Jessica Simpson's fears "just diminished" when she quit drinking

Jessica told The Cut: "Around 2016, '17, I was writing out here in Los Angeles with some of the biggest hitmakers. I have songs from those times that I never released because they just didn't feel like me. Every time I would write, I was a little afraid of myself. It was almost too much, especially because I was drinking at the time.

"But once I gave up the alcohol, the fears just diminished. They went away. And it was so much easier for me to access myself artistically.

"I'd thought the more I drank, the more cool I could be and find cool words that would rhyme, that wouldn't be so expected. I overthought it when I drank."

Jessica is releasing an emotional-filled EP, called 'Nashville Canyon Part 1', and the blonde beauty has insisted that she's not chasing chart hits.

Jessica also acknowledged that the EP is distinctly different from her previous releases.

The singer - who recently announced her split from husband Eric Johnson - explained: "Making this record wasn't about having a hit. It was just about having a vibe. There's really not a lot of that in Los Angeles right now. It's formulaic. I wanted to break that mould for myself personally.

"I don't care if anything's a hit. I'm not with a record label. I don't expect it to even be on the radio. I appreciate that you realise how deeply rooted, in unexpected ways, this project is for me to set myself apart from old versions of myself. It's not like it's not me singing."