Kassi Ashton

Kassi Ashton fuses her countryside origins with touches of raw soul and expansive rock, yielding a singular and unconventional fusion audible on her opening 2018 single "California, Missouri," whose title also denotes her birthplace.

Raised there as Kassi Meisenheimer, she absorbed country music while taking part in musical theater, dance, and beauty pageants. During her teenage years, the contemporary pop sounds of Adele and Amy Winehouse captured her interest, heightening her drive to turn professional. Ashton began writing songs at age 15; after high school she moved to Nashville and enrolled at Belmont University's School of Music.

Her path was interrupted in 2014 by a thyroid cancer diagnosis. Following successful treatment she resumed performing. In 2016 she captured the university's annual Country Music Showcase and completed an internship at Carnival Music. After signing a representation deal with Creative Nation for publishing and management, Ashton joined UMG Nashville/Interscope in December 2017. "California, Missouri"—a song she co-wrote with Shane McAnally and Luke Laird—appeared soon afterward in January 2018.

"Taxidermy" and "Violins" both surfaced in 2018, as did "Drop Top," a track on Keith Urban's Graffiti U that featured Ashton. The following year she issued the plaintive ballad "Pretty Shiny Things" and the glitzy pop of "Field Party." Ashton released three singles in 2020: the bluesy slow-burner "Hopeless," the electro-gloss of "Black Motorcycle," and the seasonal "Hard Candy Christmas."

"Heavyweight," a song she co-wrote with Luke Laird and Hillary Lindsey, arrived in 2021. Two singles—the R&B-inflected "Dates in Pickup Trucks" and "I Don't Go Back"—appeared in 2022, while 2023 brought a moody cover of Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" and "Drive You Out of My Mind," an insistent pop-leaning single that earned significant streams. Early in 2024 she released "Called Crazy," which emphasized her rock roots.