Amid her music comeback, Jessica Simpson appeared on American Idol as a guest performer — but some harsh critics think she probably shouldn’t have. The singer and former reality TV star recently released new music for the first time in more than 15 years. Prior to the March 2025 release of her new EP, Nashville Canyon, Jessica hadn’t released new music since 2009.
Over the past several months, she has teased her music comeback on social media and has garnered a lot of support, along with a decent amount of hate. Her American Idol performance was no different. Although many fans were excited to see Jessica performing again, some critics compared the performance to something you’d hear at a high school talent show or a karaoke bar. Yikes!
“Whoa this is bad,” one critic wrote on YouTube. “Like really really bad. 90% of a karaoke bar sounds better than this.” A second critic commented, “This performance has a high school talent show vibe.”
And even worse? Others suggested that Jessica wouldn’t even be able to successfully compete on American Idol.
“She absolutely sounds like just another contestant,” one person wrote. “One who is just kinda okay, but would NOT win.”
Mimicking former Idol judge Randy Jackson, another naysayer said, “Um. It’s a no from me Dawg… this is not a comeback.” Another critic echoed this sentiment with, “This poor woman doesn’t know when it’s time to give it up.”
Others said they normally love Jessica’s music but didn’t like this particular performance. “She’s a wonderful singer when she doesn’t try so hard … it seems so forced and fake,” one fan shared.
Many of Jessica’s fans were taken aback by the harsh comments. “People should give her a break,” one commenter suggested. “She hasn’t performed in 15 years… stop destroying her confidence. I think she did well.”
For the most part, her fans were happy to see that Jessica appears to be doing what she loves, regardless of what critics think.
“Jessica has a great voice and no matter what has happened in her life, what she looks like now compared to how she used to look, or what people think of her, those vocals are undeniable!” one fan commented. “Glad she is stepping back into the spotlight and bringing her voice back into the light.”
