Divorcing Jessica Simpson would be enough to send any man to a psychiatrist. Nick Lachey, however, discovered his therapy in the form of creating his latest album, “What’s Left of Me.”

“It was important go get all those emotions out. I think anybody who’s been through something like that will tell you it’s very therapeutic to get all those emotions out of your system and I think for me it was no exception,” Lachey tells andPOP, on the line from Los Angeles where he is rehearsing for his upcoming North American tour.

Lachey says the hardest part about writing the album, released in May, was deciding that the content was going to be very personal.

Once he started writing though, he held nothing back. Song titles on the Gold-certified album include “I Can’t Hate You Anymore,” “Outside Looking In,” and “Shades of Blue.”

“I felt like in order to do my best work and really give my best shot as a solo artist, I thought I had to take a personal approach and be honest. That’s where your best work comes from,” he says. “Being personal and honest was dealing with things that weren’t all too pleasant to deal with but I couldn’t imagine doing it any other way and not dealing with my own emotions.”

In a way, “What’s Left of Me” is the return of Nick Lachey as we knew him before the “Newlyweds” era. For more than three years, he was Simpson’s other half. Now, he’s back to being Nick Lachey: the artist. He sees the album as closure to a much-publicized period of his life.

“Personally, there’s been some closure, and professionally, it’s continued growth,” says the former member of 98 Degrees.

He also sees the album as the next step in his life.

“In a lot of ways, it’s a new beginning,” he explains. “It’s been quite some time since I’ve been part of the music landscape. Personally, it’s a new beginning for obvious reasons. It’s closing one chapter of my life and opening another.”

Before he completely closes the door, he will be performing tracks from the new album (and from other parts of his career) on a 26-date tour that begins Wednesday in Albany, New York. He’ll hit the Kool Haus in Toronto on September 25.

“It’s a very musical-based tour,” Lachey says. “It’s not about the pyro and there’s no dancers. It’s very much about me and the band and it’s very much about the music.”

Lachey hopes some aspect of the show hits a chord with fans.

“It’s up to everyone to interpret music for themselves. As long as they feel something then they’ve had an experience and that is kind of my job.”

Nick Lachey on:

Regrets … “I don’t believe in regrets. I don’t think you can live your life like that. You have to live your life the best way you know how and make decisions the best way you know how at the time and don’t look back.”

Television … “I would like to do more acting and see where that goes. We’re developing a show for the next pilot season right now, which will hopefully get into pilot form in the spring.”

98 Degrees reunion … “We’ve all kept our minds open to that and kept it as a possibility but right now I have so much going on.”

How happy he is right now, on a scale of 1 to 10 … “9. There’s always room for improvement.”






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