you're like,
Speaker 2: you know what, I know significantly more of these than
Speaker 2: I thought, And on top of that, I like significantly
Speaker 2: more than I thought I would like. I actually have
Speaker 2: a feeling you would very much enjoy Ashley Simpson music.
Speaker 3: I really do.
Speaker 2: I know your musical taste enough. I think there's quite
Speaker 2: a bit that you would really like.
Speaker 6: I don't know if it's anything like Alanis Morrist, but
Speaker 6: Jagie Little Pill's one of my favorite albums of all time.
Speaker 4: I used to listen to that just on repeat. So yeah, no,
Speaker 4: it's She's super c You gotta.
Speaker 3: Listen to Bittersweet World. You'd like it.
Speaker 6: Yeah, check out check Not doing anything until I get
Speaker 6: a Wetzel's pretzel now, Unfortunately, that's my day, Ashley.
Speaker 4: Thank you.
Speaker 2: Oh we're sorry everyone that writer was in here today.
Speaker 2: Internet can be fickle unless you live in our little
Speaker 2: tiny spot of the San Fernando Valley. So yeah, I
Speaker 2: guess uh, who knows what happened, but we'll catch up
Speaker 2: with him later. And anyway, thank you all for joining
Speaker 2: us for this episode of Pod Meets World. As always,
Speaker 2: you can follow us on Instagram pod Meets World Show.
Speaker 2: You can send us your emails pod meets World Show
Speaker 2: at gmail dot com, and we've got merch.
Speaker 4: We miss you writer Merch.
Speaker 2: Pod Meets Worldshow dot com, We love you all, pod dismissed.
Speaker 2: Pod Meets World is an iHeart podcast produced and hosted
Speaker 2: by Danielle Fischel, Wilfredell and Writer Strong. Executive producers Jensen
Speaker 2: Carp and Amy Sugarman, Executive in charge of production, Danielle Romo,
Speaker 2: producer and editor, Tara sudbachsch producer, Maddy Moore, engineer and
Speaker 2: Boy Meets World superfan Easton Allen. Our theme song is
Speaker 2: by Kyle Morton of Typhoon. Follow us on Instagram at
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