Jessica Simpson squeaks out

Jessica Simpson, just one week and two nixed TV appearances removed from receiving physician's orders to rest her voice, went on the Today show Friday to perform the second single from her new album, A Public Affair.

She may have been better off following the good doctor's advice.

"My voice is shot," she told anchor Matt Lauer. "I don't know if I had a screaming, crying or coughing attack, or a sneeze or what."

The songbird, who was ordered to keep mum earlier this week after a busted blood vessel bruised her vocal cords, began her two-song morning show set with "I Belong to Me," the follow-up track to her debut single, "A Public Affair."

As Simpson performances go, it got the job done.

Between songs, Simpson attempted to soothe her pipes with a concoction that Lauer described as "gnarly looking."

Unfortunately, it didn't quite do the trick. Despite sounding fairly scratchy during her opening number, Simpson gamely made a go of straining through a second song, "With You."

Toward the ditty's end, when the former reality star was due to hit a high note, her voice cracked, causing her to briefly pause midsong.

"All right, I tried," she said, before starting up again to finish the tune.

While the timing of Simpson's medico-issued gag order couldn't be worse, she appears to have taken it in stride, telling Lauer her first reaction after learning of the vocal damage was "Oh, dang it!"

The diagnosis came as Nick Lachey's ex was due to kick off a wave of publicity for her new album, which was released on Tuesday.

She canceled a scheduled appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman earlier this week, only to appear on MTV's Total Request Live Tuesday. She whispered her way through an interview and autographed CDs for the audience but ultimately bowed out of singing.

"It doesn't really sound like Jessica," the pop star said of herself on TRL. "I'm so sad--I sound like a donkey."

She made another promotional pit stop Thursday night, appearing as a presenter on MTV's Video Music Awards, for which she croaked and flubbed her way through the solo banter, awarding the Pussycat Dolls with the prize for Best Dance Video.

(Proving her luck hasn't been all bad, she won a car in a celebrity raffle during the pre-VMA activities. She has also reportedly hooked up with John Mayer.)

"The VMAs were a blast," she said on Today, not that she stayed long to enjoy them. "I was only there for a little bit."

Following her morning performance, Simpson will likely want to give her voice more of a rest before rejoining the promotional circuit--something she doesn't have much time to do.

The Dukes of Hazzard star is tapped to be the first guest under Rosie O'Donnell's View purview Tuesday.

Simpson has also promised to make good on her canceled TV appearances later this fall.