American singer-actress Jessica Simpson has revealed that she was always disappointed by her pop career because she constantly felt like a "runner-up" next to her chart rivals Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
The 28-year-old first came up against her pop rivals when she was a child auditioning for Disney's Mickey Mouse Club TV show, as both Spears and Aguilera won places on the programme, while Simpson was rejected.
Simpson has confessed never to forget the snub, but when she finally launched her own pop career in 1999, her debut album came several months after her rivals' and she now admits that she feels like she has always been playing 'catch-up' with Spears and Aguilera, conctactmusic.com reports.
"When I got the letter (from the 'Mickey Mouse Club') that said I didn't make it, I just remember that I was giving up and I thought that I was going to die. It's funny to look at my journals and see all the fears I had to face. (Those girls) all remembered me. I didn't feel competitive. I was more intimidated," she said.
"My album was different (from theirs). I released a ballad first. I wasn't dancing and doing that whole thing. I wanted to set myself apart. But I was always third runner-up," she added.
{{/usCountry}}"My album was different (from theirs). I released a ballad first. I wasn't dancing and doing that whole thing. I wanted to set myself apart. But I was always third runner-up," she added.
{{/usCountry}}Simpson quit pop music in 2007, turning her focus to a career in country music instead.