Ashlee Simpson: 'Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)'

It's never been easy to take Ashlee Simpson seriously. Having originally styled herself as an edgier, punkier alternative to her Barbie Doll sister, she went on to dye her hair blonde, have a nose job and get engaged to a popstar. Now, with her usual Avril-style angst-pop falling out of fashion, she's decided to hitch herself to the latest pop trend: Timbaland.

Against the odds, 'Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)' is a bit of a triumph: not the Timbaland-by-numbers club confection we might have expected, but the sound of eighties new wave buffed and polished for 2008. Impressively, the song's jerky hooks and jagged rhythms actually heighten the sense of frustration in Ashlee's lyrics, suggesting she may have located something that a Simpson sister's never had before: artistic vision. Jessica ought to watch - well, listen - and learn.


> Click here to watch the 'Outta My Head' video