Ashley Monroe

Ashley Lauren Monroe (born September 10, 1986) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Monroe has released two solo singles, "Satisfied" and "I Don't Want To" (which featured Brooks & Dunn singer Ronnie Dunn), that reached the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at No. 43 and No. 37. Both singles were from her debut album, Satisfied, that was intended for a 2007 release but was pushed back. Monroe left Columbia Records' roster in late 2007 and Satisfied was finally released on May 19, 2009, under Sony Music. In June 2011, Monroe, Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley formed a band called Pistol Annies. Monroe's second studio album, Like a Rose, was released on March 5, 2013, followed by her third album, The Blade, released on July 24, 2015. Her fourth studio album, Sparrow, was released on April 20, 2018. Ashley Lauren Monroe was born on September 10, 1986, in Knoxville, Tennessee. to Larry and Kellye Monroe (née Dalton). She has one older brother, Chad. At age 11, she won a talent contest in Pigeon Forge where she sang "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart", and found steady work at a local theater. Her parents played songs by the Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd. After her father died from cancer when she was 13, Monroe started to write songs to help her deal with the loss, several of which appear on her fourth album, Sparrow. A few years later, she began to perform in small clubs in Nashville. After a year in Nashville, she gained a publishing deal as a songwriter, which then led to her signing to a record contract with Sony Records under John Grady, where she began to record her debut album, Satisfied. In 2006, the title track to the album was released as the first single to country radio. It failed to make the top 40 on the Hot Country Songs chart, however, a second single was released shortly after. "I Don't Want To" was released as the second single, which featured Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn. It initially did well on the charts, charting at No. 37. Still after two singles, the album hadn't been released. The label then decided not to release the album until Monroe charted a top 20 single. But, no follow-up singles were ever released. iTunes briefly had the album available in July 2006 but it was removed from the online store by mid-August. In late 2007, Monroe and Columbia Records parted ways, and Satisfied went without being released. In addition to her own material, she co-wrote Katrina Elam's 2007 single "Flat on the Floor" (which was also recorded by Carrie Underwood on her 2007 album Carnival Ride), as well as Jason Aldean's 2009 single, "The Truth", and Miranda Lambert's 2011 single, "Heart Like Mine." In April 2009, it was announced on Monroe's MySpace page that Satisfied would be released to digital retailers (iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.) on May 19, 2009. The single "I Don't Want To" was not included. In early 2012 Amazon.com and Spotify began streaming and selling an MP3 track called "Promised Land" that was originally recorded for, but left off of, the "Satisfied" album and now is listed as a Bonus Track. In late 2009 Monroe posted on her MySpace page that she was independently releasing a new self-titled EP. It would only be sold at the live shows. While she was touring with the Ten out of Tenn artists she realized she had nothing to sell to the fans who loved her sets and she wanted to give them something. This EP contains the tracks "Has Anybody Ever Told You", "Angeline", "Drink for Two", "And You" along with Trent Dabbs collaboration "Everything I Wanted". Ashley Monroe received a record deal with Warner Bros. Nashville and released her second studio album, Like a Rose on March 5, 2013. The album, produced by Vince Gill, was met with widespread critical acclaim. It features nine tracks co-written by the singer, one of which is a collaboration with Blake Shelton. "Like a Rose" (the title track) was released to radio as the album's first single on March 4, 2013. "Like A Rose" debuted at No. 86 at the European Top-100 Country Music Chart in late April 2013, as well as the duet with Blake Shelton "You Ain't Dolly (And You Ain't Porter)", which debuted at No. 73 and was the most played country music song in Europe according to the European CMA. On July 24, 2015, Monroe released her third studio album, The Blade, to critical acclaim. The album, which included collaborations with Miranda Lambert, Vince Gill and Alison Krauss, earned her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Album. On February 26, 2016, Monroe released a live album containing songs from her previous records and a cover of the Gram Parsons song "Hickory Wind". It was recorded at the Blue Room at Third Man Records live before an audience of 200 people on May 12, 2015. The recording was mixed live and recorded straight to acetate without the possibility for correcting any mistakes in post-production. After taking a break to give birth to her son, Monroe announced her new album, Sparrow which was produced by Dave Cobb and would be released on Warner Bros. Nashville on April 20, 2018. Alongside the announcement, "Hands On You", a track co-written with Jon Randall, was released. Sonically, Monroe references old fashioned country pop such as Glen Campbell, Shelby Lynne, Waylon Jennings and Elvis Presley as examples of the use of strings in country music, something she has included for the first time, and also mentions Elton John and Rick Hall albums as particular influences. Her fifth album, Rosegold, a sonically expanse project incorporating elements of pop, country, and hip hop music, was released on April 30, 2021. Monroe announced a cancer diagnosis a few months later and took a break from music in order to receive treatment, recover, and to spend time with her family. Monroe returned to recording music after her cancer went into remission with the release of her sixth album, Tennessee Lightning on August 8, 2025. On March 27, 2026, Monroe surprise released her seventh studio album, Dear Nashville, a concept album about her experiences in the country music industry. She produced the album herself alongside Luke Laird, and expressed that the project evolved from the writing of the lead track, "I Hate Nashville". As a member of the Pistol Annies, Monroe appeared on Blake Shelton's number one hit "Boys 'Round Here". Monroe was featured on Shelton's hit "Lonely Tonight", the second single from his album Bringing Back the Sunshine, and performed the song with him at the 2015 CMA Awards. The song reached number 1 on the US County Airplay Chart and number 2 on the Hot Country Songs Chart, and earned both artists ACM and CMA nominations as well as a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. In early 2008, Monroe began collaborating with singer-songwriter Trent Dabbs and creating several demo tracks that appeared on their individual MySpace pages, before releasing an EP under both of their names. It was simply entitled Ashley Monroe and Trent Dabbs. Other tracks have included "I'm Coming Over", "Laying Low [or I'm Staying Low]", "Now That I Know", "When the Day Is Done", "Everything I Wanted" and "Gone". The official EP track listing however contains only five of these songs: "I'm Coming Over", "Laying Low", "See Right Through" (the only track that never appeared on MySpace), "Now That I Know" and "Gone". Monroe can also be heard on backing vocals (as well as having writing credits) on Dabbs's song "Your Side Now". Monroe contributed backing vocals on Will Hoge's song "Goodnight/Goodbye" off his 2009 album The Wreckage. The song was released as a soft single in late 2009. Monroe can also be heard on Cory Morrow's 2007 album Ten Years on the track "More Than Perfect". Andrea Glass's 2008 release Stood Under Stars features her on two tracks: "The Price" and "North Wind". Monroe is also featured on the title track of Wade Bowen's If We Ever Make It Home album. Most recently, on a track she co-wrote with Miranda Lambert ("Me and Your Cigarettes" found