One reviewer noted that, unlike Jessica's music, Autobiography "relies on glitzy guitars and big power-pop riffs".
[9] On her reality show, Simpson emphasized that she did not want to make her music like pop singers such as her sister or Hilary Duff; instead, she has cited musicians such as Chrissie Hynde and Joan Jett as influences.
"[11] In an extensive list of thank-yous in the album's liner notes, Simpson includes Benji and Joel Madden of the band Good Charlotte, with whom she worked on the song "Harder Everyday", which was released as an international bonus track.
The Village Voice review described the song as "wrist-pumping Joan Jett rock candy",[13] but Stylus labelled the track "an age-old trope and a boring one at that".
"Pieces of Me", a song about the comfort and happiness Simpson found in her relationship with Ryan Cabrera,[6] has been characterised as a soft rock ballad with "stringy guitar riffs".
[14] "Shadow", described by People magazine as the "most personal song" on the album,[15] is a slower tune in which Simpson recounts playing a lesser role to her sister when she was younger, but eventually finding her own identity.
"Better Off", which has been described as a "bubbly" song[15] and as a "chunk of pop/rock goodness",[18] and "Love Me For Me", which has been called "Joan-Jett-esque"[15] and which Simpson has said is about "self-appreciation"[19] both deal with contradictory feelings about relationships.
[18] "Unreachable" combines a piano line and vintage Chamberlin sounds with lyrics dealing with regrets about rushing into a relationship.
Rolling Stone called it "mundane...with a predictable script", and at one point described Simpson's singing as "wailing in lieu of hitting notes".
[27] In its review, the BBC said that "half the album ... feels self-indulgent and lacks substance", but also said that "in-between the formulaic, innocuous songs are a smattering of catchy pop-rock tracks.
[30] A writer for Stylus magazine commented that "after spending more than forty minutes with Ashlee, I feel like I don’t know her any better than I did beforehand...[and] for a record with the name Autobiography, it seems like no bigger criticism could be leveled.
"[31] The album and singles received considerable promotion in the US—where they sold the most copies—and other countries, and much of this focused on contrasting her with Jessica by highlighting her more rock-oriented image.
[33] Simpson said that she initially did not want to do the reality show but that her father persuaded her to do it because it would be about the production of her album: "...I thought that was kind of cool.
[10] Geoff Mayfield, Billboard's director of charts, pointed to a combination of factors in explaining Simpson's success with Autobiography.
He described Simpson as the "right thing at the right time" and said: "The MTV show is a huge catalyst, radio jumped all over the song, and her famous sister opened the door.
Autobiography drew 2.66 million requested streams during the time period, breaking a record previously held by Britney Spears' 2003 album In the Zone.
According to Simpson's publicists, her father and manager decided to use a vocal guide track because of problems she was having with her voice, beginning earlier in the day, that were caused by acid reflux.
[40][41] The song "Shadow" was the album's second US single; it reached a peak of number 57 on the Hot 100,[41] failing to match the success of "Pieces of Me".
Geffen President Jordan Schur said of Simpson's success: "It's unheard of in this business—even for a superstar—to sell this number of records," and emphasized her relative obscurity until not long before the album's release.
"[10] In Brazil the single "Pieces of Me" was the theme of the soap opera "America" and made huge success selling about 15,000 copies of the album in the country.