Ashlee Simpson’s debut album “Autobiography” debuted at number one this week, a feat her sister Jessica has yet to accomplish. Read on for an earlier interview we did with Ashlee.

“I was living in the shadow of someone else’s dream / Trying to find a hand to hold but every touch felt cold / I was living in a nightmare, a never-ending dream / But now that I am wide awake my chains are finally free / So don’t feel sorry for me.”

Ashlee Simpson grew up in her sister Jessica’s shadow, metaphorically and literally. She was her backup dancer. Jessica burst onto the pop music scene in the late 90s when Ashlee was still in her vulnerable early teens. She sings the aforementioned lyrics in a song, appropriately titled “The Shadow,” which will appear on her debut album.

“It was a nightmare,” Ashlee tells andPOP, still in her New York hotel room bed. “Situations grow in your head that lyrically I wanted to get out. I came to a point where I looked at it in a beautiful positive light where I can write about it.”

Her nightmarish feelings are now behind her, she says. “It was hard for me for a while but I’m at this amazing place now and I feel like I’ve come into my own as an adult even though I know I’m still a dorky kid.”

She overcame these ghastly emotions by accomplishing things herself, like landing a part on 7th Heaven, and not seeking assistance from her famous sister. And even though Ashlee is coming out with an album and her own reality show, just like Jessica, she insists her sister is not to thank for her apparent success.

“I’m not one of those sisters that?s doing everything that Jessica has done. I’m not trying to be on her show. Everything I’ve done, I’ve really done because I’ve auditioned, which has nothing to do with my sister.”

Yet, doing promotion and interviews for her album, “Autobiography,” which is due out July 20, Ashlee expects the constant Jessica questions and comparisons.

“I don’t mind it at all,” she says. “It’s bound to happen. People continually get compared to other artists. I think in the beginning of her career, everybody was asking her about Britney Spears. So I’d rather it be my sister.”

Working on “Autobiography,” Ashlee did not seek advice from Jessica. That might be a good move by Ashlee. (Have you heard the things Jessica says on “Newlyweds”?) Jessica’s influence on the album came from the relationship they share as sisters.

“I’ve definitely watched her and learned,” Ashlee says. “Being the youngest sister is always a benefit because you can watch your older sister do things.”

Ashlee signed with Geffen because they “got” her as an artist, and of course, because Jessica is with Columbia. Don’t expect any bubble gum pop or hearty ballads from this rockin’ chick.

“[My album] is not like hardcore rock, but it’s rock. It’s edgy. Once you listen to the CD, you’ll totally get it. It’s the first time you actually hear me speak. You see me play 7th Heaven’s Cecilia, you see me as Jessica Simpson’s sister, but on my record, you get to see who I really am.”

Having co-written every track, Ashlee says to expect a very personal album.

“You put a lot of yourself out there and that could be scary. I think that’s [important] for people to see that you’re very real and that it’s you and you’re not trying to hide something.”

She co-wrote one song with Benji Madden from Good Charlotte and John Feldmann from Goldfinger.

Her acting career will not suffer because of her music career. Ashlee will portray Cecilia again next season on a few episodes of 7th Heaven. She’s also mulling over a few movie offers, and says she will act in one after she completes her promotional and touring duties for “Autobiography.”

You can also find out who the real Ashlee is by watching her upcoming MTV reality show, “Meet Ashlee,” which is set to begin airing June 16. Unlike “Newlyweds,” this show will not focus on a Simpson sister’s private life, but rather on the creation of Ashlee’s album.

At first, Ashlee was hesitant to do a reality show. In fact, when “Newlyweds” became a huge ratings hit, she vowed never to be a part of a reality show. Things change.

“I was really nervous about doing a reality show but my dad came to me with the idea of, ‘what if it’s a reality show where they actually get to see your life, Ashley?’ And I was like, ‘what do you mean, Dad?’ And he said, ‘they actually get to come in and see what you’re writing about and the actual process of the record’.”

Now she is glad to have been a part of her own reality show because there are things on tape she is excited to look back on. The downside?

“I’m real sick of the cameras following me. It’s been six months!”






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