Music Review: Jessica Simpson "I Belong To Me"

I Belong To Me
Album: A Public Affair
Year: 2006

Jessica Simpson values her identity in the self-help ballad “I Belong To Me.”

In the opening, a comtemplative Simpson announces she’s independent.

“I belong to me.”

An emphatic drum and a forlorn piano open the single, setting a brooding tone. In the first verse, she tells her crush she’s not ready for a serious relationship right now. She has to figure out herself first. She doesn’t want to forget who she is again. In her last relationship, she explains, she was young and went along with whatever her boyfriend did. She didn’t seek out any interests of her own, outside of him. Although she would like to have him play an important role in her life, she’s become gunshy and won’t get involved until she knows it will be a healthy romance. Then, she will let him in and reveal her affection for him.

“It's not that I don't wanna share my life with you baby/It's just that I'm the one I need to be true to baby/And I won't give up me to be part of you/It's not that I don't wanna have you in my life baby/It's just you gotta know that it's got to be right baby/Before I open up my heart to you.”

In the pre-chorus, she states she’s her own person and not a piece of property owned by somebody else.

“I don't need somebody to complete me/I complete myself/Nobody's got to belong to somebody else.”

In the chorus, she asserts she has to pay attention to her needs and prefers to be single. She’s going to be selfish with her love, giving it to only herself and boosting up her damaged self-esteem. She adds she has her personality and interests she would like to explore. He’s going to be prepared not to be to be a top priority, if he chooses to pursue her.

“ I belong to me/I don't belong to you/My heart is my possession/I'll be my own reflection/I belong to me/I'm one not half of two/And if you're gonna love me/You should know this baby/I belong to me.”

In the second verse, she has to inform him she’s not a trophy. She would like to hang out with him and get to know him, though. She just wants to take things slow.

“I gotta let you know before I let you in, baby/That who I am is not about who I am with, baby/That don't mean I don't wanna be here with you/I do.”

In the pre-chorus, she says she can love him but she won’t commit herself to him.

“I don't need somebody to complete me/I want you to know/I'll give up my love but I'm not giving up my soul.”

The chorus is sung again.

In the bridge, she says love can be a controlling emotion, allowing a person to mold and craft the other into what they think they should be.

“Oh yea/Love don't mean changing who you are to be/Who somebody wants you to be/Nobody's got to belong to nobody.”

The final chorus is sung to close the single.

“I belong to me/I don't belong to you/My heart is my possession/I'll be my own reflection/I belong to me/I don't belong to you/My heart is my possession/I'll be my own reflection/I belong to me/I'm one not half of two/And if you gonna love me/You should know this baby/I belong to me.”

After a traumatic breakup, she realized she had been left with nothing. She had left her friends, interests, and identity to become a couple. She let him think and create for her in their relationship. By the end, she was lost and looking for any sliver of who she used to be. Now that she’s alone, she’s decided to be single and only have casual relationships. She has to get know herself first before anyone else.

Simpson’s mumbly, prudent vocals are self-indulgent and self-concious. She’s taking time to enjoy being single and isn’t going to settle down. She’s only interested in no-strings relationships. She’s missed herself and wants to discover who she is, even if it means turning down a nice guy. She states her terms in apologetic, firm manner. She’s not out to hurt or offend anyone, but she deserves to be narcisstic for a while. Vocally, she’s not challenging herself anymore and needs to

The corny arrangement is in an overgrown field of clichés. The the thick stalk of the pseudo-empowering drum, rotted and weedy, relies on the sulking piano. It straggles itself around the notes, choking on its lack of subtlety.

The pleasing “I Belong To Me” is so bad it’s good.

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