In This Skin

In This Skin is Jessica Simpson's third studio album. It was released on August 19, 2003 by Columbia Records.

The album was re-released on March 2, 2004 with three new tracks.

Album Background
After the release of her 2001 album "Irresistible," Jessica stated she wanted to write songs for her third record.

In an interview by MTV in October of 2002, Nick Lachey (her then-husband) revealed that she is back in the studio, working on a new record.

He said:

"She's finally writing her own music, which I've told her she could do forever but she's been shy about stepping out there and doing it. But she's an incredible writer, and she's doing stuff that's really from the heart."

About the album's sound, he said that "It's a much more organic record and it's more true to herself."

He continued saying:

"There's all live instrumentation and it's very musical as opposed to the pop thing that was happening before for her. I think she finally feels like this is her record and her chance to do exactly what she wants."

In March of 2003, Jessica revealed that her third album would be called "In This Skin."

Album Production
Originally, the album was planned to be primarily produced by Missy Elliott while the sole featured appearance was to be made by Nick Lachey, but their contributions never made the final cut of the album.

The first single from the album "Sweetest Sin" was written by Diane Warren. The song is about Jessica losing her virginity. MTV regarded the song as a "sweet track."

About the idea for the album's second single "With You," Jessica said:

"It's cool for me just because it's my personality [...] Nick loves me with nothing but a T-shirt on so that's where the song idea came from."

Album Promotion
Jessica performed "Sweetest Sin" live at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The performance (which was dedicated to Nick) was recorded and later broadcast on the second season of "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica."

"With You" was also performed on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno and "Live with Regis and Kelly" on October 17, 2003 and October 23, 2003.

She also gave a memorable performance of "With You"/"Angels" at 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.

The promotion of "Angels" by Jessica was extensive. She sang a Spanglish duet of the song with Spanish singer David Bisbal at the 2004 Latin Grammy Awards, performed it on VH1 Divas 2004 and on shows like the "Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Early Show." She later performed it during the seventh season of "Dancing with the Stars."

Tracklisting

 * 1) Sweetest Sin (3:14) (written by Diane Warren; produced by Ric Wake & Richie Jones)   released February 15, 2003
 * 2) With You (3:12) (written by Jessica Simpson, Andy Marvel & billymann; produced by billymann & Andy Marvel) released May 10, 2003
 * 3) My Way Home (3:13) (written by Jessica Simpson, Damon Elliott & Romeo Antonio; produced by Damon Elliott)
 * 4) I Have Loved You (4:45) (written by Holly Lamar, Greg Barnhill & Denise Rich; Lamar; produced by Greg Barnhill, David Munk & Lee Mars)
 * 5) Forbidden Fruit (3:30) (written by Jessica Simpson, Greg Fitzgerald & Thomas Nichols; produced by Greg Fitzgerald)
 * 6) Everyday See You (4:18) (written by Jessica Simpson, Andrew Williams, Franne Golde & Kasia Livingston; produced by Andrew Williams, Franne Golde & Kasia Livingston)
 * 7) Underneath (4:02) (written by Jessica Simpson, Matthew Gerard & Trina Harmon; produced by Keith Thomas)
 * 8) You Don't Have to Let Go (3:43) (written by Jessica Simpson, Jason Deere & Trina Harmon; produced by Trina Harmon)
 * 9) Loving You (3:31) (written by Jessica Simpson, Damon Elliott & Craig Young; produced by Damon Elliott)
 * 10) In This Skin (4:18) (written by Jessica Simpson, Rob Fusari & Trina Harmon; produced by Rob Fusari)
 * 11) Be (4:11) (written by Jessica Simpson, Andrew Williams, Franne Golde & Kasia Livingston; produced by Andrew Williams, Franne Golde & Kasia Livingston)

Chart Performance
It was during the release of "In This Skin" that Jessica had become a household name (due in part to her reality show "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica").

At first, the album did not perform very well on the charts, as it debuted at #10 with 64,000 copies and quickly sank to the bottom of the Billboard 200 albums chart. In five months, it had sold just 565,000 copies, however, the sales began to steadily increase during the Holiday season in 2003.

By that point, Jessica had been receiving huge attention from the media for her antics on Newlyweds, and because of that radio stations warmly welcomed her second single, "With You" which eventually brought the album back into the top twenty on the Billboard charts. Because of this, Columbia Records decided to re-release the album with several new tracks.

With "With You" on the top of the radio charts in February 2004, Jessica released her third single "Take My Breath Away" as the first single from the new re-released album.

On March 20, 2004, the re-released album jumped from 16 to 2 selling 159,500 copies in that week, seeing a 205% increase in sales. It was Jessica's highest first week sales at the time, beating the sales of her sophomore album "Irresistible" which debuted at number six with 120,000 copies.

The album stayed in the top ten for eight non-consecutive weeks and stayed in the Top 100 for sixty-one weeks. It stayed in the Billboard 200 for 75 weeks.

In December of 2004, "In This Skin" was certified 3× Multi Platinum by the RIAA for sales more than 3 million copies only in U.S. It was ranked #14 in Billboard '​s year-end albums chart of 2004.

In Australia, April 4, the album debuted at #40. It peaked at #13 in its seventh week, becoming Jessica's highest album peak in Australia to date. The album stayed in the top 50 for 27 weeks. The album was later certified Platinum by the ARIA.

In Ireland, the album debuted at #58. During its second week fell to #75 and in its fourth week the album rose to peak at #27. It remained in the top 75 for 8 weeks.

In the UK, the album debuted at #36, (the same peak of Jessica's first album "Sweet Kisses.") It remained in the top 75 for 5 weeks.

In Canada, the album reached number twenty-one and was later certified Gold by the CRIA.

In Switzerland, no single was released to promote the album, but it debuted at #78 and remained in the chart for three weeks (her previous albums Sweet Kisses and Irresistible reached #5 and #15 there, respectively).

The album peaked at #4 in Venezuela, beating the peak of "Irresistible" which reached number 10.

"In This Skin" was the 35th best selling album of 2004 and has sold 7 million copies worldwide.

Critical Reception
The initial critical response to "In This Skin" was generally negative.

Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave the album 2.5 stars and called lead single "Sweetest Sin" a "catchy tune" but a "glossy, ever-so-slightly over-produced affair. And the same can be said for the entire album, which is weighed down by soggy, overwrought pop ballads that find Simpson repeatedly declaring her devotion to Lachey. 'My Way Home' contains one, bizarre 15-second display of Simpson's lung capacity and a Middle Eastern ether so faint and wispy it virtually evaporates beneath the track's slick production. In This Skin contains a few surprises, though, including 'Forbidden Fruit', a track unabashedly inspired by Madonna's 'Music', and 'Loving You', a seductively contrived reminder that, with teen pop long dead, Simpson should be aiming to recapture the club audience that helped launch her career with 'I Wanna Love You Forever'."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave the album 2.5 stars as well as a negative review and wrote:

"Now, for her third album, In This Skin, she tones down the trashy club beats and image, staying within the contemporary dance-pop realm while inching toward the middle-of-the-road diva that she's always yearned to be. The problem with In This Skin is that its heart is in the mature middle of the road but its sound is still pitched too young, making this a record that satisfies neither audience."

Jon Caramanica of Rolling Stone gave the album 2 stars and pointed out Jessica's training as a gospel vocalist and that she "long ago learned subtlety was at direct odds with testifying. Judging by Skin, her third album, it's a lesson she's still working through. Her powerful voice is done a disservice by insipid songwriting and arrangements — as on the loathsome club track 'Forbidden Fruit' and the uncomfortably stately ballad 'You Don't Have to Let Go' — that consistently get in the way of her pipes."

Album Personnel

 * J.D. Andrew – digital editing, engineer
 * Jim Annunziato – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
 * Romeo Antonio – composer, guitar
 * Rich Balmer – engineer
 * Greg Barnhill – composer, producer
 * Charlie Bisharat – violin
 * Dan Bucchi – mixing assistant
 * Pat Buchanan – guitar (electric)
 * Julian Bunetta – engineer, string arrangements, strings
 * Darryl Bush – production coordination
 * John Catchings – cello
 * Earl Cohen – tracking
 * J.T. Corenflos – guitar (electric)
 * Chad Cromwell – drums
 * Jason Deere – composer
 * Neil Devor – engineer
 * Kara DioGuardi – vocals (background)
 * Tony Duran – photography
 * Damon Elliott – composer, keyboards, percussion, producer, programming
 * Greg Fitzgerald – composer, producer
 * Rob Fusari – composer, producer
 * Matthew Gerrard – composer
 * James Ginnetti – keyboards
 * Chris Goercke – guitar (acoustic)
 * Franne Golde – composer, piano, producer, vocals, vocals (background)
 * Tommy Harden – drums
 * Trina Harmon – composer, piano, producer, string arrangements, strings
 * Carlos Henderson – bass
 * Dan Hetzel – digital editing, engineer, mixing
 * Hooshik – collage
 * Jun Ishizeki – assistant engineer
 * Richie Jones – producer, programming
 * Jennifer Karr – vocals (background)
 * Anthony Kilhoffer – assistant engineer
 * Brendan Kuntz – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
 * Eric Kupper – guitar, keyboards
 * Holly Lamar – composer, producer
 * Victor Lawrence – cello
 * John LeVasseur – engineer, Mellotron
 * Kasia Livingston – composer, producer, vocals (background)
 * Billy Mann – arranger, composer, drum programming, engineer, guitar, producer
 * Lee Mars – mixing, vocal producer
 * Andy Marvel – arranger, composer, drum programming, engineer, guitar, keyboard programming, producer
 * Tony Maserati – mixing
 * Dave Matthews – engineer
 * Mary Maurer – art direction
 * Bart Migal – tracking
 * Nick Moroch – guitar
 * Pablo Munguia – engineer, vocal engineer
 * David Munk – vocal producer
 * Tom Nichols – composer
 * Dave Pensado – mixing
 * Alison Prestwood – bass
 * Greg Price – assistant engineer
 * Denise Rich – composer
 * Mark Russell – production coordination
 * Dave Scheuer – digital editing, engineer
 * Jaime Sickora – engineer, vocal engineer
 * Jessica Simpson – composer, primary artist, vocals
 * Matt Snedecor – mixing assistant
 * Michael Spriggs – guitar (acoustic)
 * Keith Thomas – arranger, bass, keyboards, mixing, producer, programming
 * Luz Vasquez – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
 * Rick Wake – producer
 * Diane Warren – composer
 * Bill Whittington – mixing
 * Andrew Williams – engineer, instrumentation, producer
 * Ethan Willoughby – assistant
 * Patrick Woodward – mixing
 * Chris Yoakum – digital editing, MIDI technician
 * Craig Young – composer
 * Jonathan Yudkin – strings