From the very beginning, Ashlee Keating knew she would be a performer. At the age of six, the New Jersey native appeared as Gretl in the Broadway national tour of The Sound of Music, and life has been her stage since then.

Pop singer, songwriter, and dancer Ashlee Keating has always carried her confidence with her, and with the new single “Sleigh All Day,” she wants to extend that confidence to her listeners. 

On the day of the song’s release, Keating delved into her lifelong love for performing, creating “Sleigh All Day,” and exuding confidence through music. 

I’d like to explore a little bit about your background. I know that you were involved in musical theater from a very young age. So was that your initial spark for connecting with music and the performing side as well?

Well, I am a Jersey girl, and I’m from New Jersey. And that’s kind of where all my roots are from musically, and in just every way possible, my personality. And when I popped out the womb, literally, I was meant to be a performer. I was already slaying, already being a diva [laughs]. 

And yeah, I was only six years old when I was on Broadway. So I just knew from day one, this was my destiny.And the fact that I got cast as Gretel in the Sound of Music is just so major at only six years old. But I’ve always known this is my destiny. So I just keep moving forward and doing my thing.

Do you think that that background helped with your ability to perform in front of people and maybe stage fright that you would have experienced later on?

1 million percent. It has helped me with my drive, determination. I am a very hard worker, so I use that discipline and implement that in my career now. For sure, 100 million percent.

You’re also a dancer, right? So when did you start dancing? Did that coincide because of musical theater, did that kind of coincide with exploring music as well?

I mean, yeah, I was a triple threat from when I was six years old, just acting, singing and dancing, learning the lines, learning the choreography on Broadway and singing and dancing at the same time. So again, I still implement that in my performances now. And I love to put on a show and dancing was just another really simple thing for me.

I never really took classical anything. I lean more toward hip hop and jazz. And then I also was a tapper a little bit back in the day, did tap competitions. It’s nothing I’ve really studied that much, like where I’ve been in classes nonstop. I just pick up choreography very fast and I’m a very hard worker.

So if there’s something I need to work on, I’m gonna make it happen for myself. And I love challenging myself and being outside of my comfort zone. So that’s really it!

But I just love to be a performer on stage. And I love dancing to music. It’s like making music. It’s listening to the beat and kind of moving with your body. And I just love expressing myself that way.

I imagine that’s why you make the music you do, right? Because pop has such a movement to it rhythmically and kind of goes along that side. 

Yeah, I always think creatively as I’m making a song. And sometimes the best songs come to me like even with this new one “Sleigh All Day” that I just released. It’s a holiday song, but I heard the beat in my head.

And sometimes like I’ll just like send a voice message to my producer, my team, and be like, “this is exactly what I want.” And I knew exactly the type of instrumentation I wanted, how the how the intro was going to happen, what the chorus was going to hopefully sound like and the producer absolutely nailed it when we did it. So I hear beats in my head when I have a very clear picture of a song.

And then I also see visuals of like how I would look on stage, how I would perform it. I’m a very visual person. 

How do the visuals help you express yourself creatively beyond just the music itself?

I think it just brings it all to life, and when I can create that picture in my head… 

I think one of my favorites was when I did, well, obviously “Too Toxic” recently that just dropped. That was so much fun and creative. And I think with “Saucy,” it was really cool because it was a lot of visual effects that we implemented. 

It was my first time using visual effects, and I told the director and the whole team and the visual team what exactly I wanted and how I wanted to do it. And I was like, “I want this candy land behind me!” There was nothing behind me, you know, it was a green screen. 

I wanted to create like a candy land behind me and there’s this drip and sauce and the sauce is like gold and it’s coming from the candy land and I’m sitting on top of this strawberry and I’m a strawberry shortcake [laughs]. It was just crazy how it came to me, but I think it really brings the whole production to life and gives it so much excitement.

And you mentioned Slay All Day and congrats on that releasing. What is it like on the day that you have a release for these singles? Is it nerve-wracking? Is it more excitement? What are the feelings on those days?

Today I’m very, very, very excited. And I went live last night on TikTok to talk to some of my fans.

And it is just so amazing. I swear they knew the words by the time I was off the stream. And it’s a really fun song.

So I think it’s really giving that energy to everybody. And I really want to spread joy, spread happiness this holiday season, make you get up and dance, decorate your tree, decorate your house to the song “Slay All Day.” And it’s really like a self-empowerment, self-love song to share with the world this holiday season.

And I it’s just amazing when they love the music that I put out and they’re so excited about it. People were already making videos of it last night on TikTok. And I just I’m so grateful. I think I get really excited. It just makes me want to cry. I love seeing everyone love the music I’m putting out. It means the world to me.

And you mentioned that people were already making TikToks of the single. So what is the relationship to social media that you have now and how has that changed over time?

It’s definitely become way more part of my life. And I really enjoy just sharing every aspect of what’s going on in my life to kind of get everyone to know who Ashlee is and the real Ashlee and the me with no makeup, getting ready with me and talking to my fans and engaging with them. I feel like that’s the most important thing to me because I really love getting to know them and really learning who those fans are that have been there from day one.

I know their names and I’m learning more and more about new fans. And we’re such a growing family of Keaters and Team Ashley. It means the world to me.

And so it’s been really great getting to just share that other side of my Ashlee life outside of just being on stage and putting out music and getting to really engage and connect with my fans through social media. It’s definitely changed, though. I’ve been way more active and it’s continuing to grow and I’m meeting more Keaters.

So I I obviously have been very busy, but I try to get on and do as much as possible and really share everything about my life as much as possible.

What about when you’re recording a song? Do you feel like you have to kind of go into a character or a different mindset when you’re recording or do you feel like that’s just who you are every day?

Lowkey, that’s just who I am. I’m not gonna lie. I want to give that confidence through my music and share that to young girls and my fan base in general, that you can be who you are and you’re beautiful yourself and not to let anyone else tell you otherwise.

That’s just me. I like to be really genuine and real and authentic in my music. And I hope that transpires to my listeners and inspires them.

And so it really is me and the music is coming from me. I write all my songs, I co-write all my songs. 

And a lot of the ideas come from me first, like in the bathroom, putting makeup on, or on the treadmill, like, “oh my god, I have this idea”. And then I write the hook or I start writing the hook and then it just kind of comes to life. That’s usually how it happens. So what you’re hearing is very genuine and coming from me for sure.

So for “Slay All Day” and then also “Too Toxic” that you had earlier this year. What is that process like of communicating with the producer? You know, how far into the process do they come in?

How much are you writing before you come to them? What’s that process like, or does it differ with each experience?

Yeah, I mean, I’m definitely a collaborative person. I really love collaborating with different writers, producers. It’s all about that for me and bringing that energy.

It’s a different process every single time to be completely honest, I sometimes will write a voice memo of a whole hook idea with melody, lyric, or just melody and an idea, concept, and then I kind of bring it to them. With “Slay All Day,” long story short, I performed at Kathy Hilton’s Christmas in September.

And it’s something I say all the time to my friends, like “slay! Slay all day,” that’s my thing. And it’s really giving confidence and that you’re a baddie, you know, and you’re just slaying. You’re that girl, you’re that person. I did it as a joke, like “sleigh” as in “sleigh ride.” And then I kept saying it all night.

And then I was like, maybe I should do a song about this, you know, maybe I should write a song about this. And then we I got in the studio immediately in September, got it done, or actually in October, but I had the idea, got it done. And here we are, it’s out.

And when this particular song came to me, I definitely had the whole track idea in my mind. I told the producer exactly what I wanted and how I wanted it. He killed it. We say he slayed it.

Yeah, we went in and it was just me and the producer and when we were writing, it took 20 minutes for us to write the hook, the chorus. That was it. It was very easy. I started singing a melody. He had another idea, and then we kind of meshed them together.

And it was just magic. And it really did not take us long to write the song at all. And I feel like those are the best songs when they just flow easily. Everyone’s collaborative and make it happen. That’s the best way. But every time is very different. I really love being collaborative with everyone.

A lot of your music does have that message of empowerment and confidence, especially for women. So have you always had that confidence and self-assurance?

I definitely think I do, for sure. I’m a confident woman. I’m from South Jersey, New Jersey. I’m Italian. I’ve got Italian roots in me.

And like I said, popping out the womb, I was confident. I was on stage, I was dancing and singing and I always wanted to be in front of the camera. So I really am that girl. And I really hope to exude that essence to my fans, to my followers, and I want them to be confident too in themselves.

It’s all about your confidence. You could wear the craziest thing on your body. And if you exude confidence, you’re wearing it the right way honey, and people are going to follow you and love it. It’s all about confidence.

I want to ask you about your experiences within the music industry, because I think it’s so cool that you had that confidence in yourself since such a young age. So moving to LA and being in the industry, what are some of the most challenging aspects and what are some things that you thought were easy about being in the music industry?

I think any job is really never easy. Anything, you know, life is hard. This industry is hard, and all you can do is just be yourself and work hard. And that’s really it. 

That’s really it. Honestly, I don’t take it too seriously. I just do me. I love what I do and I just continue to work hard. There’s going to be haters, there’s going to be lovers, and you just got to continue doing you and being you. I think the most important thing is being the most authentic self, authentic version of yourself throughout the whole process.

As far as your fans, what are some stories that you have about how your music has affected them personally?

I think when people send me videos on TikTok, like even last night on live telling me how much they resonate with my music, how much they love “Too Toxic” and that they have done dance videos and lip syncs and all that that really just warms my heart so much. 

And I think when I actually get to hug my fans and meet my fans, meet and greets, and when I’m performing live, that is literally the best feeling ever. I’ve had moments where people have cried and that really resonates with me because I’m just like, “oh my gosh, I mean that much to you, you mean that much to me,” because even when I have days that I’m might not be feeling the best or and a video of a fan sends me a video and or tells me they’re listening to my music, that’s why I do this. 

I do this for them and to inspire and share my light with the world. So it just it literally means the world to me, but definitely meeting them for sure.