Ashlie Amber is challenging herself to not only make her mark on country music but to also normalize her milestones as a woman of color. Her goal? To be a leading force as the first black female country artist to dominate the Top 40. Her dream? To abolish the stigma that this feat was something no one saw coming. For Ashlie Amber, this isn’t just about breaking records; it’s about changing the course of history so that her success will not be an anomaly.
“I’m not a gimmick,” Amber asserts, “and my brand isn’t a sales piece. I didn’t choose country music to elicit some kind of shock value; I’m a country artist because that’s who I am at my core. I’m also a Black woman, and those two facts shouldn’t be such a rare combination.”
The release of Ashlie Amber’s single “Those Nights” reminds us that the scope of country music hasn’t evolved, but rather, its roots have been uncovered. A collaboration with Universal songwriter Morgan Matthews— who recently celebrated a Billboard #1 as the producer of Alicia Keys and Miguel’s “Show Me Love” — “Those Nights” proves that country, soul and R&B have always been cut from the same cloth. The track also serves as the first self-penned release of Ashlie’s career, along with the launch of her publishing company Diva Music Group.
Ashlie Amber anticipates 2021 being a year full of ‘firsts’, and with every step forward, she’s blazing a trail for both aspiring women of country and budding women of color to follow. Merely speaking her piece isn’t enough; she wants the charts to reflect it, and she’s not alone in her plight.
Southern soul frontrunner and Apple Music’s Color Me Country host Rissi Palmer spotlighted Amber in her own handpicked Class of 2021, praising her “angelic voice, strong work ethic and unapologetic drive to succeed.” Rissi went as far as to proclaim, “there is absolutely no reason why Ashlie Amber shouldn’t be a huge star, period.”
“Growing up, my hometown was one of the most undiversified towns in America,” Ashlie jokes. “I wouldn’t trade that for anything. In a neighborhood with one black family, in a school system with one afro, I never tried to fit in or even break the mold; I decided to become my own mold instead. At the end of the day, I want my personal history to prove that country music knows no bounds. If it did, I wouldn’t be here.”
About Ashlie Amber
There are artists who perform, but Ashlie Amber astonishes; effortlessly injecting country music with unapologetically vivid bravado, she’s shattering derivatives and demolishing partitions. Praised by Sounds Like Nashville as one of 2021’s Artists to Watch, Ashlie Amber is an enigma to some, but magnetic to all. For Ashlie, dreams and goals are one and the same, and hers is to emerge as one of the first black females to ever dominate country’s Top 40 and beyond. Having already established a global fan base with her previous singles “Almost Love,” “My Revenge,” and “Fight With You,” 2021 poses to be Ashlie Amber’s fiercest year to date. With the unveiling of her February 26 single “Those Nights,” Ashlie Amber will celebrate the first self-penned release of her career, along with the launch of her publishing company Diva Music Group. At the pinnacle of her artistry, Ashlie Amber has founded the unconventional, unstoppable sub-genre Country Vogue; she is her music, and this is only the beginning.