Ashley Cooke Archives - Angela McLean

We all have those artists and songs we hear that strike the right chord and make us fall in love at first listen. They’re the reason we refresh social media pages, tour schedules, and Spotify profiles — because we can’t miss a single release. This is Love at First Listen — a new series introducing you to the emerging, and established, artists with new music guaranteed to upgrade your playlist.

Canadian country singer Alli Walker is inviting fans to come along the journey of growing up, healing, and thriving with the release of her sophomore album, aptly titled ‘Growing Up.’ The eight-track project boasts catchy, weekend-ready jams like “Red Wine or Whiskey” and “Maybe I’m Still Drunk” and leans into more vulnerable moments on songs like the album’s title track.

In the past few months leading up to its release, Alli has hit multiple milestones in her career, including being named Spotify’s Radar Artist on the Horizon and being nominated for the second time at the CMAOntario Awards in the Rising Star category. This summer, you can catch Alli dominating the stage at Boots and Hearts and her hometown Cavendish Beach Music Festival with artists like Chris Stapleton, Madeline Merlo, and Tim McGraw (who she’s also manifesting to meet!).

In this edition of Love at First Listen, Alli talks all things growing up, trusting her TikTok followers, and living in the moment.

It’s New Music Friday and we’re celebrating your new album and single of the same name, ‘Growing Up.’ How are you feeling?

It’s very exciting. This is my first full project since 2019. I’m on my phone 24/7 looking at what’s going on, all these Instagram story tags, and everything like that. It’s nice to see the growth of me as an artist and the music, and it’s really cool to see my face on the cover of different playlists that I only ever dreamt of being on. I’m very grateful.

Your first album was called ‘The Basement Sessions: What I’ve Learned So Far,’ and ‘Growing Up’ represents another set of lessons learned. How have you grown personally and professionally since 2019, and how is it reflected in this album?

My first album was very much what I was going through in my 20s — navigating my mental health, comparing myself to everybody on social media, wondering if I should be doing this music thing because it’s really hard, and learning to love myself. I was very mindful about writing what’s going on in my life and in my head in the moment. ‘Growing Up’ is a continuation of that. I added a few fun songs because I’m enjoying life more now and I’m not so in my head. But there are also songs like “Growing Up” about the aspect of growing up where I didn’t realize it was going to be this way — where I’ve been away from my parents, and my parents are getting older, and I just realize how much time I’ve missed while I’ve been away chasing this crazy dream. No matter what, I’m always going to be writing about what’s actually going on in my life, and I’m glad I stuck with that for this album.

Each song on the album was released separately as a single, starting with “Country Music” in 2021. How did you select the final tracklist?

I find a lot of people don’t listen to full albums anymore unless you’re a massive artist. So, as an independent artist, I wanted to make sure each song had its own life because each song has its own meaning. I’m also very visual, so I wanted to have a music video for every single. I was so glad to have something where people can watch and wonder and see how the song comes to life. I wanted to put it all together in album form at the end, and when I was deciding the order I just did what felt right.

Your TikTok followers helped you decide which songs to record for the album. Was there a song you teased where the response from fans really caught you by surprise?

I feel like as an artist you think, “This one’s going to do really well,” or the music industry tells you, “This is your hit,” and it’s always the opposite! Although I loved “Red Wine or Whiskey” and I thought people would love it, I didn’t realize it would pop off. TikTok is so great for music fans because people listen with sound and they actually click the link in your bio and go stream your songs, so with that one I saw it did well on TikTok and then on Spotify and Apple Music too.

On “Country Music,” you reference several country classics, including Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine” and “What Hurts the Most” by Rascal Flatts. Were you keeping track of the different songs you wanted to tie in or did they all come to you at once?

When I was able to get back to in-person sessions, I had my two co-writers and friends, Brian John Harwood and Dustin Bird, come over for a few weekends to work on the album. I really wanted to write a song about country music and how I grew up on it and how much I love it, but I didn’t want it to just say, “I love country music.” So, I thought we could make it really difficult on ourselves and weave together all of the songs that we grew up on. We pulled up Spotify, sorted through almost 90 playlists, and picked songs that meant something special to us. It really was just an in the moment thing and we pulled it all together really well.

“Sand in My Boots” is the female perspective of a Morgan Wallen track. What inspired you to respond to Morgan’s song and story?

The same day Morgan put his out, my husband and I wrote the female version, did a demo recording, and popped it up on TikTok. I don’t think I really had any followers at that time, but it blew up because people love Morgan but they were also so invested in the storyline. There was so much chatter in the comments where it was like, well, you know, she left him! I had messages from people for an entire year telling me to record this song and put it out. I didn’t own any rights to the song, so there was a whole process of getting the legal side of things sorted. I’m glad fans stayed invested and finally have it because it’s one of my favourites.

**You’ve described ‘Growing Up’ as your autobiography. Can you share some of the country artists you’ve loved at first listen who inspire you with their own autobiographical songwriting?**

There are so many. I really love Megan Moroney. She’s so honest and brutal, and she gives me Kacey Musgraves or Maren Morris vibes. Ashley Cooke, love her. Her voice is just so soft and easy to listen to. I also just want to be friends with her. Bailey Zimmerman, too. These are all TikTok people! I feel like I spend all my time on there.

How are you celebrating the release of ‘Growing Up’?

I never spend time celebrating and always just move on to the next thing, so this time I wanted to actually live in the moment and enjoy it. I woke up on release day and my parents and my husband had big “congratulations” balloons on the wall. I also love champagne and I’ve been waiting for years to have it when I had a big moment to celebrate. So, we got champagne and then went to The Keg for dinner, which is my favourite restaurant. In a week, I’ll be going right back to Nashville to record new music and see people on the road soon.

Do you have a favourite song from the album that you’re looking forward to performing?

I think “Country Music” because even if you have never heard the song before, the tag of it — “I grew up on country music” — is so easy to remember. I usually teach it to people beforehand and then we all sing it together at the end of each chorus, so that’s always my favourite one to play.

[Artists to Watch] Love at First Listen with Ashley Cooke

January 30, 2023 No Comments

Ask country artist Ashley Cooke how the last 12 months have been and she’ll tell you “it’s been a year.” Not only is that the title of her latest smash single, it’s also an accurate reflection of a non-stop year filled with a whole career’s worth of music milestones. Playing more than 100 shows across venues like Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ole Opry, signing a record deal, amassing more than 20 million streams of her hit song “Never Til Now” with Brett Young (not to mention performing it on The Bachelorette!), and joining CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2023, it’s no wonder Ashley has built such a fast-growing and fiercely loyal following.

Ashley has joined her friends The Reklaws and Griffen Palmer for a string of Canadian tour stops, including a show at Toronto’s HISTORY. Backstage just hours before her set, I sat down with the rising country star to break down her whirlwind year, preview what’s ahead (including a just-announced tour with Luke Bryan this summer) and steal her self-care secrets while on the road.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ASHLEY COOKE (@theashleycooke)

Last year marked a return to touring for a lot of artists, yourself included. How has it felt being back on the road with Cole Swindell, The Reklaws, and soon Brett Young and Luke Bryan?

It’s so much fun. I’m working on my debut album and we’re teasing some songs for the first time, so it’s been fun to see people’s reactions. These are my first shows ever outside of the States and I thought there was no way anyone would know who I am, but people are singing along to every single word. It’s great to get to see a whole new fan base, and I’m excited for what’s to come.

Do you have any tour bus must-haves that help you protect your peace—and your voice—while on the road?

Throat coat tea is my saviour, but a weird thing I love is essential oils. My voice coach gave me this blend that I describe as Icy Hot for your throat. You rub some in your palm, breathe it deep into your chest, and it really opens your throat. I can’t play a show without it because it makes me feel so awake mentally but also really makes my throat feel relaxed and ready to sing.

At what point did Brett hop on “Never Til Now” and what unique vibe do you think he brings to the single?

I wrote the song as a manifestation for the kind of love that I want to have at some point down the road. I put it out as a solo version still independent, posted it on social media, and it went viral. My producer and I were then talking about how to bring some new life to it. I’ve always heard this song as a potential duet because it tells a story so deeply and of course there’s two people in a relationship. So, my producer called Brett and he said, I love this song, please let me do it. I think he was the perfect voice for the song, and he has been the best mentor too having been in the industry for so long.

Like many creatives, you grew your audience over the pandemic with incredible covers and original music on TikTok. What advice would you give to aspiring artists in this age of social media?

I’ll find myself sitting after I make a video and overthinking it like, oh, that one note sounds weird, or my face looks weird. I have to remind myself nobody gives a sh-t. For example, with that first “Never Til Now” video that went viral, I had no expectations. It was a random Monday in my kitchen and I decided to do a “maintenance video” as I call it—like just post a video to post a video kind of thing. Two-point-something million views later, you just never know what can happen. I think I had to get rid of the word “maintenance” in my head. Every video is important, and every video is cool. Don’t think too much about it; just post it.

My manager actually found me and reached out to me on TikTok. The two videos she watched were two cover songs that I debated even posting, and they got sent to her because it was artists that she worked with. So, because of that, my entire team is now my team.

For fans who will be seeing you for the first time this year, how would you describe your live show?

In 25 minutes, I hope people can really get to know me and the full scope of what I do and my sounds and influences without me having to blatantly say it. I’ve been told a lot of times that people who watch my show feel like they know me or like they’re my friend, and I just hope people can continue to feel that way regardless of what happens and where I go in my career.

Country artist Ashley Cooke in Toronto — *Ashley Cooke photographed January 27, 2023 at HISTORY in Toronto.*

Do you have a favourite song to bring to life on stage?

We just added “it’s been a year” into the set. I put it out right before New Year’s and it was one of the top 10 most used songs on Instagram, which is wild. I’m used to running around the stage and this is the first time that I’m on a mic stand without a guitar, so it’s a really empowering, cool moment.

**This series is called Love at First Listen, so please shout out any of your country peers who you’ve loved at first listen!**

One of my labelmates and friends, MacKenzie Porter, is unreal. Josh Ross is another one of my best friends. He has some really good songs. “First Taste of Gone” — big fan of that one. So many great people come to mind… The Reklaws (obviously) and Shania Twain were the first Canadian artists I was obsessed with!

Love at First Listen with Alli Walker