We wanted to make a docu-series – not a gossipy, dramatic reality show A
Noughties pop star Ashlee Simpson is back, this time in a duo with husband Evan Ross, Diana Ross’s son. LUCY MAPSTONE talks to the couple about their debut EP, their reality show, and Ashlee’s plans to finally release her first solo album in more than a d
SHLEE Simpson and Evan Ross are thrilled to be spending time in London.
The married couple, both members of some of the most famous families in the world but also stars in their own right, are relaxing in a luxuriously modern hotel in the capital.
Evan went to a casino the night before, they’ve been to a few fashion parties, and they’ve also visited some of his UK-based siblings, among other things.
The star duo are stunning, despite their jet lag combined with the previous late night.
Evan is clean-cut and handsome, clad in a tailored jacket with a polo-neck top, and Ashlee is wearing an expensive suit, her flawless make-up and bright blonde hair adding a touch of California dazzle to a grim UK day.
But it’s her strappy heels with a magnificent feathered detail that dominate the room. They really are quite something, and she giggles her gratitude when told how wonderful they are.
We’re not here to talk about her shoes and London experiences, though, so we move on to the topic at hand – their new double project of a reality TV series and their first foray into music as a couple.
The working partnership comes after they married in 2014, and after welcoming daughter Jagger Snow in 2015. (They also have Ashlee’s son Bronx Mowgli from her first marriage to Fall Out Boy rocker Pete Wentz.)
It might seem like an unusual collaboration: Ashlee, the sister of Jessica Simpson, is a pop-rock singer at heart.
Actor Evan, the son of music icon Diana Ross, has starred in the Hunger Games films and teen series 90210 among other things, but he’s also dabbled in a bit of R&B music previously.
They released their first music together last year as an EP alongside a reality TV series documenting their musical endeavours.
“We started working on music together, and were already documenting going to the studio. It was just the right time for us to make a show,” Ashlee explains.
It’s a return to the small screen for 34-year-old Ashlee who, along with her pop career, had her own reality series back in 2004 and 2005, a spin-off from her sister’s pop culture favourite Newlyweds. It also marks her musical comeback, years after the release of her third album Bittersweet World in 2008.
Although she initially “hesitated” at the idea, she says: “I thought it would be good if people can catch up and see where I am in my life.”
Evan, 30, chips in: “We weren’t like, ‘let’s make a TV show’. We thought, ‘it’s kinda cool we’re making music together, we should probably document it’.
“But we wanted to make something that was more like a docu- series. We didn’t want a gossipy, dramatic reality show.”
While the series, called Ashlee + Evan to match their moniker as a musical duo, is largely about the music, it’s also about “family and love”, and has cameos from relatives, including Diana.
Jagger and Bronx are in the show a little bit, too.
“You see our lives and you see our friends, and our daughter and son are so cute,” Ashlee gushes.
“You get to see our inspirations, you see us in the studio, and you get to see Earth, Wind and Fire playing, laying down tracks,” Evan adds, noting the legendary funk group’s bassist Verdine White, who worked with them on the EP.
Ashlee and Evan released one track from their EP along with each episode when the show aired in America, and they have a second half of the EP coming out later this year. Their music, Evan says, has a “hip hop and soulful vibe” to it, which is at odds with what Ashlee’s earlier style.
“Because we do different genres, we were very clear that the music was going to be more about being love songs,” Evan says.
“Songs that are just us, that fit both of our vibes, and what we listen to. It wasn’t one particular sound,” Ashlee adds.
It’s also worth noting that Ashlee has already endured one of the most humiliating things a singer could ever face: being caught lip syncing during a seemingly live performance. Ashlee was caught out when the wrong backing track, complete with vocals, was played during her performance on US TV show Saturday Night Live in 2004. She then did a bizarre jig on stage, in an attempt to steal the moment back. The cringeworthy incident made headlines across the world, and has followed her ever since.
“That moment definitely made me strong,” she insists.
“It was fight or flight, and I learned to fight, get up, and go on tour the next day.
“Moments like that, they make you strong, and I can look back and go, ‘gosh, I am so proud of all the records that I made, and I’m so proud of all the tours that I did’.”
The admittedly awkward moment didn’t affect her career too much, though, and she went on to have a string of pop hits and her first two albums topped the charts in the US.
Following her hiatus to focus on motherhood, Ashlee is delighted to have returned to music alongside Evan. She is also going to start working on a fourth solo record.
“I’m definitely going to have more of a pop-rock kind of thing for my album,” Ashlee teases.
“But I feel like, now if I don’t have Evan with me, I’m like – ‘where are you?’ It’s so much fun working with you!” she says, turning to face her husband.
“Because I’m like, half-assistant, half-husband,” he quips.
“No, you’re my best friend!” she fires back. Evan chuckles. “We work well together, so it’s fun, and I think it’s going to be weird to work separately for a while. But it’s nice to be able to create together for now.”
■ Ashlee + Evan airs on Sundays on E!. Ashlee and Evan’s debut EP Ashlee + Evan is out now.