Ashe (singer)


Ashlyn Rae Willson, known as Ashe, is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2019 single "Moral of the Story", which was featured in the Netflix film and was produced by Noah Conrad with additional production from Finneas O'Connell. Ashe also co-wrote Demi Lovato's 2017 single "You Don't Do It for Me Anymore" and has toured with Louis The Child, Lauv and Whethan. She was nominated for a Juno Award for her gold-certified single "Let You Get Away" with Shaun Frank.

Early life

Ashlyn Rae Willson was born on April 24, 1993 and raised in a conservative Christian household in San Jose. She began attending piano and vocal lessons at the age of 8. Ashe claims that she grew up listening only to Christian radio and that she thanks her grandfather for introducing her to music from names like Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Jefferson Airplane. She attended Berklee College of Music and graduated with a major in contemporary writing and production in 2015.

Career

2015–2017: Early career

Ashe started out by singing demos in Nashville before catching the attention of Swedish deep house producer Ben Phipps, who asked her to sing on his track "Sleep Alone" in 2015. Over the next two years, Ashe specialized in appearing on a number of dance and house tracks from names like Louis the Child and Whethan. Her 2016 single "Can't Hide" with Whethan was her fifth No. 2 on both the US and Global Spotify Viral 50 charts. Her 2017 single "Let You Get Away" with Canadian DJ Shaun Frank was nominated for Dance Recording of the Year at the 2017 Juno Awards and was certified gold in Canada in 2019. Ashe assisted Demi Lovato in composing her 2017 single "You Don't Do It For Me Any More" from her US platinum-certified album Tell Me You Love Me. Between October 2017 and January 2018, Ashe embarked on tours with Louis the Child, Lauv, and Whethan. After signing to Mom + Pop independent label, she released her debut single "Used to It" in June 2017 and "Girl Who Cried Wolf" in November 2017. "Used to It" was her second single to reach No. 1 on the Global Spotify Viral 50 chart. Ashe was placed alongside Billie Eilish and Lewis Capaldi on Vevo's list of Artists to Watch in 2018. Throughout April 2017, Ashe supported The Chainsmokers during their Memories Do Not Open Tour and performed onstage with Big Gigantic during Coachella Festival 2017.

2018–present: Solo debut

By the time Ashe had released her debut EP The Rabbit Hole in June 2018, she had clocked over 200 million accumulative streams and nine No. 1 songs on Hype Machine. The EP was described as "a versatile and compelling seven-track affair." Ashe supported Quinn XCII on his From Michigan with Love World Tour, during which she also released her single "Moral of the Story".
On April 5, 2019, Ashe released the four-track EP, Moral of the Story: Chapter 1, which was entirely produced by Finneas O'Connell. Finneas also produced three of the four tracks on her sequel EP, Moral of the Story: Chapter 2.
In February 2020, the single "Moral of the Story" was used in the Netflix teen romcom which caused the song to reach #2 on both the Global and US Spotify Viral 50 chart, and reach over 12 million streams on the platform. Ashe made her debut chart appearance on both the Billboard Hot 100 with "Moral of the Story" and the Billboard 200 with Moral of the Story: Chapter 1. Ashe has also recently released a duet of Moral of the Story featuring Niall Horan. As of June 2020, the single has been used in over 901,400 videos on the online platform TikTok.

Artistry

She claims that jazz music, Diane Keaton and Carole King are major influences and inspirations to her own music. Ashe put an "e" on her stagename to pay homage to Carole King. Artists she admires are Stevie Nicks, King, John Mayer, Justin Vernon and Bon Iver.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Songwriting credits