--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I signed a record deal, I was always…" description: "\"When I signed a record deal, I was always told by execs I needed to be like everybody else, that I had to show my midriff, things that would take away ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/jessica-simpson-1755_art_when-i-signed-a-record-deal-i-was-always_1335767.jpg" --- # When I signed a record deal, I was always told by execs I… ![“When I signed a record deal, I was always told by execs I needed to be like everybody else, that I had to show my midriff, things that would take away from who I want to be as an artist.” quote by Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/jessica-simpson-1755_art_when-i-signed-a-record-deal-i-was-always_1335767.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/jessica-simpson-1755_art_when-i-signed-a-record-deal-i-was-always_1335767.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/jessica-simpson-1755_art_when-i-signed-a-record-deal-i-was-always_1335767.jpg) > “When I signed a record deal, I was always told by execs I needed to be like everybody else, that I had to show my midriff, things that would take away from who I want to be as an artist.” [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Industry pressure forced her to conform, threatening her artistic identity. **In simple terms:** She resisted pressure to stay authentic. Key Takeaway Guard your artistic vision. Themes authenticity industry pressure self‑expression Mood determined reflective Type personal motivational When to use this quote - music contracts - public image - creative decisions Key Concepts branding personal identity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance market demands with authenticity? - What strategies protect artistic integrity? A Different Perspective Commercial demands may limit creative freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Everybody Midriff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everybody-midriff-4496545/) [Like Everybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-everybody/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [Record deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record-deal/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Signed Record](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signed-record-632412/) [Told Execs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-execs-4496546/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [The Roots - we signed our first record deal when I was about 19 years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-thought/the-roots-we-signed-our-first-record-deal-when-i-was-about-19-years/) [Black Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-thought/) > [I wanted to be part of pop culture, so I started songwriting, and I got signed to my first record deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bebe-rexha/i-wanted-to-be-part-of-pop-culture-so-i-started-songwriting-and-i-got/) [Bebe Rexha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bebe-rexha/) > [When I signed my first record deal, I brought it over to my lawyer to look over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soccer-mommy/when-i-signed-my-first-record-deal-i-brought-it-over-to-my-lawyer-to/) [Soccer Mommy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soccer-mommy/) > [I put a song on Soundcloud, and Annie Mac made it record of the week, and a month later, I signed my record deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mabel/i-put-a-song-on-soundcloud-and-annie-mac-made-it-record-of-the-week/) [Mabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mabel/) > [I’m half crazy but I know the Devil real. I should know, I signed a record deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bishop-lamont/i-m-half-crazy-but-i-know-the-devil-real-i-should-know-i-signed-a/) [Bishop Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bishop-lamont/) > [Back in the Nineties, I was in an R&B group. I signed my first record deal when I was 12.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poo-bear/back-in-the-nineties-i-was-in-an-r-b-group-i-signed-my-first-record/) [Poo Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poo-bear/) > [I feel like everybody's always out to get me, and that's a weird feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/i-feel-like-everybody-s-always-out-to-get-me-and-that-s-a-weird/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [Singing is my favorite thing to do. One day, I hope to get signed to a record label.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selah-louise-marley/singing-is-my-favorite-thing-to-do-one-day-i-hope-to-get-signed-to-a/) [Selah Louise Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selah-louise-marley/) > [I was 18 when I signed my first record contract and in those days fame was a lot of fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-kemp/i-was-18-when-i-signed-my-first-record-contract-and-in-those-days/) [Martin Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-kemp/) > [I was signed to a record label when I was younger. I was in a group, and I just wasn't - personally, I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tika-sumpter/i-was-signed-to-a-record-label-when-i-was-younger-i-was-in-a-group/) [Tika Sumpter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tika-sumpter/) > [I was signed to a record label at the same time as my friend Elliot Murphy, who makes great records to this day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-was-signed-to-a-record-label-at-the-same-time-as-my-friend-elliot/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I've always had a love for poetry and when I got signed to a record label I thought, 'How odd that I'm doing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel/i-ve-always-had-a-love-for-poetry-and-when-i-got-signed-to-a-record/) [Jewel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel/) > [I wanted to play in bands and get signed by a record label and tour the world and stuff, but that never really worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramin-djawadi/i-wanted-to-play-in-bands-and-get-signed-by-a-record-label-and-tour/) [Ramin Djawadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramin-djawadi/) > [When you find fame, or you get signed to a record label, it's not what you imagined - because you imagined they would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/when-you-find-fame-or-you-get-signed-to-a-record-label-it-s-not-what/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [I am not immune to the lure of a signed record, flier or set list. The fact that your music heroes potentially had, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-am-not-immune-to-the-lure-of-a-signed-record-flier-or-set-list-the/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) ## More by Jessica Simpson > [Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish? I know it's tuna, but it says 'Chicken of the Sea.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/is-this-chicken-what-i-have-or-is-this-fish-i-know-it-s-tuna-but-it/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [How can I be my best if I never fail, and how can I ever find peace if I never yell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/how-can-i-be-my-best-if-i-never-fail-and-how-can-i-ever-find-peace-if/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [I want people to fall in love with my voice before my image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/i-want-people-to-fall-in-love-with-my-voice-before-my-image/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [I want to be a role model.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/i-want-to-be-a-role-model/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [I sit and wait does an angel contemplate my fate and do they know the places Where we go when we're grey and old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/i-sit-and-wait-does-an-angel-contemplate-my-fate-and-do-they-know-the/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [Eat whatever makes you feel good. Work out whenever you want to. Just take care of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/eat-whatever-makes-you-feel-good-work-out-whenever-you-want-to-just/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [I'm not that kind of publicity, attention-grabber type of artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/i-m-not-that-kind-of-publicity-attention-grabber-type-of-artist/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [The average pregnant woman farts 15 times that!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/the-average-pregnant-woman-farts-15-times-that/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [I think anything sounds good with a Southern accent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/i-think-anything-sounds-good-with-a-southern-accent/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [“At school my boobs were bigger than all my friends' and I was afraid to show them. Now I feel like they make my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/at-school-my-boobs-were-bigger-than-all-my-friends-and-i-was-afraid/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [I can't wait to have more kids. I love being pregnant. I have such an incredible connection with myself and with my body that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/i-can-t-wait-to-have-more-kids-i-love-being-pregnant-i-have-such-an/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [Music will always be my No. 1 passion, but I don't have to be doing it professionally. It's not really about that for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/music-will-always-be-my-no-1-passion-but-i-don-t-have-to-be-doing-it/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [I'm a huge fan of Mariah Carey. I admired her music for so long. It's hard to follow on her footstep. She's so successful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/i-m-a-huge-fan-of-mariah-carey-i-admired-her-music-for-so-long-it-s/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [If I'm going for advice for anything in my life, I go straight to my father because he has the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/if-i-m-going-for-advice-for-anything-in-my-life-i-go-straight-to-my/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [I have a white girl booty. I dont have a big butt. Id rather have a happy medium and take some off my chest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/i-have-a-white-girl-booty-i-dont-have-a-big-butt-id-rather-have-a/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) [Explore all 210 Jessica Simpson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I signed a record deal, I was always told by execs I needed to be like everybody else, that I had to show my midriff, things that would take away from who I want to be as an artist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jessica Simpson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/when-i-signed-a-record-deal-i-was-always-told-by-execs-i-needed-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/when-i-signed-a-record-deal-i-was-always-told-by-execs-i-needed-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/jessica-simpson-1755_art_when-i-signed-a-record-deal-i-was-always_1335767.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/jessica-simpson-1755_art_when-i-signed-a-record-deal-i-was-always_1335767.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/jessica-simpson-1755_art_when-i-signed-a-record-deal-i-was-always_1335767.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I signed a record deal, I was always told by execs I needed to be like everybody else, that I had to…” — Jessica Simpson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jessica Simpson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I signed a record deal,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/when-i-signed-a-record-deal-i-was-always-told-by-execs-i-needed-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/when-i-signed-a-record-deal-i-was-always-told-by-execs-i-needed-to-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```