Simpson sisters steal the spotlight

By the middle of 2004, little sister Ashlee was ready to try and duplicate Jessica's success and so was her dad. But Ashlee was no carbon copy of her big sis.

Daly: “She was really into rock music. She, you know, wore baggy pants. She was definitely cut from a different cloth than Jessica.”

Ashlee played up those differences, dying her hair black, and going for a rougher sound. But she had something in common with Jessica, too, a knack for generating interest with her personal issues. On her "Autobiography" album, she tackled her feelings about her oh so lovable older sister.

Ashlee stepped out of that shadow in the summer of 2004, launching her own reality show on MTV. And for Ashlee, the road to stardom was covered with potholes. The hardest day of all came on October 23, 2004, the night of Saturday Night Live – when her performance was not so live.

Daly: “Most people would have gone into hiding, and just put out a blanket statement.”

Kotb: “Yeah.”

Daly: “And let it sort of die down."

But Ashlee had learned from Jessica's experience, sometimes the best way to handle a mess-up is to keep talking about it. Ashlee blamed her drummer for pushing the wrong button, and said she was only using vocal tracks due to a nasty case of acid reflux. And fans got to see her reaction on, where else? “The Ashlee Simpson Show.”

Ashlee's supporters argue the SNL slip up was no big deal. They say musical artists lip sync all the time to prerecorded tracks. There was only one difference with Ashlee's performance, they say. She got caught.

When Ashlee tried to redeem herself at a halftime performance at the Orange Bowl her voice seemed strained, and the crowd was not impressed. Happily, it was all good material for her reality show where Ashlee relived the episode detail by excruciating detail.

The night of the Orange Bowl, a group of bored teenagers started an online petition, calling on Ashlee to quote "stop recording, touring, modeling and performing.” To date, the petition has gathered 378,858 online signatures. A few signed on as Ashlee supporters.

And in true Simpson tradition, all the controversy surrounding Ashlee's singing didn't seem to hurt her career. Instead it led to a sold out concert tour, and more magazine covers.

MORE FROM NEWSMAKERS

Newsmakers Section Front

NBC's People of the Year: Read the interviews Vote: Who do you think is person of the year? Secrets Of The Lost Symbol Read an excerpt from 'The Lost Symbol' The Michael Jackson Tapes Michael Jackson: ‘I am scared of my father’ Back to Woodstock Kidnapped Heiress: The Patty Hearst Story On tour with Taylor Swift See behind-the-scenes web videos of Taylor Swift Newsmakers Section Front   Add Newsmakers headlines to your news reader: