Jessica Simpson readies herself to release her highly anticipated album after a 15-year music hiatus.
Fans are in for an emotional journey, as sources reveal that the upcoming project, scheduled for a surprise drop in February, will offer a glimpse into Simpson's most vulnerable and authentic self unlike anything seen before following her split from Eric Johnson.
"She is singing from the heart, and there is a lot of pain there—she goes very deep," a source told the Daily Mail. "She has called it the 'soundtrack to my soul.'"
The forthcoming album, which has been compared to Alanis Morissette's classic "Jagged Little Pill," is anticipated to be brimming with raw honesty and passionate passion.
"It is very raw and full of wild emotion," the insider added. "She will shock the pants off her fans."
The 2025 release date of Simpson's album has been the subject of recent theories. But now, sources have revealed that her much-anticipated musical project will be out sooner than anticipated.
The insider noted, "It's ready, and it's coming out with a bang very soon."
During the album production, a big portion was recorded in Nashville, providing Simpson with a rekindling of her country origins. Additionally, her creative endeavors led her to the Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles.
"When Jessica writes music, she pours her heart into it and has no filter—it's very personal," the source explained. "The album will really be about the struggles she has been through at home. It is super emotional and shares her side of the story."
In a rare display of vulnerability, Simpson has chosen to keep the details of her split private. However, she did suggest that her upcoming music would confront a person who had caused her harm.
"This comeback is personal," she shared on her social media platform last year. "It's an apology to myself for putting up with everything I did not deserve."
The singer chose to take a break from performing after releasing her 2010 album "Happy Christmas," focusing instead on her family and business endeavors. Nevertheless, even though she has been out of the spotlight all this period, her passion for producing has only increased.
According to a source close to her, "She has been working on the album for years—there is a lot in there."
Simpson and Johnson, who share three children—Maxwell, 12, Ace, 11, and Birdie, 5—announced their separation in January 2025.
"Eric and I have been living separately, navigating a painful situation in our marriage," she said in a statement at the time. "Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them."
After a period of noticeable distance between them when out in public, the couple's last joint outing had been at Birdie's kindergarten graduation back in June 2024.
In a departure from her usual practice, Simpson chose not to post a birthday tribute to Johnson on Instagram in September 2024, adding to the speculation surrounding their relationship status.
Music Times could not independently verify the source's claims.
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Joss Stone wants to have a "cup of tea" with the men convicted of planning to rob and kill her. The 38-year-old singer has confessed she is still searching for "answers" more than a decade after the murder plot was foiled by police and she longs for an explanation from Kevin Liverpool and Junior Bradshaw, who were both sentenced to prison after being found guilty on charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to rob. During an appearance on the Nicky Byrne HQ podcast, Joss said: "It's traumatic because, of course, that is a horrible thing to have happened - but it didn't happen. The idea that somebody would want to chop you up into small pieces and put you in a little bag is a bit jarring ... "But luckily, they didn't get there. They didn't hurt me ... "'I just hope that they are okay and healed. It's a weird feeling because it's hard to not feel sorry for people that are in that space. It's also hard to not feel sorry for the mother of those people ... "I still don't even know if they were p***** off at me or if they were hired by someone that was p***** off at me. Who knows? ... "I don't have a lot of answers. I hope they didn't try and do that because they didn't like a song or something, but I'll never know. I would like to ask… "It's one of those niggling things. I'm just like: 'Can we just have a cup of tea? Can we just talk about it?" Joss was not made aware of the plot to attack her at her home in Devon, Englad in 2011 until after the two men were arrested, and the singer says she remained scared for her safety for a long time and ended up leaving the house and never going back She went on to say: "That did make me feel really uncomfortable in that house as well, which is the house I grew up in,' she recalled. 'I woke up one morning in that place and I said to [husband] Cody: 'I don't want to come back here ever.' And we never did ... "Now I'm very wary of everything because I've got children. So I always lock the doors, whereas before I never did." The couple have been living in America with their four children, but they are planning to move back to the UK so the singer can be closer to her family. She added: "'I have my babies now and my eldest baby needs to go to school. Also now there's four of them, I really need my mum! You've got to have a village to bring kids up. Can't do it on your own ... "We have our lovely neighbours [in the US] and that's great, but it doesn't make up for my mum and my sister. We like to have a pedestrian vibe, to walk everywhere, and to live near enough to each other that you can pop over for a glass of wine. It's a different vibe." However, Joss is adamant she is no longer living in fear. She added: "You can laugh at it, you can cry at it, you can be angry about it, you can feel empathy. But I think it's just the universe's way of saying, look after yourself, look after your babies, look after your bubble. And that's it. There's going to be crazies."
Joint practices in the NFL can be really heated. Just take for example the one involving the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, with fights erupting on the field between players from both sides. Even though it’s just a practice session with nothing significant on the line, the competitive juices of players can get in the way and spark fiery moments on the field. If anything, at least no one appears to have been seriously hurt from the multiple altercations reported. However, Packers right tackle Zach Tom was reportedly tossed out of the field after throwing punches at a couple of Seahawks players. Despite all the chaos that transpired between the Packers and the Seahawks, Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald had great things to say about Green Bay. Seahawks head coach sends message to Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers Brady Henderson of ESPN noted that Macdonald started his session with the media after the practice, “by thanking Packers coach Matt LaFleur and the organization for hosting them.” In any case, Macdonald felt good overall about his players. “It’s hard to tell what happened, who said what,” Macdonald shared. “Look, you want your guys to defend their [teammates]. There’s a line. Whether we go past the line, I don’t think we did, which is good. Our guys stayed composed. But some of these things do tend to happen, and however it gets started … hopefully it’s not our guys, but people are going to react to a certain extent. I think our guys handled it pretty well.” The Packers and the Seahawks will still see each other on the field this offseason, as they are scheduled to play in their 2025 NFL preseason finale on Saturday at Lambeau Field.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel raised eyebrows when he spoke with well-known NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala during Cleveland's preseason game at the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 16 and said that "there’s entertainers and there’s competitors...and my job is to compete and that’s what I’m focused on doing." Gabriel later insisted his comments weren't some type of shot at teammate and fellow rookie signal-caller Shedeur Sanders. While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Sanders revealed that he and Gabriel have addressed the matter behind the scenes. Sanders also teased that a reporter was "trying to start something" by asking if he believed that Gabriel wasn't referencing the former Colorado star this past weekend: For an article published on Thursday, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic wrote that it was "nonsensical" to think Kinkhabwala set Gabriel up "to take a swipe at a teammate" during what otherwise would've been a rather forgettable on-the-sideline conversation: Gabriel spoke with Kinkhabwala after the 24-year-old completed 13-of-18 pass attempts for 143 yards with a pick-six and a lost fumble against the Eagles. Sanders didn't play in that contest because of an oblique injury, but he will be third in the rotation for Cleveland's preseason finale versus the Los Angeles Rams this coming Saturday as long as he's deemed healthy. Week 1 QB1 Joe Flacco will start against the Rams and will take part in about "20 to 25 plays." Gabriel will then replace Flacco, followed by Sanders. Both Sanders and Gabriel will make their unofficial home debuts on the afternoon of Aug. 23. Sanders completed 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in Cleveland's preseason opener at the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8. There continues to be no indication that the Browns will part ways with one of their four main active quarterbacks before Week 1, even though presumed backup Kenny Pickett won't participate in any preseason games because of the hamstring injury he suffered on July 26. That said, Pickett could potentially begin the campaign on injured reserve. Depending on Pickett's health, Saturday's contest at Cleveland's Huntington Bank Field could determine who serves as Flacco's primary backup for the Browns' regular-season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7.
The Green Bay Packers are just around a couple of weeks away from kicking off their 2025 NFL campaign. With Jordan Love seemingly on pace to fully recover from a recent thumb surgery, hopes are high that the team will be able to have a solid start in the upcoming season. Love has a solid group of weapons for him to work with in the passing attack. Much has been said about the team’s wide receiving room, which may be lacking a true No. 1 option, but is certainly brimming with talent, especially with the continued emergence of first-round wideout Matthew Golden. But Love is also excited about the Packers’ tight ends in Tufcker Kraft and Luke Musgrave. Love fired up by Green Bay Packers tight ends’ showing during Seattle Seahawks practice After the chaotic, fight-filled joint practice session with the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, Love expressed his trust and positive outlook for the said tight ends. “Definitely, I think that’s something that since they both got here and we’ve been able to see what they can do on the field,” Love said when asked if he was thrilled to see Kraft and Musgrave have great performances against the Seahawks’ defense, per Ryan Wood of USA Today. “I think that’s one thing that Matt and the guys dropped the plays and then kind of hunt for is to get them both on the field and do some pretty cool things in the pass game with them. And it obviously married all up with the run game. But the possibilities are endless for sure. “Those guys have been doing a great job in building. Tuck has done some great things on the field. And I think Luke’s having a great camp as well. Musgrave and Kraft are clearly talented options in the offense for Love, and at least one of them taking their game to the next level in 2025 should make Green Bay’s attack much deadlier. Musgrave missed several games in 2024 due to a stint on the injured reserve and only had 45 receiving yards on seven receptions and 10 targets. Kraft, on the other hand, has improved in each of his first two seasons in the league. Last season, he had 707 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 50 catches and 70 targets.