Kassi Ashton’s soulful swag and raw, authentic country tone is as mesmerizing as her uncanny ability to write and create songs from everyday struggles. She has been called “fearless “ by CMT, “Who to Watch” by radio personality Bobby Bones, and has caught the eye of heavy hitter Keith Urban. In fact, Urban considers her a “unique, original creature” and went so far as to feature her on his song “Drop Top”, from the Graffiti U album. As a songwriter, Ashton is part of an all female weekly round in Nashville called Song Suffragettes where the industry’s rising females get a chance on Monday nights to showcase their artistry as songwriters and as performers.
That being said, the Missouri native has had numerous hit singles, like the January 2019 release of the sassy tune, “Violins”. As of March 22, Ashton has put out a much deeper, more poignant song about women who are made to feel that appearance is everything and that intelligence is not required.
“Pretty Shiny Things,” written by Ashton and Emily Landis, describes a mother telling her daughter to put on a pretty face, regardless of how she feels inside,
“Put your makeup on girl/ stand up straight/ Your face will take you farther than your brain/
You oughta know by now beauty is pain/ Pretty Shiny Things”
But as it progresses, the listener soon realizes that the mom hides her pain with medication thus ignoring the advice she’s giving her daughter.
“Pretty Shiny Things/ Mama keeps her Pretty Shiny Things/ Hidden in a dresser drawer/ Orange bottles from the corner store/ One to help her sleep/ The other ones are red and blue and pink/ It’s a colorful cocktail/
You could ask her/ But she’ll never tell.”
The lyrics are spot on, while the instruments settle nicely into the background to compliment her incredible low raspy vocals. Along with the lyric video of a woman staring at herself in the mirror putting on lipstick, the words cast the perfect picture of a seemingly strong woman reflecting and possibly inwardly fighting with the lies she’s been fed her whole life. Towards the end, something changes and she starts to win.
“Pretty Shiny Things/ I swear that there’s more to us/ Take your makeup off girl/ Hold your head high/
Let down your guard /Don’t be scared to cry/ Ain’t nothin’ pretty about a perfect life”
Ashton preaches to women to be who they want to be and look the way they want to look. By doing so, it takes the pressure off of the superficial “look perfect, appear like you’ve got it all together, and never show weakness” standard that so often plagues our society.
Go download/stream this through all digital sites here and give it a listen. It’s a great message with a goose-bump reaction.
For information on Kassi, visit www.kassiashton.com.