Jessica Simpson Reacts to Her ‘American Idol’ Performance: ‘I Was Dying’

The internet was buzzing after Jessica Simpson performed on the American Idol finale. Her first television performance in 15 years received mixed reviews from viewers, and Simpson opened up about how bad her nerves were before she stepped on stage.

“Oh my God, I was dying,” she admitted to Extra. “I can’t even tell you how long it’s been since I’ve been that nervous. Like, I had to put hairspray on my feet to stand still. Like, not that it actually keeps me put, but, like, my feet were sweating. I’m like, ‘My feet don’t sweat!'”

During the performance, Simpsons said she had to keep telling herself not to cry. “Then I see my dad, like, up in the corner and I’m like, ‘Ah, I’m going to cry. I’m going to cry. Do not cry. Just sing your songs. Just sing your songs.'”

Simpson sang the song “Blame Me” off her Nashville Canyon, Part 1, EP, which came out in March. She also teamed up with Idol contestant Josh King for a rendition of “These Boots Were Made for Walkin’.”

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“[It’s been] a really long time, and, like, the last time [I performed] was a Christmas song, so that’s easy,” she explained. “This is my new EP, Nashville Canyon, Part 1, I mean, part two comes in the summer. But it is so much a part of my soul, and so to sing a song off of that, I felt naked, to be honest. Like, it was very bare and raw and very vulnerable.”

Although there were some online critics, the most important people in Simpson’s life had her back after the show. “I had my kids FaceTiming everybody to tell me I did a good job,” she gushed. “And I haven’t gotten to talk to them yet, but I’m so excited to talk to them because they’ve never seen me sing live like that.”

Simpson shares her three children with estranged husband Eric Johnson.