Ashlee Simpson's Orange Bowl Performance Turned Into A Nightmare Following The Audience's Reaction

Highlights

• Ashlee Simpson faced harsh backlash during her performance at the Orange Bowl, with the crowd booing her, possibly due to technical difficulties.
• Simpson also experienced a lip-syncing incident on Saturday Night Live, where she faced criticism for blaming her band and not taking responsibility.
• Simpson later admitted that the SNL fiasco was her fault, as she had a vocal problem and should have refused to perform. She sees the experience as a learning opportunity and a way to grow stronger.

Living in the shadow of a famous sibling isn't easy and for Ashlee Simpson, she was determined to prove herself. As sister Jessica made a name for herself in pop music and cemented her place in pop culture history on reality television, Simpson was hoping to have a music career of her own.

Her dreams seemed to come true in 2004, when she had her own MTV reality show and released her debut album. However, following a performance on Saturday Night Live, Simpson's career would suffer damage it never recovered from.

The aftermath of this incident was on full display as Simpson performed at the Orange Bowl the following year. While she was performing, the crowd of football fans began booing her. Simpson would defend her performance, but it was clear the damage was already done.

Ashlee Got Booed During Her Performance At The Orange Bowl And She Later Defended Herself

When Simpson took the stage at the Orange Bowl college football game in Miami, she was probably not sure what to expect. However, it seems as though nothing could've prepared her for the reception she received.

Simpson was part of the halftime entertainment and was performing her song "La La."

"You make me wanna scream," Simpson said before the audience responded in a less-than-favorable manner.

The crowd, which numbered 72,000, began booing Simpson after her performance. While it might not have been clear in the broadcast why the audience was booing, Simpson later said she was having technical difficulties.

"There were no ear monitors when we went onstage. No floor monitors," Simpson explained to MTV News. "And trying to sing in a stadium where you can’t hear yourself is kinda hard."

Simpson did apologize to the people in the audience who didn't enjoy her vocal performance. Entertainment Weekly wrote that the performance "devolved into an off-key screech in its closing moments." However, Simpson herself speculated that the vocals she delivered might not have been the reason for the negative response.

"Maybe they were booing at me, maybe they were booing at the halftime show ’cause the whole thing sucked," she theorized. "I was facing [the Oklahoma Sooners], and I was rooting for USC, and they played a clip of it, so maybe it was that those people didn’t like me. You never know."

Despite the harsh reception, Simpson remained optimistic about the future of her career.

"I’m not perfect and I’m not going to be perfect," Simpson said. "And I look forward to continuing to not listen to what one person says and making good music."

Ashlee Previously Got Caught Lip-Syncing While Performing On 'Saturday Night Live'

If there's one thing Simpson has done that Jessica hasn't, it's being the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Unfortunately, it didn't exactly go well for the singer and the aftermath could explain the loud jeers at the Orange Bowl.

Simpson was the musical guest in October 2004 to promote her debut album "Autobiography." Hosting duties for the night went to Jude Law, who Simpson joined on stage during his opening monologue.

Musical guests on SNL usually perform two songs during the show. Simpson performed her first number, "Pieces of Me," and the crowd cheered in response. Her next performance, however, wouldn't go as smoothly.

Simpson's backing band began playing the album's title track, but the vocal for Simpson's song "Pieces of Me" began playing instead. Simpson looked around as the vocal began to fade out and she did a little dance before walking off the stage. The band continued to jam on their instruments and the show eventually cut to a commercial.

The show went on as planned and Law referenced the moment with Simpson as they said their goodbyes.

"What can I say? Live TV," Law said as he put his arm around Simpson.

"Exactly, I feel so bad," Simpson said. "My band started playing the wrong song. I didn't know what to do, so I thought I'd do a hoedown. I'm sorry!"

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The incident has forever lived on in live television infamy. It also marked a moment that Simpson's career never recovered from. Many were upset with Simpson for throwing her band under the bus and not taking responsibility for the incident.

Simpson was also a new artist and many were still unfamiliar with her. This performance and the controversy surrounding it was the first time many heard of Simpson. Therefore, the perception was that she couldn't really sing and resorted to lip-syncing as a result.

Ashlee Blamed Her 'SNL' Fumble On Acid Reflux And Later Reflected On The Incident

In the aftermath of the SNL fiasco, Simpson offered an explanation. She said that she suffered from "severe" acid reflux and lost her voice hours before the live show began.

Simpson said that her father and manager Joe insisted she lip-sync to a backing track. However, according to Yahoo Entertainment, the singer wasn't eager to do such a thing.

"I was so upset, because I have never done that before," Simpson said. "But my voice wasn't strong enough. I couldn't even speak."

"I didn't know what to do. I just froze. My band kept playing the song, like they were always told [to do]. We all went into a state of shock," Simpson said, singling out her drummer for cueing up the wrong song.

In 2018, Simpson appeared on an episode of Watch What Happens Live and she reflected on the incident. Unlike her past remarks, this time she finally took ownership of what took place.

Things Ashlee Simpson Has Done Since "Pieces Of Me"

"[It was] me, completely," she told host Andy Cohen. "What happened there was I had a vocal problem. I had two nodes beating against each other and I woke up and I had no voice. Then I should have said, 'No, I will not go on. I will not do this.'"

"I was such a young girl," Simpson added, who was just 19 when she appeared on SNL. "For me, it made me stronger. And, you know, s*** happens."

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