Ashley Cooke is ready to put her full name on it. The country hitmaker has announced ‘ashley cooke,’ her self-titled sophomore album, due August 14 via Big Loud Records. This Friday May 8, she releases “high school sweetheart,” the first taste of a 15-track record she describes as “a coming-of-age record disguised as a relationship album.”
Written in the middle of real situations and shaped by genuine self-discovery, ‘ashley cooke’ picks up where 2025’s ‘ace’ left off and goes further. Cooke put it plainly: “It’s messy, self-reflective, indecisive, filled with honesty, double entendres and emotional duality. Overall, it’s my perception of love and allllll the chaos it entails.” Co-written with Liz Rose, Lori McKenna and Ashley Gorley, and produced by the legendary Dann Huff, the album pairs unfiltered storytelling with a sun-soaked coastal country sound rooted in her beachside background and deep love of ’90s effortless cool.
“high school sweetheart” arrives Friday with jangly guitar riffs, shimmering textures and a sharp-witted takedown of someone stuck in teenage gossip mode. It joins already established tracks including “baby blues,” a recent No. 1 on SiriusXM The Highway’s Hot 30 Countdown, and “the hell you are,” currently climbing country radio charts. Her 2023 debut ‘shot in the dark’ produced “your place,” a gold-certified No. 1 at country radio that won the 2024 CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Female Video of the Year.
On May 16, Cooke co-hosts and performs at ACM Next Wave: Country’s Beach Bash during Academy of Country Music Awards Week at Mandalay Bay Beach in Las Vegas, alongside Flatland Cavalry, Tucker Wetmore and Braxton Keith. Festival appearances follow, including Hoofbeat on June 27 in Cadott, Wisconsin.
‘ashley cooke’ arrives August 14 via Big Loud Records. Pre-order and pre-save are available now.
Partial Tracklist:
high school sweetheart
baby blues
excuses
the hell you are
xs