Get to know Ash Kennedy, a fresh new artist out of Melbourne who today drops her debut single ‘Point Of View’.
Ash is a pop girl at heart and, after honing her craft for years, she’s finally ready to set her music free into the world; ‘Point Of View’ is an impressive start.
But what makes her tick? And how did she get to this point?
Get to know her a little more in our latest feature.
01. Name : Ash Kennedy.
02. Where are you based? The best city in the world – Melbourne, Australia.
03. How did you get your start in music? Does singing and dancing routines with my sister count? Mum noticed my passion for it and put me into singing lessons at eight years old. That was the first true sign of my addiction to pop music.
04. Give us five words to best describe you as an artist. Youthful, bubbly, warm, honest, relatable.
05. Tell us a little bit about your sound and how it developed. I usually describe my music by the way I want it to feel when you’re listening to it. I don’t want to limit my ideas by overthinking it.
I just jam with my guitar and then trust my amazing producers Rob Amoruso and Ben Oldland to help me design the world around it.
06. What’s your earliest musical memory? I remember wandering off alone and singing out to the ocean as a kid. I was always nervous about people hearing me sing and when I was out there, I could be my true self and sing as loud as I like with the wind and waves on my side.
07. Who have been your musical influences? I am a long-time lover of pop, so my first influences were the pop queens of the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s; Kylie, Britney, XTina… basically anything Max Martin touched… The Backstreet Boys taught me everything I know about harmonies.
As I got older I expanded to more soul/R&B and jazz; Amy Winehouse, Rihanna, Brandy, Frank Ocean.
Nowadays, my sound is influenced by a huge range of genres, but I’m usually compared to Ariana Grande, Tori Kelly, JoJo and Lianne La Havas.
08. What are your favourite songs of all time? ‘Shape Of My Heart’ – Backstreet Boys, ‘Paper Hearts’ – Tori Kelly, ‘Almost Is Never Enough’ – Ariana Grande, ‘Distance’ – Emily King.
09. Where’s your favourite place to listen to music? I don’t have bluetooth in my car, so I buy $2 CDs from Salvos & enjoy a ’90s throwback while I’m driving to sessions and gigs.
10. Who are your go-to artists when you’re feeling:
Happy : Allen Stone.
Sad : Kevin Garrett.
Introspective : I can’t listen to my fav artists or I get too excited, so I usually put on chilled cow beats on YouTube.
Exhausted : Bruno Major.
11. What was the first album you ever bought? Justin Bieber’s iconic ‘My World’ – still a guilty pleasure.
12. Give us a little fun fact about yourself that people might not know. I drink the salty water left at the bottom of the jar after downing a jar of olives. My mouth just watered while I typed this.
13. What would your chosen career be if music wasn’t an option? I would be a designer, I design all of my own images and promo content. I am so glad I can still use my creative eye for my music so it’s true to me. (And save money hehehe).
14. What’s the best advice you’ve been given in your career? Stay in your lane, work hard and be patient. Always.
15. What’s been the highlight of your musical journey so far? I try to appreciate the small wins each step of my journey brings. But this first release is definitely a highlight – it’s a first for everything!
16. What’s been the strangest experience you’ve had in the business? Probably seeing the inside of TV shows like ‘X Factor’ and ‘The Voice’ as a contestant. It’s a scary world…
17. If you could trade places with any artist in the world right now, who would it be? Kaiit – she’s in a really exciting position in her growing career. She is going to be HUGE and it’s humbling to see a homie from Melbourne taking over the country and world and being recognised for her work.
18. Tell us about your latest release. ‘Point Of View’ is my official debut to the world. It’s flirty, fun and raw. Born on the floor of my bedroom with my guitar, I tell the story of a boozy night, sleeping with a close friend and having to figure out what it means for us. I’ve always wanted a ‘Dawsons Creek’ or ‘One Tree Hill’ romance where you fall for a friend, so that was the inspo.
19. What do your future plans involve? This won’t be the last time you hear from me in 2020. I have a couple more releases lined up and loads of plans for live shows once Covid-19 eases up. Hit me up on the socials to stay tuned.
20. Where can our audience catch you live? ATM : on my Instagram account… Later in the year I’ll see you in venues around Melbourne. I miss the stageeeee!!!
@ashkennedyk on everything:
FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/ashkennedyk/
INSTAGRAM : https://www.instagram.com/ashkennedyk/
SOUNDCLOUD : https://soundcloud.com/ashkennedyk
YOUTUBE : https://www.youtube.com/user/omgashleiigh
Australia's first stop for pop!