The Ashlee Simpson Show › Ep. 205

Ashlee has a lot on her plate at the moment: She's filming a movie, getting ready for the Billboard Awards, doing shows and talking to reporters. On top of all that, her relationship with Ryan Cabrera is beginning to hit some roadblocks.

When Ryan and Ashlee are together, things are great. He takes some time out to visit her on the set of her new movie "Wannabe," and they get to hang out while she waits to film her scenes. This is the biggest role Ashlee has ever had in a film, and the experience is turning out to be great. She is happy to focus on her acting rather than her music for a while.

Ryan can only stay on set for a few days, and once he's back on the road, trouble begins to surface. Ashlee complains to her friends that Ryan never calls, and she doesn't understand why he can't even take five minutes out of his schedule to let her know he's thinking of her. Ashlee is thinking about ending the relationship if things continue this way.

Next up for Ashlee is a show for AOL Live, which will be her first hour-long headlining gig. The show goes well, and her parents cheer her on from the audience. On the car-ride home, Ryan calls, but immediately puts her on hold. In Ashlee's opinion, the only thing worse than Ryan not calling her is being put on hold. This leads to another fight. Things are not going well.

The next day is Ashlee's day off, but she still finds herself hard at work doing phone interviews. The first few are pretty standard, but of course they have to ask about the infamous "SNL" incident. Ashlee hates talking about it, but knows she will look bad if she doesn't. One of the interviewers also mentions how Ryan stood up for her in a previous interview and tells her she's got a true friend in him.

Ashlee gets a five minute break and takes the opportunity to call Ryan. She tells him she just wanted to show how easy it is to take time out of a busy schedule to call, and hints that he should be doing the same. Up next is a round of international interviews. The questions they ask are far from typical, ranging from "Do you believe in aliens?" to "Have you ever held a live fish?" to "Do you enjoy sneezing?"

The Billboard Awards are approaching, and to get her into the award-show frame of mind, Ashlee's roommate Stephanie makes her an award out of tinfoil. Her mother then brings over two real awards that she recently won to add to the mantel. Along with a Teen People Award is the Nacho Day Award, a lifelike statue of a dish of nachos given by Taco Bell. Then it's off to Vegas for the show, where Ashlee is nominated for New Female Artist of the Year. Although she has not been nominated for a Grammy, her mother tells her that the Billboards are based on numbers, and are the ones that really matter.

As she's getting ready for the show, the phone rings. Ryan has decided to give Ashlee a call during his only free time that day, which turns out to be during a shower. Ashlee is happy and thinks that maybe Ryan is beginning to turn things around.

Finally the show begins and the big moment arrives: The winner for New Female Artist of the Year is... Ashlee Simpson! Ashlee's acceptance speech includes a rendition of her now world-famous "Texas Jig." For Ashlee, this award is the best possible way to end a tumultuous year of ups and downs.