Jess Coughs It Up on "Today"

You can't fault her for not giving it the old college try: Jessica Simpson, battling a throat injury and barely able to talk without a noticable croak, performed on the "Today" show this morning, almost in the exact same spot in Rockefeller Center that she was walking the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards last night.

The songstress wasn't exactly in full voice, but she gamely worked her way through two songs from her new album, "A Public Affair" on the chilly stage. She then told Matt Lauer that she did not in fact have laryngitis, but had suffered a burst blood vessel on her vocal cord. Jessica then revealed a homemade remedy given to her by her voice coach, of which Lauer took a sniff and identified, with mock shock, as "pure liquor."

Of course, it wasn't liquor at all -- just some form of cough syrup. But Jessica played along: "I'm gettin' a little buzz in the morning."