And she found just the right crew to help her do that—the Neptunes’ Chad Hugo produced most of the songs while Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake and now Madonna’s go-to-guy Timbaland, produced “Ragdoll,” “Rule Breaker,” “Murder” (which includes a rap from Gym Class Heroes’ frontman, Travis McCoy), and Ashlee’s first single, “Out of My Head.” She also elicited the help of guitar player, Ray Brady and was really excited to “bring all the different energies together.”

Despite the male-dominated collaborative efforts, Ashlee managed to hold her own by being herself. “We always had a fun time in the studio,” she said happily. “There are just so many silly pictures of us,” which isn’t hard to imagine considering she’d sometimes be in the studio until 4 a.m. “You can get slap happy… There were a lot of fun, goofy days.”

Obviously, though, it wasn’t all the joking that led them to produce Ashlee’s new album, on which she co-wrote all the songs—it was more about the chemistry between them. “I worked with so many different amazing people and it’s always great when you get to work with people that are creative and bring out the best in you,” she explains. “And I think if you can meet somebody that you feel that connection with then it’s always going to be a good session.”

Sometimes though, it was the frustration during sessions that inspired Ashlee, which was the case with her first single off the album, “Out of My Head.” “It was actually inspired by a situation where somebody came into the studio and was like, ‘Oh. What about this for that song?’ And I was just like, “Ugh! I don’t want to hear your opinions,’” she explained. “You kind of got to just go with your instincts and how you feel. It’s not intended to be mean—none of my lyrics are intended to be necessarily mean or anything like that. It’s just, more so, I kind of have to laugh at it all.”

And that’s understandable for a girl, who at the mere age of 23, has undergone the kind of scrutiny that would tend to tear anyone down, especially having had her break ups and trials and tribulations as a young artist aired on MTV from 2003 to 2005 for The Ashlee Simpson Show. “I’ve done it and I don’t necessarily know that I would do it again,” she says with a chuckle. “But I guess, never say never. I don’t think, at this moment in my life, I would do it again, but I don’t regret it. I think that I did it because it was a way for fans to get to know me and my personality.”

Still, it hasn’t always been easy for Ashlee. “I’m a normal girl and I’m a human being,” she admits. “So all the negativity, I don’t listen to it and I really just try to live my life. People will always have comments, but what matters at the end of the day is that when you go to bed, you’re happy and when you wake up, you’re happy. That’s something you have to find within yourself, not from others.” It’s a notion that’s helped Ashlee get through the rumors and gossip and that inspired the album’s title (and track), Bittersweet World. “It’s about everybody coming together instead of talking mean about other people and judging other people and everybody has that issue,” she explains of the title track, which is Ashlee’s favorite song lyrically on the album. “It’s about not being a hypocrite because when you are, it’s kind of like you reap what you sow. It’s about helping one another out.”

With her new perspective on things, Ashlee’s been able to put the lip-synching and ho-down dancing behind her and even has a new love in her life. “He’s my best friend,” Ashlee says of her equally famous and successful fiancé, Pete Wentz, the superstar bassist of Fall Out Boy, “So we don’t really let the outside world affect us too much. We share ideas together and everything so that’s great to have. I love that part of our relationship.” And jealousy is not an issue, despite the gaggle of girls following Pete’s every move. “I’m happy that people like him and are into his music and to who he is as a person. And he’s wonderful so it makes me happy,” Ashlee says.

With her personal life going strong, the excitement surrounding her new CD, and a line of t-shirts coming out at Wet Seal, it seems like there’s nothing else for Ashlee to tackle. But she’s ready for more. Ashlee’s already conquered the stage--playing Roxie Hart in Chicago--and the small screen--getting her start on 7^th Heaven--so the next move for this quadruple threat seems obvious. “I would love to do film,” she says emphatically. “And I would love to, eventually one day, write my own screenplay and direct and whatnot.”

And what keeps her motivated is her fans. “I get lots of really cool letters from my fans and they’ll explain what song got them through what moment in their life and that to me is the most amazing feeling,” Ashlee explains of her appreciation for all those who buy her albums and watch her acting performances. “That’s the best accomplishment.”

Next up for Ashlee, besides the release of Bittersweet World (on April 22^nd), is shooting the video for the second track off the album, “Little Miss Obsessive,” featuring Plain White T's lead singer, Tom Higgenson. “I’m going to shoot it probably within this month,” she says. “I kind of want to go with the movie, Sliding Doors meets Eternal Sunshine [Of the Spotless Mind]. I love that movie and I love Michel Gondry [the director]. He’s awesome so we’ll see how it turns out.” And it seems like that’s her attitude in general—to see where it all takes her and we can’t help but watch.