If you thought Ashley Cooke‘s debut album, shot in the dark, was long, you might be surprised to know it was initially slated to offer more than 24 tracks.
“We had recorded and planned to release even more songs than that, but I was kind of like, ‘All right, I feel like this is a lot.’ More than 24 songs feels like almost too much of a project,” Ashley tells ABC Audio. “And so I was like, ‘All right, I think we should just whittle it down to what songs are absolutely necessary, what I really want to have on the project.””
“My label, Big Loud, they’re known for long albums, like [with] Morgan Wallen and all of that, and so I feel like they’re not shy to put out a lot of music and a lot of content,” she says.
Turns out 24 tracks is what it took for the newcomer to make country music history.
“I’m really happy that my team believes in it, and they all love the songs, too. I think it’s, it was the longest debut album of a country artist to date, I believe is the statistic, which wasn’t the plan,” shares Ashley. “We didn’t plan that because of that stat. It just, like, happened. And then we were like, ‘Oh, this is, [we] didn’t know this.””
Ashley’s currently #5 and ascending the country charts with “your place.”
To catch her on Jordan Davis‘ ongoing Damn Good Time World Tour, visit ashleycooke.com.
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