When taking the stage at Yaamava’ Resort and Casino in Highland, California, on Monday evening, Jessica Simpson took a moment to reflect on her more than eight years of sobriety with the audience.
Before performing her unreleased song, titled “Give It All Away,” Simpson shared insight behind the inspiration for the new track and said that while she has come a long way, she’s still a “work in progress.”
“I didn’t understand all of the traumas that I was holding onto. And it was really painful once I started searching in myself to find what I could reveal,” Simpson said. “I became somebody that I was afraid of, somebody I did not know and understand.”
The artist continued, sharing that as a mother she felt she wasn’t a “good role model” and later realized that “the drinking wasn’t numbing my pain, it was actually causing more. It was a crutch that wasn’t working.”
“In all honesty, I’m a work in progress and I celebrate each and every day that I feel alive and in my body and I’m very proud of myself so it felt right to share this song with you,” she continued, before addressing her fans directly: “I want all of you to know that you should have a little grace for yourself and everything is gonna be okay if you just give it all away.”
Back in November, Simpson, a mother of three, celebrated eight years of sobriety. In an Instagram post at the time, she wrote, “I made the choice to confront, to confess and to let go of the self sabotaging parts of my life that I was choosing.” She added, “Today I am clear. Today I am driven by faith. Both fear and faith are something that we feel and may not see, I’m so happy I chose faith over fear. It was not in the fight that I found my strength, it was in the surrender.”
Last year, Simpson returned to the stage after a 15-year hiatus — performing at SXSW and releasing a pair EPs, Nashville Canyon Part I and II.