Simpson 'Intimidated' By Spears And Aguilera

The singer/actress first came up against her pop rivals when she was a child auditioning for Disney's Mickey Mouse Club TV show.

Both Spears and Aguilera won places on the programme, but Simpson was rejected.

Simpson never forgot the snub, but when she finally launched her own pop career in 1999, her debut album came several months after her rivals both first tasted chart success.

And Simpson admits she feels like she has always been playing catch-up with Spears and Aguilera.

She tells Vanity Fair magazine, "When I got the letter (from the Mickey Mouse Club) that said I didnt make it, I just remember that I was giving up and I thought that I was going to die.

"Its funny to look at my journals and see all the fears I had to face. (Those girls) all remembered me. I didnt feel competitive. I was more intimidated.

"My album was different (from theirs). I released a ballad first. I wasnt dancing and doing that whole thing. I wanted to set myself apart. But I was always third runner-up."

Simpson quit pop music in 2007, turning her focus to a career in country music instead.