Jessica Simpson Appears at CMA Music Festival

6/9/2008 Mac McKinnon Former pop star Jessica Simpson is attempting to redefine herself as a country artist, and last week’s CMA Music Festival presented an excellent opportunity for a little publicity. Simpson spent the week in Nashville meeting and greeting the concertgoers and promoting her new country single, “Come On Over,” which she co-wrote. It would appear that most fans are initially receptive to Simpson’s efforts, as the mentioning of her name engendered an enthusiastic response at LP Field Thursday night. Some, however, are not so welcoming and it seems that Simpson’s recent negative publicity has taken effect. "A lot of people have listened to 'Come On Over' and told me, 'I really wanted to hate it, but I like it,' " she said. " 'I wanted to hate it, but I like it' is a backhanded compliment, but I'm glad it's that way and not the other way around." Fans will get a chance to see what Simpson is really made of when her as-yet-untitled album premiers September 9th for Columbia Nashville.