Good news and bad news for Jessica Simpson. The good news is she's probably going to have plenty of tear-jerking material for her next round of country ditties. The bad news is the emotional songs may come from firsthand experience.

Seems the starlet's return to the stage Saturday night at the Country Thunder festival in Twin Lakes, Wis., seriously divided the twang-loving crowd, as some greeted her crossover attempt with applause and others with boos, according to the Kenosha News.

"I don't know what your perception is of Jessica Simpson or what tabloid you buy, but I just want you to know that I'm just a girl from Texas," she told the audience. "I'm just like you. I'm doing what I love and dating a boy."

Jessica's pooch Daisy looks like she's had enough of hearing about just how awesome Tony Romo is as they pose backstage at Country Thunder.

That boy, of course, is her Dallas Cowboys quarterback beau Tony Romo, who was on hand to support Simpson as she made her country concert debut. For his efforts, Romo received a shout-out from his romantically indiscreet girlfriend.

"Tonight there's this guy here, he throws a football and he's really good at it," teased a cowboy-booted, denim short-shorted and, for once, judiciously made-up Jess as she introduced the song "You're My Sunday" (via People). "He's my better tomorrow and I wrote this song for him."

She also reportedly turned on the waterworks when she revealed how her tabloid-documented trials and tribulations have improved her outlook.

"This is my first time being on stage in three years," she tearfully admitted. "Coming out tonight makes me extremely emotional. I'm so thankful for all of the personal struggles and all of the tabloids and all of the people that talk [bleep]. I'm so happy I went through that because it makes life so much more beautiful."

Simpson belted out several songs from her upcoming album "Do You Know?," which is set for release on Sept. 9, including her well-received single "Come on Over," along with such crowd-pleasers as Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" and Shania Twain's "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?"

There were also some less country-fied tunes, like "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and her pop hit "With You."

Reaction to her performance ranged from the gushing to succinctly dismissive, says the paper, which quotes one approving audience member as saying, "I actually like her country songs better. She has a great voice, plus, she's adorable," and another as grumbling, "It's crap. She doesn't belong here."

Even if Jessica's country music efforts fail to ignite, she still has her beauty and fashion empire to fall back on (her shoe collection reportedly had sales of $200 million-plus in 2007).

Next month will see the release of "Fancy," her new fragrance, which the promo copy bills as being "inspired by the many layers" of her "award-winning talent, beauty and captivating personality," all of which apparently smell of gardenia, pear, apricot nectar, jasmine, vanilla and toasted almonds.

Simpson is shilling for the "sensual" scent in a series of print ads that show her reclined in bed with a silk sheet casually draped up to her cleavage, her shoulders and one leg bare and a come-hither-like look in her eyes.