Ashlie Amber released her latest single called “Those Nights” on February 26 and it has had more than 90,000 plays on Spotify. The song was added on three editorial playlists including Wild Country, New Music Nashville and Fresh Finds on Spotify. An acoustic version of the song was released on Friday (April 23), which was also Amber’s birthday.
Described as a sexier song, Amber said “Those Nights” was inspired by an incredible relationship that she had when she she lived in Washington, DC for a few years. “Him and I are still really good friends. We parted on great terms,” she said, adding that she had big dreams and she needed to go fight for them. She said she wanted to celebrate their relationship and the amazing moments that they did have together. Amber also said she hopes that the song will inspire other people to have those moments and celebrate them, whether it’s a new relationship or whether they are re-sparking one of those nights after 15 years. “I think it is important that we all remember why we are with our partner and that we laugh and we have fun…,” she said.
Another thing that is significant for Amber about this song is the fact that “Those Nights” is her first country single she has written. “I was really nervous releasing this song because it was my first self-penned release…,” she said, adding that she wasn’t sure if people would like or be able to relate to her writing. The song has received a positive response and she said that she will be releasing more self-penned songs in the future including her next single, which will be released next month.
Amber said she she used to write a lot, explaining that people used to call her the hook queen because she would write the choruses and hooks for the local rappers when she lived in Colorado. She said that’s not what she wanted to do. She said she was signed to an independent label when she was 19 and she wanted to do country music at that time. “Nobody just really wanted to accept or really understand why this curvy, big-haired, black girl wanted to do country music,” she said.
When she was younger, Amber did a lot of musical theater, appearing in productions of shows like The Color Purple, Hair, A Christmas Carol and Rent. “It became a huge part of my life and a huge part of my background,” she said, adding that she always wanted to do her own music and be her own artist. She said being in musical theater showed her a different side of performing. “It taught me how to perform,” she said, adding that she learned how to own the stage.
Amber met her manager and 2017 and her producer in 2019. Her first single came out in 2019, but she didn’t start writing immediately. “It wasn’t until COVID that I had the time to really be in that space to start writing again. Since then, I have written so many songs and all of my future releases are songs that are written by me. It’s just so exciting,” she said.
Although Amber is writing country music now, she said what she is doing now is the same as what she was doing when she was writing hooks for rap artists. She said country has evolved so much and the genre is heavily influenced by R&B and hip-hop in general, as well as pop. Amber said she grew up listening to country, top 40 and 90s R&B. “The structure of country music and R&B is actually almost exactly the same. It’s just different instrumentation and different vocal stylings that really justify the difference between the genres,” she said, adding that the experience of working with the rappers in Colorado prepared her to have really strong hooks.
Amber said she is fearless now. “I don’t care what anybody has to say. My image is my image and I am proud of who I am. I am proud of my background. I am proud of my heritage,” she said.
Some of Amber’s influences when she was growing up included Faith Hill, Shania Twain, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton. She also said one of the reasons that she decided to pick up where she left off on her dream was because of artists such as Mickey Guyton. Amber said she came across Guyton’s music on Spotify and she started researching her. “She is the front line right now for diversity as far as women in country music,” Amber said.
For more information about Amber and her music, people can visit her website at www.ashlieamber.com. Her music can be heard on Spotify and she has a channel on YouTube. She is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.