Jessica Simpson said an emotional “thank you” to the audience for her first performance in 15 years, as she celebrated “coming back home to the best part of myself”.
The singer, actor and designer – who sold two million copies of her debut album, Sweet Kisses, when she was 19 – has not performed live since 2010, the year she released her most recent album, the holiday collection Happy Christmas.
However, Simpson, 44, seemed thrilled as she delivered a lively set on Wednesday 12 March at the Recording Academy’s Austin Chapter Block Party during SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.
She debuted four new songs, including “Use My Heart Against Me” and “Leave”, possibly inspired by her separation from husband Eric Johnson, with whom she shares three children, in January.
She also sang covers of “Son of a Preacher Man” and “These Boots are Made for Walking”, Rolling Stone reported, the latter of which featured in the soundtrack to her 2005 film The Dukes of Hazzard.
Later, she observed the significance of the moment in a message to her followers on social media.
“Last night was my first performance in 15 years,” she wrote in an Instagram post, along with several clips of her performance.
“It was an emotional coming back home to the best part of myself. Thank you for embracing me. You know that I have so much to say, but this lucky voice gets to soar again tonight. I love y’all. More to come…”
Simpson kicked off her music comeback last week with the official release of “Leave” from her forthcoming EP, Nashville Canyon: Part 1, followed by “Use My Heart Against Me”.
“Leave” describes a relationship that has grown cold after an apparent betrayal: “What we had was magic/ Now you’ve made it tragic/ Giving her what you gave to me/ Now the well that you drank from is empty.”
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In a YouTube video about the making of the song, Simpson said it was one of the most difficult songs for her to write but she “needed to get it out”.
In an interview with The Cut last month, Simpson told her sister Ashlee Simpson that she had been through “the deepest heartbreak of [her] life”.
The 44-year-old actor confirmed that she and the former NFL player have broken up in a statement shared on Monday 13 January, explaining that amid the challenges of their separation, she and her ex are focused on their children: Maxwell, 12, Ace, 11, and Birdie, five.
“Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage,” she told People. “Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them. We are grateful for all of the love and support that has been coming our way, and appreciate privacy right now as we work through this as a family.”
Simpson sparked speculation in November that she was getting divorced with a cryptic post on social media, as she wrote: “Interviews in my Nashville music room where I unearthed my singular magic.
“This comeback is personal, it’s an apology to myself for putting up with everything I did not deserve.”
Nashville Canyon: Part 1 is scheduled for release on 21 March.
