Ashley Cooke Opens Up About ‘my worst fear’ and the Quiet Pressures Women in Music Face [Exclusive]

Over the past few weeks, Ashley Cooke has released her brand-new project, ace, performed at both the Grand Ole Opry and the TODAY Show, delivered a powerful rendition of “God Bless America” at WWE Monday Night Raw inside Madison Square Garden, and walked the red carpet at the CMA Awards. All of this momentum leads back to ace, a nine-track collection that pulls straight from the most personal corners of her life over the past two and a half years.

The project features songs like the fiery new single “the hell you are,” now at country radio, the reflective “gettin’ old,” and the raw, vulnerable “my worst fear,” which confronts the harsh realities of chasing big dreams and the sacrifices that come with them.

Since its release, fans have been quick to notice the parallels between Cooke’s “my worst fear,” Carly Pearce’s “Dream Come True,” and Kelsea Ballerini’s “I Sit in Parks,” noting how all three songs share an honest look into the choices women make in pursuit of their dreams.

While backstage at the 59th Annual CMA Awards, Cooke opened up about her friendship with Pearce and Ballerini and their shared experiences in the industry. 

“I think we all have talked about it quite a bit, me, Carly, and Kelsea. And that’s the beauty of having friends in the industry because we all want each other to win. And not just for the sake of saying it on an interview, we just genuinely want each other to succeed,” she shared. 

She added that beneath all the success and whirlwind moments, there’s a shared feeling of longing and reflection that makes these songs hit a little deeper.

“But I think all of us in music are just trying to say, we’re so thankful for what we’ve worked for and the successes that we’ve had so far. But there’s also things that we feel like we’re missing. And I think Kelsea’s song, for example, that lyric of, ‘I wonder if she wants my freedom like I want to be a mother.’ I think that encompasses it so perfectly because it’s not that we don’t love our freedom and we don’t love the lives that we have and the crazy experiences that we get to have,” she continued. “It’s more we all kind of want it all. We can’t have everything. And so it’s like this emotion of ‘what am I missing? What am I giving up to have what I have currently?’ And I think that moms feel that way, and successful artists feel that way. And all across the board, we all think about what we’re missing when we have what we have.”

This sentiment is expressed throughout “my worst fear,” which was written by Cooke alongside Emily Weisband, Johnny Clawson, Kyle Sturrock, Seth Ennis, and Joe Fox. Click below to listen.