Gossip Jessica hard at work on country album

celebrity >> celebrity gossip >> celebrity photo >> jessica simpson

After her bad luck at the box office, Jessica Simpson is hoping to bounce back with a country music career. "I am a country girl," she says in a new interview with Billboard.com. "I grew up in Texas, and country music was what I listened to. I always wanted to make a country album, but I wanted to wait until the time was right." She also cites Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Reba McEntire as inspirations, adding, "I think there is a strength in female country artists." She won't reveal her songwriting collaborators, but tells the website: "Writing is a release for me. It's a way for me to tell my story. That's not to say I wouldn't record a song that I didn't write. It's just that it has been a while since I have opened the book." Simpson is still not certain if she'll hit the road to support the disc, which is due later this year. "Since the record is in the beginning stages, there hasn't been much talk about a tour just yet," she says.

source