I Am Me

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

I Am Me is Ashlee Simpson’s second studio album, released on October 18, 2005, by Geffen. It’s a pop‑rock record, about 39 minutes long, produced by John Shanks with co-writing from Simpson, Shanks, and Kara DioGuardi. It followed her 2004 debut Autobiography and opened at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200.

Two singles reached the Top 25 in the United States: Boyfriend peaked at number 19 and L.O.V.E. peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Catch Me When I Fall charted at number 93 on the Pop 100 but wasn’t released as a single. The album was certified Platinum in the U.S. (over 1 million shipped by December 15, 2005); by 2008 it had sold about 0.98 million copies in the United States.

Musically, I Am Me blends rock and pop with some influences from the 1980s. It’s described as more aggressive but still familiar compared to Autobiography. The lyrics reflect Simpson’s life after the Saturday Night Live incident in 2004, with songs like Beautifully Broken and Catch Me When I Fall about picking up after a mistake. The title track centers on staying true to who she is.

The album includes a hidden message in the CD case about embracing imperfections. An international bonus track, Kicking and Screaming, appears on Bittersweet World; Miley Cyrus covered it in 2009 without credit to Simpson for writing. A planned re-release with the song Invisible was announced but never released; Invisible later appeared on Bittersweet World.

Critics gave mixed reviews. Metacritic scored it 43/100, with some praise for maturity and others calling it uneven. I Am Me debuted at No. 1 in the U.S. but its sales declined faster than Autobiography. It also had modest starts in the U.K. and Australia, though the single Boyfriend helped its UK chart position.