The queen of the disco ball, the next pop sensation, aka Ashley Barksdale just might be the reason we start turning on the radio again.
Growing up in a small town nobody has ever really heard of located in upstate New York, whenever Ashley gets the chance she’s constantly writing in her songbook, coming up with anything that comes to mind, and she plays guitar regularly, coming up with different riffs that can be used in the near future. The upcoming pop star, now with it being a month after the release of her song, had started working on her EP which is set to be released by the end of 2023.
Ashley puts on her roller skates and smoothly dances us into a good mood, serenading over the grooviest production. "Lovers Dont Say Goodbye" is a love record about her relationship and its tribulations and how real lovers never say goodbye to each other. Ashley says that she doesn't need him in the chorus, but she wants him - boy has we been there too many times. The guy feels the same wanting to save her, but not really wanting her fully in a relationship.
This chemistry leaves them feigning each other's love, having this combination of similar feelings is a perfect match. She doesn't want to fear love, she feels that he has her whole soul. "There's no denying the power that you hold" - expresses that it's just a decision away, "Lovers Dont Say (Goodbye)"
Ashley Barksdale is definitely an artist to look out for this year!
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Ashley! We're so happy to have you with us today! There's no denying that "Lovers Dont Say (Goodbyes)" is a hit. What inspired you to create such an upbeat song about love?
Believe it or not, before I decided to get into my “popera” I was actually releasing pop-punk music on SoundCloud! (haha don’t try to look it up y’all.. they’re all in the vault for now) and I remember it was back in late March that I was looking into Dua Lipa inspired beats, I’m heavily inspired by Dua Lipa and her artistry, and I came across the producer Vshy, who’s a literal beast when it comes to pop related beats and his Dua inspired beat “Goodbyes” caught my eye. I immediately fell in love with the beat and decided to purchase the rights and stems. I then contacted a few of my friends who I go to school with, including the legendary Andre S, who wouldn’t have made this track possible without his mixing and mastering, and I sent the song to my songwriter Geah Sho, who then helped me bring this song to life. From there I knew I wanted to create pop music. This was the genre in that I realized I could talk about my struggles with my home life and relationships and not have it come off as someone who’s given up on everything, but as someone who can take their pain and make it relatable. While in other genres I could have done the same thing, find a beat, write lyrics, and make them relatable but there’s something about pop that allows me to say literally anything. As long as there’s an upbeat track to go along with the lyrics, this sad-ass song automatically sounds like a Katy Perry chart-topper!
The beautiful storytelling helps bring your vision fully to life in "Lovers Dont Say (Goodbyes)", how did you come up with the concept of this record?
My songwriter Geah Sho who wrote the song played a big part in helping me come up with the concept when I first started to work with her on this song. I sent her the beat, I saw her text that asked me what I wanted the song to be about, I couldn’t respond at that moment though I was in class, I was thinking about a concept. How about talking about my dad? Or even about my journey of how I made it to the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports, and Entertainment? None of what I thought of seemed fitting, but then a good half an hour later she sent me lyrics and was like how about this? She derived a whole song just by the title of the beat, Goodbye. It was then I realized this song is based on two lovers in a toxic relationship going back and forth between “I don’t need you, but I want you, I’ve got to have you” and manipulating one another to stay by saying “Lovers Dont Say Goodbye” and if they really were lovers they’d tell no lies, never make one another cry, and so on.
What's the message you're delivering through this song?
It’s okay for a relationship to be a little toxic because you know you’re still going to have each other in the end. I say this because the song just seems as if it’s going back and forth again between the idea of I don’t need you but I really want you and got to have you. Anybody who’s in or has ever been in a toxic relationship, myself included can testify and say that throughout the relationship there’s always this back and forth between if I really wanted to leave I could because I can live life without you but also I don’t wanna leave you, I still see the good in you because at the end of the day we’re lovers and we don’t need to say goodbye so I’ll stay by your side and we can work it out even though we both know what we’re doing is an endless cycle.
For someone just meeting Ashley Barksdale what would you like them to take away from your music and musical journey?
I want people to be able to see that I have the potential and confidence to make it in this industry. I’ve been wanting to get to this point that I’m at right now ever since I was four years old, and even though it’s only been about two months, it still doesn’t feel real that I’m able to say I have music on Spotify and Apple Music. Heck, it doesn’t even feel real that I’m able to say I recorded this song at the Jay Z school, aka Roc Nation School of Music, Sports, and Entertainment because as a student who attends we have access to on-campus studios. I never actually thought I’d be ready for this moment, but here I am. I may not be fully prepared for what’s about to come, but I know if someone were to ask me, “are you ready?” I’d be able to respond with “absolutely.” I have a lot of faith in myself, I know others have a lot of faith in me. I know for a fact that someone one of these days in the next one to three years is going to come knocking on my doorstep offering me that record deal I’ve always wanted. Someone within the next year is going to reach out to me saying they want me because of my song. I know "Lovers Dont Say (Goodbyes)" is a chart-topper, song of the summer, pop anthem, you name it. I have a feeling all I’ve been working up to is going to happen, it’s already happening. This song was my first official step, I just need to start taking more steps.
What's next for you?
As I’ve stated before, I need to start taking more steps. I’m now entering my second year of college, go me! So while I’ll be focusing on getting my degree in vocal performance, I plan to start recording my EP! I’ve already been in contact with the people I want to work with which includes producers, writers, other singers/rappers, and engineers; I’ve already started working with Geah on new music, and the goal is to release the next single by the end of July and to just start growing as an artist. It’s time the world finally knows who this disco ball-loving upcoming pop sensation Ashley Barksdale really is.
