Ana Simpson

Ana Simpson
File:Ana-simpson-wiki-main.jpg File:Ana-simpson-wiki-main.jpg
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, USA
Genres	Pop
Years active	2005-2010
Labels	Tigerstar Records (2005-2007) Elite Entertainment (2008 & 2010) Wired Records (2009-2010)

Ana Marie Simpson (born 9 November 1983) is an American pop singer-songwriter. Signed to Tigerstar at age 22, Simpson rose to fame in 2005 with her debut single "Come With Me". Her music is usually heavily influenced by Adult Contemporary, pop and dance-pop. Simpson's final single "A Million Tales" was released in the spring of 2010, and proved to be one of her biggest hit, alongside her previous record breaking single "Turnaround".

Career

To date Ana Simpson has score six Top 20 singles, including two which went to #1. Her debut album, 2005's Pieces Of My Life was somewhat well received in the UK. Ana Simpson's debut single "Come With Me" was at first a trial single to see how well the singer would do in the UK. Due to lack of promotion, the single only managed to enter and peak just outside the Top 15. Tigerstar Records decided to sign Simpson for a two album deal based on how well the single did with almost no promotion.
Simpson, much like every other American singer was having conflicts in between traveling from US to UK every other weekend or so, therefore that made promotion for her album and singles a little challenging. Although her second single "The Hate Song" received mediocre promotion, it did get good airplay numbers in the UK. The song managed to enter and peak at number 10 in the UK charts. With 2 Top 20 singles, Tigerstar was ready to release Simpson's debut album. To back the album up, Simpson released "Look What Love Does To Me". The song received a good promotion. Critics praised the song for its genuine lyrical content. The single however did not meet its standards on the charts, when it peaked outside the top 10.
The debut album Pieces Of My Life was released right after the single "Look What Love Does To Me" was released. The album peaked at number 9 in the UK charts and went to sell well over 300,000 copies. The album's final single was an upbeat track called "You Gotta...". During the promotion for the single, Simpson was faced with health issues and unfortunately had to head back to United States midway through promotion. Radios however continued to play the song and Tigerstar decided to release the single with, or without Ana doing a proper promotion. The single out peaked all of Ana's past singles, landing at number 6 in the UK Charts.
In 2006, Simpson had put her singing career in hiatus as she was diagnose with breast cancer, and had to start chemotherapy. In the spring of 2009 however, Simpson returned to the music scene. She released her comeback single "Love Is A Game/Your Guardian" in the summer of 2009. The comeback single was an instant success, reaching #1 in its first week and becoming Simpson's first ever #1. Simpson's comeback album Intensive Ground also became a hit, reaching #1 and selling over 1 million copies.
In November 2009, Simpson officially announced that her comeback was a way to thank all the fans for all the love support she had been receiving all these years. Simpson confirmed her first ever headlining tour as the "first, last and only" tour she would do as she was ready to take her bow. The tour which was called My Final Mission Tour started in Australia and made its way to England and then moved to North America. Simpson's final show is set to happen in February 2010 in London.
In December 2009, Wired Records released a statement that Simpson had signed a 2 album deal with them and that they were not looking to drop the singer until she released a 2nd album and put an end to the contract she signed. Simpson planned a Singles Collection album for January 2010 just to end her contract with Wired Records, but weeks after the singles collection announcement Simpson decided to cancel everything so she could have time to finish her tour and go on a hiatus until further notice. On March 2010, Simpson released the single "My Final Mission/Defeated" as the final single from her second studio album. A month after the final single from her 2nd studio album was released, Simpson announced her departure from Wired Records. Simpson decided to break her record deal and release her final album with Elite Records. Simpson's final album was a collections album called Ultimate Phase. The album entered the album charts at number one and was certified Platinum for the shipment of 300,000 copies just three weeks after its release. The album's promotional single "A Million Tales" was released a week after the album was released. The single peaked at number one for two-consecutive weeks and went to become Simpson's fastest selling single. A week after the single was released, Simpson departed from the UK quoting "...this is not the ending but rather the start of something new".

File:Ana-simpson-and-husband.jpg

Simpson pictured with her husband in June 2010.

Cancer

On 23 February 2006, at the age of 22, Simpson was diagnosed with breast cancer. The news shocked the singer who was just rising into the fame. Ana was forced to put all working commitments on hold while undertaking treatment for the disease. In an exclusive interview with Z100 NYC, Simpson revealed that her body had been giving warning signs since late 2005. As part of her treatment, Simpson undertook chemotherapy, which resulted in the loss of her hair, and radiation therapy. The news of her diagnosis made newspaper and television headlines and an outpouring of support was shown by fans and the general public alike.
Today, Simpson support the American Cancer Society and help raise the awareness for cancer.

2009 & Beyond

Comeback to music

Ana Simpson made her comeback to Urapopstar early in 2009. The singer performed for the first time since 2006 in the SAVE URAPS telethon, she performed "Heaven Came Down" a track from her debut album, and the special Various Artist relief single "Play The Game".
Simpson worked with Alesha and Elice Claire for her comeback album which was released on July 20, 2009. The comeback single titled "Love Is A Game/Your Guardian" was released a week earlier, 13 July 2009. The single and album both entered the UK charts @#1, becoming Simpson's first ever #1. The second single "Turnaround" proved to be another single, hitting #1 and selling over 100,000 copies in its first week.
Simpson won her first Uraps Award at the 2009 Urapopstar Awards 17 for Best Comeback. Simpson became the 19th best seller act of 2009 with only two singles and one album released. 'Turnaround' became the fourth best seller single of 2009, while 'Love Is A Game/Your Guardian' became the sixth best seller. In May 2010, "Turnaround" was nominated for Best Single in the Urapopstar Awards 18, she also got nominated for Best Live for her My Final Mission Tour and Best Misc Artwork for her Tour Poster. In 2010, Simpson's final single "A Million Tales" was nominated for Best Single at the Urapopstar Awards 19 and became the best seller of that year.

Label switch

On 30 June 2009, Ana Simpson's manager officially announced that Simpson would be departing from her label Elite Entertainment to sign with Wired Records. The news came with shock as fans were not expecting Simpson to leave her label, as she was happy with Elite. Simpson's management said that Wired Records owner Arwyn Knight persuade Simpson into joining her label, saying that Ana is a very talented and promising act. Arwyn had also offered a better deal which extended the amount of money put into the Album and single's promotion.

Farewell tour

As Simpson's manager announced that he would be parting ways from his management contract with Simpson, the star had decided to end her career as well. Simpson announced in August that she would be discussing a farewell tour with her label. Later that month Simpson officially announced the tour. Dates for the tour were posted on Simpson's official website in September. The first show of her world tour took place in Australia. Simpson travel to Australia, North America, South America and Europe for the tour. The final show was on February 14, 2010 in the 02 Arena in London.

File:Ana-husband.jpg

Simpson pictured with her husband in August 2011.

Collections album & 5 year anniversary special

Simpson announced in the end of 2009, that before she parted from her management and career, she wanted to release a compilation album for her fans with a few new songs. After the success of the single "My Final Mission/Defeated", her label Wired Records decided to let Simpson off their two studio album contract. As soon as Ana departed from Wired Records, she decided to return to Elite Records to release her Collections album and end her career in a high note. The album's first single "A Million Tales" was released on May 17, 2010. The album, which was called 'Ultimate Phase' was released a week before the single. The album debuted at #1 on the album charts, selling over 100,000 copies in its first week. The album went on to sell over 500,000 copies and the single "A Million Tales" became Simpson's second multi-platinum release.
To celebrate Simpson's 5 year anniversary and to close 2010 with a bang, Simpson's labels Tigerstar records and Elite Records struck a deal with global grocery and general merchandising retailer Tesco. The store will sell a very limited by special edition of Simpson's debut album Pieces Of My Life. The album was released on 29 November 2010.

Marriage and pregnancy

Simpson got engaged to her fiancé Joshua Tyler in December 2008. Australian newspaper Sydney Morning Herald officially announced Simpson's wedding date on 12 August 2010. Simpson tied the knot on 18 September 2010 in Sydney, Australia. In October 2010, Simpson revealed to a few close friends that she was expecting her first child. Simpson, her husband and his children from his first marriage currently resides in Sydney, Australia. On 2 June 2011, Simpson gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Sophia Olivia Tyler.

Discography

Main Article: Ana Simpson Discography

Albums

• 2005: "Pieces of My Life"
• 2009: "Intensive Ground"
• 2010: "Ultimate Phase"

Singles

• 2005: "Come With Me"
• 2005: "The Hate Song"
• 2005: "Look What Love Does to Me"
• 2006: "You Gotta..."
• 2006: "Heaven Came Down" (International Single Only)
• 2009: "Play The Game" (Uraps Charity Single)
• 2009: "Love Is A Game/Your Guardian"
• 2009: "Turnaround"
• 2009: "Hold Fire" (Uraps Charity Single)
• 2009: "Summer Nights" (International Single Only)
• 2009: "Perfectly Fine"
• 2010: "My Final Mission/Defeated"
• 2010: "A Million Tales"

Tours

• 2009/2010: My Final Mission Tour