I Am Me (Japan Edition)

I Am Me is the second studio album by American recording artist Ashlee Simpson. It was released in the United States on October 18, 2005 (see 2005 in music) and debuted at number one in sales. The album produced two top 25 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, “Boyfriend” and “L.O.V.E.” Simpson worked with John Shanks and Kara DioGuardi on this album, as she did on her first album, 2004’s Autobiography. Shanks produced the album, and Simpson co-wrote all the songs with Shanks and DioGuardi.[1] On December 15, I Am Me was certified Platinum by the RIAA[2] for its shipments of over one million copies in the U.S. (as of April 2008, it had sold 987,000 copies[3]).[4] A new single from Simpson, “Invisible”, was reportedly going to be included on a re-release of I Am Me in mid-2006, but was canceled. The song was later included as an international bonus track on Simpson’s next album, Bittersweet World.

Background and production
I Am Me was released about fifteen months after Autobiography, which was released in July 2004. According to Simpson, following her concert tour from February to April 2005, she was supposed to take a month off, but began working on the album early;[5] as she said, “I got home and got bored, so I called John Shanks and was like, ‘Can I come in the studio? Let’s get a head start so the record company’s not asking for the record right away or anything.”[6] She also said that she wanted to “get the pre-jitters or anything that was going wrong out of my system. And when I went in everything started going smooth. It was fun.” According to Simpson, she felt less pressure when recording I Am Me than she did when recording Autobiography.[5]

I Am Me is, like its predecessor, a mixture of rock and pop; it has been described as similar to Simpson’s first album,[7] and Simpson herself has said that she wanted it to be “familiar” to Autobiography.[6] Some differences have also been noted. I Am Me has been said to be influenced by ‘80s music,[8][9] and Simpson herself said “I just love '80s music” and “It’s just so light and fun, and that was a lot of what I wanted to do on this record.”[10] Prior to recording I Am Me, Simpson had said she wanted to incorporate more of the feel of 17th century music into her next album, as some of her favorite music is from that time.[11]

I Am Me has been called more musically “aggressive” than Autobiography[10] and incorporates a range of musical styles; it has been called “dynamic” and “ambitious”. Simpson’s father and manager Joe said that his daughter had to be held back from “the places she wanted to go” as an artist, because, he said, if she changed too quickly her fans would be left behind.[12] Simpson has mentioned how she tried “new sounds” when working on the album, citing in particular the song “Burnin Up”,[13] which was described by one reviewer as “a fairly credible stab at Clash-style dub”.[14] This song is not a cover of the early Madonna song (“Burning Up”) that Simpson covered live during her February–April 2005 tour.[15]

Lyrically, the album reflects Simpson’s different life experiences since her last album;[13] in particular, two songs deal with Simpson’s emotions following her failed performance on Saturday Night Live in October 2004, in which she used a backing track due to illness, only to have the wrong track played, thus making the presence of the backing track obvious and embarrassing her on live television. This incident left Simpson the target of a great deal of criticism and humor at her expense. The first song on the album that deals with the incident is “Beautifully Broken”, which strikes a positive tone of overcoming as Simpson finds beauty in failure—"the song is kind of about when you’re in bed and you’re crying and you don’t want to get up the next day … it’s about finding that inner strength and finding that part in yourself that’s like, ‘Yes, I can put my head up and I can continue.’“[5] "Catch Me When I Fall”, the second song on the album dealing with the incident, is a piano-driven ballad which reflects weakness and sadness[13] and deals with a feeling of loneliness.[5] The theme of accepting imperfections is reflected in a hidden message that is included in the CD case.[16] Simpson has said of the album: “The record is dark meets light in a sense. I feel everyone has a dark side. This album is about finding the positive, finding the lighter side as well.”[1] Simpson mentioned in an AIM interview online that she chose the title I Am Me “because I’ve been through a lot of highs and lows this year, but no matter what happens to me I always stay true to who I am.”[17] Simpson has also mentioned how the lyrics on the album reflect her different feelings at different times, the ups and downs she experienced: “We all get sad sometimes, and we all want to dance and party, too.”[16]

Like Autobiography, many of the songs deal with relationships. “Coming Back For More” is, as Simpson calls it, a “fun, dancey song about an ex-boyfriend” and their relationship that won’t come to an end.[5] “I Am Me” is an energetic song in which Simpson responds with hurt and anger to her boyfriend being with another girl, and insists: “I am me, and I won’t change for anyone”. “In Another Life” is, in Simpson’s words, “a cute romantic song about when you meet a guy and it’s kind of like he knows everything about you before you really get to know him, and you feel comfortable with him right away. And he makes you feel beautiful.”[5] “Say Goodbye”, the melancholy album closer, deals with the ending of a relationship. Other songs cover a variety of topics: “Boyfriend” is a response to rumors or accusations that she stole another girl’s boyfriend (although rumors suggest it is about her alleged affair with Lindsay Lohan’s ex-boyfriend, Wilmer Valderrama, Simpson has said it is not about “one person in particular”, but is instead about a situation many girls can relate to[18]); “L.O.V.E.” is about girls going out and having fun without needing any guys; “Eyes Wide Open” is a “spooky song” about Simpson’s feeling that there was a ghost living in her house.

In 2009, Miley Cyrus covered the international bonus track “Kicking and Screaming” for her The Time of Our Lives EP. Although Simpson co-wrote the song with Shanks and DioGuardi,[21] Simpson was not credited for her writing contribution on Cyrus' EP. The Song “Fall In Love With Me” is featured on both the UK and Japan releases, while the track “Get Nasty” is exclusive to the japan Edition only.