Ever heard of the phrase "Don't believe what you see on TV?" Well, sometimes you just have to believe because with Ashlee Simpson, what you see is what you get. Despite being one of the brightest rising stars among her peers with a hit TV show, a chart-topping single "Pieces Of Me," and a No. 1 album, Ashlee remains true to her personality -– candid, affable, and very real -– as evident on The Ashlee Simpson Show.

MTVAsia.com's Lennat Mak got on the red bus with 19-year-old Ashlee prior to her MTV MOTOALERT showcase on August 15 for a light-hearted chat. After her energetic pre-show ritual, which she revealed in the interview, Ashlee went on and rocked the Skate Park with her fans screaming in delight. What else did you expect from the "rock sister" really?

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Congratulations on your No. 1 album! Did you expect the phenomenal success?

Oh thank you! I've actually never, ever, ever expected the success of the record. So I'm very excited about it!

Is it true that you tattooed a star on your wrist to celebrate the No. 1 album?

Yeah, I just got this star on my wrist. I actually just did it with some of my girlfriends. We all got the same tattoo and it was just for fun. In a sense, it's to celebrate the No. 1 album (but) it's also something that I've wanted to do in a really long time. So I finally did it! I'm very excited. I keep on going to everybody, "Look at my new tattoo! Look at my new tattoo!" And they were like, "Okay, we get it. You have a new tattoo." But it's so exciting! [Laughs]

On your album you've written songs about Josh, Ryan, and Jessica. Songs of that nature tend to be quite revealing in a personal way. Where do you draw the line and determine how much is too much?

I think that the songs are revealing to a point. Everything is honest and I would never slander somebody or anything like that. My songs are how I dealt with this situation and how I got over this situation. It's not pointed at anybody by any means. With Josh, it's like my boyfriend that broke my heart and how I dealt with and got over it. It's not like, "Oh, I hate you!" It's more like, "Okay, it took me a long while to get over you and I did. I'm stronger now."

You collaborated with Benji Madden (Good Charlotte), Stan Frazier (Sugar Ray), and John Feldmann (Goldfinger). In a way, it's like a rock super group in play there. If you can choose any famous rock stars to be in your band, who would you pick?

Ohh, that's a great question. [Ponders for a while] Jimmy Eat World!

The whole band?

Yes! [Laughs] I'll take the whole band!

Have your real band found a name for themselves yet?

No, they haven't yet. They are like on a mission. It's so cute!

Do you guys have a dateline for the name or anything like that?

No, there's no deadline. They are just having fun with it and hopefully, they will find something.

You have a dance background but took a rock direction for your music. Is there ever a possibility that you will dance in your future videos?

Hmm, I don't know. Maybe I'll do a little bit of dancing. Maybe on "Lala" or something.

But "Lala" is such a rock song!

I know! It's such a rock song! [Laughs] But you know, I'll never have choreographed dance. I might dance around, but I'll never have choreographed dance again. Because once I stopped doing choreographed dance, I was like, "Okay. I want to whenever I do my own show, I want to have the freedom to do whatever I feel like doing." 'Coz everything is so like, "Okay, you'll be at this side of the stage at this time." And now, I can do anything I want. I really like that.

Do you have any plans to pick up any instruments?

Actually, my guitar player Ray just bought me a guitar. So he's gonna teach me! I'm excited! He's so good. It's gonna be fun!

Let's talk about your reality show. Is there a specific moment that you remember most fondly?

I actually saw the last episode and it was my favorite 'coz it reflected on everything that I've gone through -- from the beginning to the end of starting my career. It was just really emotional and exciting to watch.

It's like a huge chapter in your life, isn't it?

Yeah! It's like a full chapter. It's really cool!

So what do you think is the appeal of reality shows?

America, I know for sure, loves reality shows. And I'm hoping everybody else is really liking it. Reality shows are really cool but it's getting spread around and everything. But yeah, everybody likes The Ashlee Simpson Show because they say I come across as very real and I am. There's nothing hiding in the show.

Is it the second season confirmed?

I'm pretty sure we'll be doing the second season. I think it's going to be about me going overseas and everything.

Then they should be really here shooting right now!

I know! [Laughs]

You have a duet ("Little Drummer Boy") with Jessica for her upcoming Christmas album. How is it like singing with your sister?

It was fun! Her Christmas album is very traditional. So it's not rock, it's not pop -- it's very traditional. Jessica was like, "Do a duet with me. It's something that we can have in 30 years from now. I've got the chance to do one Christmas album and I wanted to do it with you." It's really cool. It's not my style of singing that I usually do, so it's really nice to go in and sing with Jessica on something I'm not used to.

How do you prepare for your live shows? For instance, you are going over to the Skate Park to perform after this interview. How do you prep yourself up?

I just hang out with my band and we do a little thing called the Ninja before we go out. It's like we give each other our energy. We rub our hands together and we do a ball of energy. Then we dance around and it's like "Go, Ninja, go Ninja, go!" [Laughs] It's a lot of fun. We just kinda jump around and we go crazy! We'll come back after doing that and give back all of the energy we have to each other. And we go on stage!

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