Ashley Cooke’s Journey From College to Country Music

Before lighting up Nashville stages, Ashley Cooke was sprinting down a very different path as a Corporate Communications major. During her childhood, she spent years hopping from place to place, setting the stage for a story that was anything but predictable. Yet somewhere between the books and the moving boxes, Cooke found her true calling: country music. Her journey from college to music is proof that sometimes the detour turns out to be the main road.

Cooke was involved in different sports, including volleyball, track, horseback riding, and gymnastics during her childhood. Due to her father’s corporate job, she lived in 19 different homes before age 18. During all the moves, music became her constant companion. She developed a passion for music at age 10 and began writing songs at age 11 to cope.

The “Never Til Now” singer attended Belmont University in Nashville and decided to focus on academic pursuits rather than becoming an athlete. She changed majors three times before settling on her final choice of Corporate Communications with a minor in Marketing. Her experience as a college student was mostly positive, in part thanks to her professors and one of her favorite college memories is being a Phi Mu chapter member and her participation in Greek Sing to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

During her senior year at Belmont, Cooke entered a country music showcase on a whim, not knowing it would be a pivotal moment in her life. The competition, which produced winners like Brad Paisley and Florida Georgia Line, became her career-launching platform, even if she was not a music major, making her victory even more meant to be. Winning the competition launched her full-time pursuit of artistry, and thus marked her transition from academics to a music career.

Cooke started as an independent artist before signing a record deal. Her debut project, “Already Drank That Beer,” gained traction on streaming and, by that time, she already had a steady social media following. She signed a co-venture record deal with Big Loud Records and Back Blocks Music in March 2022, joining the likes of Morgan Wallen, HARDY, and Lauren Alaina.

Cooke’s transformation from a college student to a successful country music artist proves that no matter how you plan for it, if life’s got another plan for you, it will happen. Her journey of embracing change and willingness to take risks using unexpected circumstances as opportunities brought her to where she was meant to be.