Simpson’s Flannel and Daisy Dukes Prove Hazardous to Country Fans

For Jessica Simpson, winning over country music fans could take a little more than a flannel shirt, daisy dukes and designer cowboy boots.  Simply stated, country fans are just not buying it.  

From the boos and heckles at her debut country performance at the Country Thunder USA Festival this summer, to the negative reviews of her Grand Ole Opry appearance earlier this week, the country community is turning their back to the native Texan. 

On paper, Simpson is perfect for the traditional country fan. As you can see from Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and the legendary Dolly Parten, it’s nearly undisputable that the blond bombshell look sells. Similarly, like past country artists, her Texan heritage gives her believable ties to the South. 

Furthermore, when it comes to the traditionally conservative nature of country musicians, the teenage Simpson from the ’90s was a perfect fit.  Not only was she the daughter of a preacher, but she was outspoken about saving herself for marriage. However, one reality show and failed marriage later, her transition into a Hollywood socialite is hard for country fans to swallow.

Perhaps Simpson and her stylist have confused the audience of her movie “The Dukes of Hazzard” with that of the country music crowd.  Believe it or not, country singers are not all clad in flannel and cutoffs.  In fact, wearing a western pearl snap shirt and daisy dukes on the cover of Elle magazine, a publication that targets the opposite of country fans, is mockingly insulting. 

Simpson is clearly having an image crisis. Do current country superstars like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift parade around the stage looking like an extra to a Western X-rated movie? I think not.  Underwood and Swift’s fashion and image have evolved as country music has evolved.  No longer is Dolly Parton with her scantily clad outfits, disproportional body and teased hair an image of beauty. Today it’s the girl-next-door beauty that is turning heads in the country world. This is what I like to think of as the ‘believable’ pretty, hence it doesn’t involve pounds of makeup, a girdle and a gallon of hairspray. 

Not only does the publicist of Simpson need to steer away from overcompensating for her twang-less country voice with overtly western attire, but she needs to respect the conservative nature of the audience.  For example, last week Simpson made her first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry in a skin-tight, low-cut dress that left little to the audience’s imagination.  If the over-the-top, flashy getup wasn’t enough, the near ’warddrobe malfunction’ was the force that pushed some critics over the edge.   

“I think she should have put some clothes on,” one viewer said. While another one responded to how she liked Simpson’s performance with: “I loved that new girl, Crystal [Shawanda] – and she was dressed appropriately.”

My recommendation to Simpson and her publicist is to try to understand her audience.  Although she is new to country music, she is not new to the South.  Personally, as a Texan resident and country fan, her sexualized version of country music is insulting.  Country is about the lyrics, the quality of voice and the passion in the song.  The best of country music occurs when a singer is stripped of background vocalist and elaborate sound equipment.  To convince Nashville and the rest of country fans that Simpson is the real deal,  cover the cleavage, throw on a t-shirt and take the stage with only a guitar in hand. Let her talent -assuming she has some- do the convincing.

September 2, 2008. Music.