Ashlee’s new album to go up against Mariah’s
Simpson’s career literally depends on album being successful, source says
Ashlee Simpson's new album, "Bittersweet World," has had anything but a sweet start. The release date first had to be pushed from fall of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008 at the last minute. And now that the April 22 release date is fast approaching, Simpson faces competition she hadn't been counting on —Mariah Carey.
Carey, who last week surpassed Elvis Presley as solo artist with the most No. 1 singles, will release her new album, "E=MC2," just days before Simpson, and that's got the Simpson camp concerned.
"Ashlee needs to hit a home run with this album," said a source close to the pop star. "She really had great success with her early work, but ever since the lip synching on 'Saturday Night Live,' she's had something to prove. Her career literally depends on this album being successful."
The first single from Carey's new album, "Touch My Body," was released ahead of the album (it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart), but other tracks from "E=MC2" have leaked onto the Internet since the single's release.
One record industry source thinks the culprit could be someone from the Simpson camp hoping to dilute the impact of Carey's release. "Joe Simpson has every right to be nervous about Ashlee going up against Mariah. They (the Simpson camp) are backed into a corner with this release date since they already changed it once. Their only option in fighting the Mariah machine would be to create a way to make the album's release less newsworthy."
Source
www.msnbc.msn.com
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