Ashley Monroe Biography

Banking on her father's death, country singer Ashley Monroe has used her heartbreak and loss to write tear jerking songs that make her sound older than her 21 years.The Tennessee native was born into a musical family, kin to country musician Carl Smith and the Carter Family group. Picking up on the piano at an early age, Monroe found that the family business was her calling. At age 11 she won a talent contest in Pigeon Forge, bringing home one hundred dollars, and began her career in the music biz.In 2000 when her father died unexpectedly, she began writing songs in order to cope with the loss of her best friend. Shortly after, she began performing on Lower Broadway in Nashville and convinced her mom to move with her to the big city. Attracting Wrensong Music Publishing with her soulful lyrics, she was soon given the opportunity to play for Sony Records at the young age of 17. With manager Clarence Spalding, she ended up signing a record deal with the company and began recording her first album. After a merger between BMG and Sony, the original production company behind Monroe was gone and the new team wanted a different, more poppy sound from her. Instead of changing her sound, Monroe decided to leave her record deal and continued to pursue her passion for writing songs.She co-wrote Carrie Underwood's double platinum single "Flat on the Floor," and wrote Norah Jones' "It's Not You, It's Me." With success under her belt, Monroe finally garnered the attention that the young star deserved. In 2006 she signed a record deal with Columbia and along with producer Mark Wright created her self-titled debut album, with duets featuring stars like Dwight Yoakam and Ronnie Dunn. The advanced release of her first single "Satisfied" jammed radio stations across the country before her album's release in February 2007.