Simone Ashley On Returning For Bridgerton Season 5, Her New Music Career & Touring
Simone Ashley is officially a double threat. The Bridgerton star — who fans are hoping returns as Kate Bridgerton for Season 5 — has released her debut EP Songs I Wrote In New York. In an interview with Refinery29, the Bridgerton star says she fell in love with music before acting, but kept it sacred and private until this year. “I finally felt ready to share this side of myself,” Ashley says. “Music has always been part of my life, even before acting. Acting lets me step into someone else’s story, whereas music is a chance to tell my own. I never really saw it as choosing one over the other, because they fulfil different creative parts of me.” Her entire EP, as the name suggests, was written when she was living in New York. The city became its own character in the songs, and it’s one of Ashley’s most personal bodies of work to date. “There’s something about New York that makes you feel completely anonymous one minute and incredibly inspired the next,” she says. “A lot of the songs explore love, romance, and those fleeting moments that end up becoming the memories you hold onto.” Her sound wasn’t defined by trying to mimic other artists or chase a certain genre. Instead, the artist focused on producing music that felt honest to her own journey. “I don’t feel the need to label [the sound] just yet. I’ve always been drawn to music that feels cinematic and emotional, and I think that comes from being an actor as well,” the singer says. “I love creating a world around a song, not just musically but visually too. Hopefully people hear something that’s intimate, soulful and a little dreamy.” I never really saw it as choosing one over the other, because they fulfil different creative parts of me.Simone Ashley On balancing music and acting. Asking Ashley to choose the song she’s most proud of from her EP is like asking a mother to reveal her favourite child, but she settles for her favourite “right now”. The lead single Free is the top of mind, though she’s quick to say she loves them all. “It rolled out [from] my heart very easily and wasn’t something I had to search for or think too much about,” she says. The beauty of being an emerging artist is the creative control you can exert. Ashley’s background in film and TV meant she wanted to be involved in the entire process of making her Sublime music video. From mood boards to styling, and the overall feeling, everything had her stamp on it. “I wanted to capture that feeling of summer in the city: staying out a little longer, sitting outside with friends, sipping cocktails (in this case, an Another Hendrick’s Spritz!) and people-watching, embracing wherever the day takes you,” she recalls. Her partnership with Hendrick’s Gin was intentional, as well. “I’d recently been to Hendrick’s Anotherland in New York, which celebrated the launch of Another Hendrick’s,” Ashley tells us. “They had built this immersive theatrical experience hidden away in the middle of the city. Every room revealed something unexpected, and there was this lovely sense of curiosity and playfulness throughout.” Aside from some exciting music video releases to come, the Devil Wears Prada 2 actor also hopes to take her music on tour. After all, sharing the experience of live music with other people is something you can’t replicate. Bridgerton will always feel like home to me. simone ashley on returning for ‘bridgerton’ season 5 Bridgerton fans don’t need to worry, however, because Ashley has no plans to hang up her acting costumes to focus solely on music. “There’s space for both. They’re both storytelling, just through different mediums,” the musician notes. “I feel really lucky that I get to explore both.” Plus, she’s open to using both talents in a musical if the right project comes along. “It would be amazing to combine acting and music in that way,” she adds. There hasn’t been confirmation as to whether the star will be reprising her role as Kate Bridgerton in Bridgerton Season 5, and when we ask, she stays coy. “Bridgerton will always feel like home to me,” she answers. “I’m so grateful for everything it’s given me, and for the audience who’ve embraced Kate so wholeheartedly. I love seeing where the story goes each season.” And if Bridgerton decides to give one of Ashley’s songs the Regency treatment? She’s all for it. “That would honestly be such a surreal moment!” the star exclaims. Songs I Wrote In New York is out now. This article was originally published on Refinery29 Australia. Want more? Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of Refinery29 Entertainment straight to your inbox. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Everything We Know About Bridgerton Season 5Stakes Are Higher For Women Of Colour In HollywoodBridgerton, Class & The Limits Of Representation
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Simone Ashley is officially a double threat. The Bridgerton star — who fans are hoping returns as Kate Bridgerton for Season 5 — has released her debut EP Songs I Wrote In New York.
In an interview with Refinery29, the Bridgerton star says she fell in love with music before acting, but kept it sacred and private until this year. “I finally felt ready to share this side of myself,” Ashley says. “Music has always been part of my life, even before acting. Acting lets me step into someone else’s story, whereas music is a chance to tell my own. I never really saw it as choosing one over the other, because they fulfil different creative parts of me.”
Her entire EP, as the name suggests, was written when she was living in New York. The city became its own character in the songs, and it’s one of Ashley’s most personal bodies of work to date. “There’s something about New York that makes you feel completely anonymous one minute and incredibly inspired the next,” she says. “A lot of the songs explore love, romance, and those fleeting moments that end up becoming the memories you hold onto.”
Her sound wasn’t defined by trying to mimic other artists or chase a certain genre. Instead, the artist focused on producing music that felt honest to her own journey. “I don’t feel the need to label [the sound] just yet. I’ve always been drawn to music that feels cinematic and emotional, and I think that comes from being an actor as well,” the singer says. “I love creating a world around a song, not just musically but visually too. Hopefully people hear something that’s intimate, soulful and a little dreamy.”
I never really saw it as choosing one over the other, because they fulfil different creative parts of me.
Simone Ashley On balancing music and acting.
Asking Ashley to choose the song she’s most proud of from her EP is like asking a mother to reveal her favourite child, but she settles for her favourite “right now”. The lead single Free is the top of mind, though she’s quick to say she loves them all. “It rolled out [from] my heart very easily and wasn’t something I had to search for or think too much about,” she says.
The beauty of being an emerging artist is the creative control you can exert. Ashley’s background in film and TV meant she wanted to be involved in the entire process of making her Sublime music video. From mood boards to styling, and the overall feeling, everything had her stamp on it. “I wanted to capture that feeling of summer in the city: staying out a little longer, sitting outside with friends, sipping cocktails (in this case, an Another Hendrick’s Spritz!) and people-watching, embracing wherever the day takes you,” she recalls. Her partnership with Hendrick’s Gin was intentional, as well. “I’d recently been to Hendrick’s Anotherland in New York, which celebrated the launch of Another Hendrick’s,” Ashley tells us. “They had built this immersive theatrical experience hidden away in the middle of the city. Every room revealed something unexpected, and there was this lovely sense of curiosity and playfulness throughout.”
Aside from some exciting music video releases to come, the Devil Wears Prada 2 actor also hopes to take her music on tour. After all, sharing the experience of live music with other people is something you can’t replicate.
Bridgerton will always feel like home to me.
simone ashley on returning for ‘bridgerton’ season 5
Bridgerton fans don’t need to worry, however, because Ashley has no plans to hang up her acting costumes to focus solely on music. “There’s space for both. They’re both storytelling, just through different mediums,” the musician notes. “I feel really lucky that I get to explore both.” Plus, she’s open to using both talents in a musical if the right project comes along. “It would be amazing to combine acting and music in that way,” she adds.
There hasn’t been confirmation as to whether the star will be reprising her role as Kate Bridgerton in Bridgerton Season 5, and when we ask, she stays coy. “Bridgerton will always feel like home to me,” she answers. “I’m so grateful for everything it’s given me, and for the audience who’ve embraced Kate so wholeheartedly. I love seeing where the story goes each season.”
And if Bridgerton decides to give one of Ashley’s songs the Regency treatment? She’s all for it. “That would honestly be such a surreal moment!” the star exclaims.
Songs I Wrote In New York is out now.
This article was originally published on Refinery29 Australia.
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