[1][2][3] AllMusic has noted that Simpson is "perhaps the only pop star to make the convincing transition from fresh-faced boy bander to authentic hard rock frontman".

Between Busted, Fightstar and his solo projects, he has sold over five million records worldwide, winning two Brit Awards and being nominated for two Kerrang!

[9] Simpson's musical maternal heritage dates back to Sir William Sterndale Bennett, who was a notable 19th century English pianist, conductor, and composer.

[12] Simpson first gained fame with pop rock/pop punk act Busted as a result of responding to an advertisement placed by Matt Willis and James Bourne in NME magazine in 2001.

On 10 November 2015 Busted announced they would be reforming with Simpson back in the original line-up and would embark on an 18 date arena tour around the UK and Ireland.

[18][19] Despite the huge success of Busted, Simpson began to grow increasingly discontented with the pop star lifestyle and the music he was performing.

For over a year he would lead a secret "double life": by night he would attend rehearsal sessions with his new band after completing obligated media work and concert performances with Busted.

[15] Simpson then funded and put together a compilation album called The Suffolk Explosion, which was released through his own label Sandwich Leg Records.

It showcased a number of unsigned bands from Charlie's home county of Suffolk, including Brigade and Prego, as well as a solo acoustic track written by him called "Carry Her".

Grand Unification was released on 13 March 2006, and further proved the initial cynics wrong by receiving widespread positive reviews.

[citation needed] On 6 November 2023, Fightstar announced they would be returning for a headline show at Wembley Arena to mark the band's twenty year anniversary.

[30] Simpson went into the studio in June 2010 to start recording his full-length debut album with producer Danton Supple, whose previous work includes Coldplay and The Cure.

The album was funded through PledgeMusic and as one of the main incentives for the campaign, fans received an EP called When We Were Lions on Christmas Day 2010.

On 2 February 2013, it was reported that Simpson had finished writing the follow-up to his 2011 solo debut 'Young Pilgrim' and he would be heading into the studio with producer Steve Osbourne (U2/Placebo) to start recording in early March.

The song was recorded as part of the show in which Charlie travelled to Namibia to spend time living and playing music with the San people.

After the show aired, an edit was made to act as a music video for the song and was uploaded to Facebook, the track has since gone viral and has been viewed over 14,000,000 times.

Outside of his main musical activities, Simpson also has frequently collaborated with other musicians, which include This Is Menace, Gunship (the side project of his Fightstar bandmates, Alex Westaway and Dan Haigh) as well as indie band, The Travis Waltons.

[citation needed] In 2023, Simpson won the fourth series of The Masked Singer as "Rhino", making him the first male winner in the UK.

[38] In 2024, Simpson was cast as The Sung Thoughts of the Journalist in The Spirit of Man tour of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.

[40] During a show on his 2015 UK Tour at London's Islington Assembly Hall,[citation needed] Simpson announced that he and his wife were expecting their first child together.