Reality Tour (Jessica Simpson)

Background

While promoting the re-release of her album, Simpson stated in several interviews the possibility of a tour, wanting to break away from filming her TV series and connect with her fans. The tour was officially announced in May 2004 through various media outlets, with sponsorship from Ice Breakers and Proactiv Solution.

During an interview with the Associated Press, the singer says she wanted the concerts to focus on her music and her personality. Onstage, Simpson was joined by a seven-piece band, with no dancers or choreography for the show. Simpson would perform songs from her three current albums, while providing anecdotes about her life and the songs. Unseen footage from her reality series and variety show (entitled The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour) were included in the show as well. Each night, the singer dedicated "I Have Loved You" to the American armed forces and conduct a Q&A session with contest winners.

Before the tour commenced, Simpson performed at several radio-sponsored music festivals including: Your Show, Wango Tango, Summer Music Mania, Zootopia, Kiss Concert, Last Chance Summer Dance, and Play Safe in the Park.

To introduce the tour, Simpson stated:"This is definitely a big tour for me. I'm a little nervous. It's like you're a little shaky about will I sell tickets to such a big market? […] But it's cool to put together such a huge production. And we're calling it the 'Reality Tour', from the show ['Newlyweds']. And there'll be all kinds of stuff showing never-seen clips and just kind of putting my personality into the tour, which will be a lot of fun."

Opening acts

• Ryan Cabrera (Leg 1)
• Cherie (Salt Lake City)
• Shifty Shellshock (Salt Lake City)

Set list

1. "I Think I'm in Love with You"
2. "A Little Bit"
3. "Forbidden Fruit"
4. "I Have Loved You"
5. "She Works Hard for the Money"
6. "Take My Breath Away"
7. "Angels"
8. "Be"
9. "Everyday See You"
10. "You Don't Have To Let Go"
11. "My Way Home"
12. "Loving You"
13. "Sweetest Sin"
14. "I Wanna Love You Forever"
15. "Irresistible" ;Encore:
16. "With You"

Tour dates

;Festivals and other miscellaneous performances

:This concert was a part of "KHTS-FM's Channel 93.3 concert" :This concert was a part of "KIIS-FM Wango Tango" :This concert was a part of "Summer Music Mania" :This concert was a part of "Z-100 Zootopia" :This concert was part of "Play Safe in the Park" :This concert was a part of "KISS-108 FM" :This concert was a part of "Summerfest" :This concert was a part of "Q Concert" :This concert was a part of "97.1 ZHT Birthday Bash" :This concert was a part of the "Orange County Fair" :This concert was a part of the "Budweiser Grandstand Concert Series"

;Cancellations and rescheduled shows

Broadcasts and recordings

Rehearsals and select performances from the tour were seen on Simpson's MTV show and her sister's show, The Ashlee Simpson Show. The show was filmed at the Universal Amphitheatre for DVD release. The DVD was released in November 2004 and omitted the performances of "A Little Bit", 'She Works Hard for the Money" and "I Wanna Love You Forever". The set featured the music video for "Angels" along with a behind the scenes look at the making of the video. The DVD showed strong sales within its first week and was certified platinum by the RIAA, recognizing shipments exceeding 100,000 copies.

Critical reception

Overall, the tour received mixed reviews from music critics. Many applaud Simpson's onstage persona but felt the show itself felt unfinished. Jim Farber (New York Daily News) felt Simpson's vocals during her show at the Radio City Music Hall were "overdramatic". He followed with, "Not that Simpson didn't give it her all as a singer. Pulling a Mariah Carey, she belted every note to the rafters. While she clearly lacks Ms. Carey's pipes, a gross excess of amplification, and some apparently recorded vocal helper, allowed her to simulate diva-status. Too bad the songs from her three CDs all sound like pieces fished out of Britney Spears slush pile". Dustin J. Seibert (The Cincinnati Enquirer) felt the singer's concert at the Riverbend Music Center was "honest and warm" He elaborates, "Simpson's reliance on her high-octane voice and bubbly personality set her apart from some of her pop counterparts. Her shows featured no pyrotechnics or funky choreography, just her butter-melting octave range over a smooth six-piece band and two backup singers".

Neva Chonin (San Francisco Chronicle) criticized Simpson's vocal performance at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. She writes, "A rendition of Berlin's 'Take My Breath Away', dedicated to her husband, sounded like an ode to autoerotic asphyxiation. [...] With her band successfully drowning out her tuneful but wispy vocals, Simpson led sing-alongs for anesthetized funk number 'The Sweetest Sin' and an encore of 'With You'". Joey Guerra (Houston Chronicle) admired Simpson's personality during her performance at the Toyota Center; but felt the singer's concert was "uneven". He explains, "Her material is also a bit thin to sustain a full concert. Many album tracks began to sound alike after a while, and her few certifiable hits popped up late in the evening. 'Irresistible' came at the end of the show, and the feel-good anthem 'With You' was the expected encore. Even odder was the omission of 'I Wanna Love You Forever', Simpson's breakthrough single."

References

References

1. (24 July 2004). "USHER, KANYE WEST, HOOBASTANK, YELLOWCARD, JET, & JESSICA SIMPSON SET TO PERFORM AT THE "2004 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS"". MTV Networks.
2. Trakin, Roy. "MADONNA, PRINCE SIZZLE, BUT MOST SUMMER TOURS FIZZLE". Hits Daily Double.
3. (7 March 2005). "2004 Top 100 Tours". Pollstar Online.
4. (12 May 2004). "Simpson Tour". [[The Blade (Toledo).
5. Thompson, Stephanie. (31 May 2004). "Jacobs hopes Simpson can turn Ice to gold at Hershey". [[Crain Communications]].
6. (10 June 2004). "Jessica Simpson Puts Her Best Face Forward on Her Summer Concert Tour, Thanks to Sponsor Proactiv(R) Solution". [[PR Newswire]].
7. (1 June 2004). "From malls to arenas: Simpson hits big time". [[NBC News]].
8. Stout, Gene. (22 July 2004). "Jessica Simpson gladly leaves home for a reality check on tour". [[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]].
9. (13 May 2004). "N&D PRIME PICKS". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
10. Moss, Corey. (15 May 2004). "William Hung Overshadows Backstreet Reunion, All-Star Lineup At Wango Tango". [[VH1.
11. (6 May 2004). "The Buzz". [[The Press-Enterprise (California).
12. Sanneh, Kelefa. (24 May 2004). "POP REVIEW; Offerings From Aspiring Underdogs (and Swagger From a Top Dog)". [[The New York Times]].
13. Righi, Len. (16 May 2004). "Give Chasez a fair shake and he'll move you, too". [[The Providence Journal]].
14. (2004-08-10). "Let's Get Physical".
15. Silverman, Stephen M.. (6 May 2004). "Jessica Simpson Singing for Skin Care". [[People (magazine).
16. Moss, Corey. (24 May 2004). "Jessica Simpson Crossing Her Fingers For Some Good Ol' Boys". MTV News.
17. Iwasaki, Scott. (23 July 2004). "Simpson a better singer than dancer". Deseret News Publishing Company.
18. Wiederhorn, Jon. (7 May 2004). "Jessica Simpson Heats Up With Summer Tour". MTV News.
19. (23 June 2004). "Jessica Simpson cancels second straight show". [[LiveDaily]].
20. Rosemary Jean-Louis. (May 13, 2004). "Music festivals unite artists, fans". [[CNN]].
21. (21 May 2004). "Summer Music Mania show focuses on TV".
22. "Jessica Simpson announces 2004 Summer Tour with special performance at NY Central Park".
23. Tarlach, Gemma. (7 May 2004). "Simpson steps in to replace Aguilera at Big Gig". [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]].
24. Franzen, Marty. (2 July 2004). "Summer mix Simpson heats up Camden; Best rocks Sellersville; Guster, Wainwright hit Philly". [[Burlington County Times]].
25. Nailen, Dan. (28 May 2004). "The Sounds of Summer". [[The Salt Lake Tribune]].
26. Lehman, Chrystal. (28 May 2004). "Summer calls – put the phone on hold". [[The Press-Enterprise (California).
27. (22 April 2004). "CONCERT LINEUP AIMS FOR DIVERSITY, MAIN STAGE VEERS FROM TRADITIONAL COUNTRY ACTS". [[The McClatchy Company]].
28. Rashbaum, Alyssa. (24 June 2004). "Jessica Simpson Scraps Another Show Due To Kidney Infection". MTV News.
29. Zahlaway, Jon. (4 November 2004). "Jessica Simpson readies Christmas album, live DVD". Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc..
30. (18 August 2004). "NuTech Digital Expects Strong Early Sales from Jessica Simpson Concert DVD; Initial Reality Tour Concert Revenues Anticipated at $350,000". [[Business Wire]].
31. "Jessica Simpson Chart History | Billboard".
32. Farber, Jim. (21 June 2004). "It's Jessica's Show, But It's All About Nick". [[New York Daily News]].
33. Seibert, Dustin J.. (2 July 2004). "Simpson puts stage smarts on display". [[The Cincinnati Enquirer]].
34. Chonin, Neva. (29 July 2004). "Jessica Simpson makes it safe for Barbie to belch". [[San Francisco Chronicle]].
35. Guerra, Joey. (30 July 2004). "Songstress Jessica Simpson gets real for Houston crowd". [[Houston Chronicle]].