Ashley Kelley
Ashley Jeanette Kelley was born on April 12, 1991, in Dallas Texas. As a child, she was influenced by her grandmother and mother, who were both jazz singers. She is the youngest of 3 siblings. When she was five years old, she began singing in church developing her voice. Ashley attended T.D Marshall Elementary school, where she first performed in her first pageant singing a gospel song by Kirk Franklin. That night, she won and took home the trophy as Miss T.D Marshall at the tender age of 8. Growing older and becoming more mature, She began participating and winning more pageants. At the age of 12, Ashley decided to try a new experience and try out for Star Search. In her audition, she sung Alicia Keys debut single “Fallin.” Unfortunately, she did not move on to the next round. However she did not let that stop her. That year she became motivated and interested in all types of music and became a student and W.E Griener Middle School for the Arts. There, she was introduced to classical and choral music. During her time at the school, she joined the choir and began studying the genre as a whole. Her accolades include 1st chair All- City Alto and also 1st chair All- Region Alto. With more accomplishments to come, she turned 14 hoping and inspired to continue her studies in classical, and rhythm and blues music. She auditioned and got into the prestigious Booker T. Washington for the Performing and Visual Arts, also the former school of superstar, Erykah Badu and jazz songstress, Norah Jones. At Booker T. Washington, she majored as a Classical Vocalist. Ashley began making that her main focus while also excelling at school. At the age of 15, she gained a major and rare accomplishment than any underclassmen. She placed 2nd chair Alto in the All- State 2nd round competition in the state of Texas. As she received a lot of honors for her participation in the state-wide competition, Ashley realized something was missing. She knew it was now time for a change and she joined the rhythm and blues ensemble under the instructor of Roger Boykins, a talented and gifted jazz musician. There she sung all the greats from Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, and one of her favorites the legendary, Chaka Khan.
Performing gigs around Dallas with the ensemble, she began realizing her love for the genre and also her new found love of writing. As the she became more involved, Ashley dropped her major as a classical vocalist and began focusing more on the R and B Ensemble and writing, becoming a Music Synthesis major. During that transition, the songstress auditioned for American Idol at the age of 16 singing Luther Vandross’s “Superstar.” Even though she didn’t make the 2nd round, she didn’t let that stop her mission to touch people through her music. She kept performing more gigs and opening up parties with the ensemble. Her senior year, She had became a gifted singer as well as a stronger person. Ashley enjoyed studying and learning more about different genres and through a friend she met Charles Gibbs, a local talented and gifted producer. There she began recording and became more inspired and motivated to try new sounds and keep her mission going. Now, Ashley is currently a student at Morgan State University where she is biology major in hopes to attend medical school. She still records and is still keeping her dream and mission alive to touch people’s hearts with her music.
