Jessica Simpson got her start singing on the Christian youth conference circuit, then became a mainstream hit with the 1999 pop album Sweet Kisses. That album featured her first hit single, "I Wanna Love You Forever." At the time Simpson was often compared (or confused) with fellow singing teen heartthrobs Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Mandy Moore. In 2003 she starred in her own MTV reality show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, which documented her first year of marriage to fellow pop star Nick Lachey. In 2005 she played the voluptuous Daisy Duke in a feature film remake of the 1970s TV series The Dukes of Hazzard. Her younger sister, Ashlee Simpson, is also a singer who appeared in her own reality show on MTV.

Simpson and Lachey were married on 26 October 2002; the couple announced their separation in November 2005... Lachey became a star with the pop group 98 Degrees... Besides Sweet Kisses, Simpson's other albums include Irresistible (2001) and In This Skin (2003).