You Thought So!

Jessica Simpson should “work hard and be authentic”, says country singer Jewel.

Jewel – who has sold over 27 million albums worldwide – advised Jessica, 28, to “be true” to herself when her debut country record hits stores in September.

She said: “I really like Jessica. She’s always been such a sweet, sweet person. If I were going to give her any advice, I would say work hard and be authentic. Be true to who you are. The thing about country music is its fans have an excellent authenticity meter. They can spot bulls**t a mile away. Anyone who comes to country music just to dabble in it, or who doesn’t know it or respect it as a genre and respect its history and tradition, is not going to make it.”

Jessica recently revealed the record is not just a passing phase, and she wants to sing country music for “the rest” of her life.

She said: “I’m planning on making country music for the rest of my life, and I don’t want to go back to that other world. I take a lot of pride in my talent and in the record I was able to put together. I’m not giving up.”

It was recently revealed Jessica’s as-yet-untitled LP will be released in the US on September 9.

Whitney Houston’s voice was almost destroyed by drugs. Following years of heavy smoking and drug abuse, Whitney’s singing was reportedly ‘unrecognizable’ when she began recording her new album.

A source said: “She was smoking a lot and taking a lot of drugs. Her voice was almost unrecognizable.”

Whitney – once dubbed ‘The Voice’ for her five octave range – was sent for singing lessons by industry executive Clive Davis and is now back to her high-note best. The source added: “Thousands have been shelled out to train her back up to the original. But now she sounds terrific – she is going to blow everybody away.”

Whitney’s new, as yet untitled comeback album, is set for a November release.

In 2006, Tina Brown – the sister of Whitney’s now ex-husband  – claimed Whitney was living in squalor, and hopelessly addicted to crack cocaine. She released photographs to a US magazine showing the star’s bathroom littered with drug paraphernalia, including a crack pipe.