Jessica Simpson returns to stage for first time in 15 years, debuts new song

Jessica Simpson is ready for her comeback.

"Last night was my first performance in 15 years," the "A Public Affair" singer wrote on Instagram Thursday, sharing several videos of her performance during Wednesday's Recording Academy Austin Chapter Block Party at SXSW in Austin.

"It was an emotional coming back home to the best part of myself. Thank you for embracing me. You know that I have so much to say, but this lucky voice gets to soar again tonight. I love y’all. More to come," she continued.

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"I needed to remember who I was and why I wanted to sing in the first place," Simpson told the crowd in a video posted to the Recording Academy's Instagram stories on Wednesday evening. "And I needed to forget who they told me to be."

Simpson recently released the singles "Use My Heart Against Me" and "Leave," ahead of the March 21 release of her new EP Nashville Canyon Pt. 1. The last time Simpson released a body of music was the holiday album Happy Christmas, in 2010. The last time she released a collection of new songs was the album Do You Know, in 2008.

In addition to the performances of "Use My Heart Against Me" and "Leave," Simpson debuted two other unreleased tracks, "Breadcrumbs" and "Blame Me," per Rolling Stone. She then performed renditions of the Dusty Springfield classic "Son of a Preacher Man" and Nancy Sinatra song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," which she originally recorded for the Dukes of Hazzard soundtrack in 2005.

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Simpson's last public performance was at the the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony in 2010.

Since that time, Simpson gave birth to three children with NFL tight end Eric Johnson, whom she married in 2014. She co-hosted the NBC reality series Fashion Star with Nicole Richie in 2012, released the memoir Open Book in 2020, and continued to grow The Jessica Simpson Collection, her line of women's and children's clothing and accessories that by 2015 had earned over a billion dollars.

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Discussing her return to recording with PEOPLE in February, Simpson revealed, "My daughter led me back to Nashville.... That's where I recorded my first gospel record at 15 years old and I had to come back. My daughter, her wanting to see the light, showed me the light."

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