Simpson gives it another try

Pop singer Ashlee Simpson appeared on NBC again Monday night and, mocking her well-publicized mishap on this past “Saturday Night Live,” shouted “Wrong song!” as her band began playing.

Last weekend, Simpson walked off the “SNL” stage mid-song when a glitch revealed that she was using a prerecorded vocal track for a performance presented as a live rendition. At the end of the show the singer blamed her band for playing the wrong song. But her manager subsequently conceded that she was using a “guide vocal” to augment her voice because of a health issue.

The episode revived a familiar debate about pop music artifice and, for Simpson, a harsh questioning of her abilities. On Monday night, the 20-year-old performed on the same network’s Radio Music Awards and by all accounts her number was live and solo.