Get To Know Ashley McBryde, Who Stunned at the 2023 CMA Awards
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There's a reason a legend like Wynnona Judd wants to sing with her.
Ashley McBryde stunned at the 2023 CMT Music Awards when she took the stage with Wynnona Judd to sing a gorgeous cover of Foreigner's "I Wanna Know What Love Is." But the Arkansas-born artist has been a big deal for a while.
Her accolades include a Grammy win (and five other nominations); three ACM Awards; and one CMA Awards—plus, she has a slew of nominations and a Platinum single to her name. Oh yeah, and in 2022, Garth Brooks invited her to join the Grand Ole Opry.
Last year, the country crooner dropped her third album, Ashley McBryde Presents Welcome to Lindeville. Get to know the star and it will become crystal clear why Brooks, Judd and other legends are such big fans.
Related: Why Ashley McBryde Avoids Dolly Parton
Are Ashley McBryde and Martina McBride related?
Ashley McBryde and Martina McBride aren't related. Their last names are spelled differently!
Did Ashley McBryde sing backup for Eric Church?
Eric Church brought Ashley McBryde out to sing with him at Madison Square Garden when his longtime (and now former) background singer Joanna Cotten was under the weather in 2017.
He told the crowd ahead of his performance of "Bible and a .44," "I mentioned I had a guest and there’s a young lady here who I have become a massive fan of, and you guys are gonna be a massive fan of her real soon. She’s just starting this journey of her career and she’s unquestionably my favorite artist out right now that’s not out yet, but she will be real soon. So I invited her to come out and just her and I are gonna do an acoustic song that she wrote… please make welcome Ashley McBryde."
Who is Ashley McBryde's dad?
Ashley McBryde's dad is William McBryde, a former preacher who is suffering from a degenerative illness. Ashley learned how to play guitar on her father's guitar before her parents purchased one just for her.
Ashley said that her father wanted her to go to medical school—and still does, even though she's successful and famous.
"Just a few years ago, right when he was first getting sick, we took a trip together," Ashley told CBS News in 2019. "And he said, 'Well, just tell me something. Promise me that when you've made your money and had your fill of all this music stuff, you'll go to medical school.'"
She added, "You can say anything you want, you know, about me and about us and the music we make, but my Daddy doesn't approve of it. So how bad is it gonna hurt me if you say that?" Ashley said that she is careful about which details of her life and career she shares with her father, and that he has never cared about fame.
"I said, 'You know, Daddy, I'm not just playing bars anymore. I'm playing arenas. We're traveling the world,'" she recalled. "And he said, 'I'm proud for you.' Didn't say 'of you.' Everybody wants their papa to be proud of them. Everybody does."
Is Ashley McBryde a member of the Grand Ole Opry?
McBryde performed at the Grand Ole Opry in late 2021 and told the crowd, "I dream about joining the Opry and what that day will be like. Will I cry the entire time? Will I be seated? Who will ask me? I dream about that more than I dream about my wedding."
In October 2022, Garth Brooks officially invited McBryde to join the Grand Ole Opry.
Who is the mother of Ashley McBryde?
Ashley McBryde's mother is named Martha Wilkins. Not much else is known about her.
Where did Ashley McBryde come from?
McBryde is from Saddle, Arkansas. She was a member of her high school band. When she graduated, she attended Arkansas State University, where she played the French horn.
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How old is Ashley McBryde?
McBryde was born July 29, 1983. As of this writing, she is 39 years old.
Does Ashley McBryde have tattoos?
McBryde has a lot of tattoos—so many, in fact, that she admitted it's more than she herself can count. She has said that they each have a special meaning to her, notably the large eagle on her chest.
"If you’ve ever been in a bar with a bunch of old sailors and see a guy that has an eagle tattooed across his chest, that guy has seen some stuff," she told The Boot, explaining that the eagle was a way for her to "stomach" fame and attending formal events. "I thought that was perfect—that’s exactly how I need to feel. I’m so uncomfortable at red carpets, so this is kind of like a power thing for me."
That said, McBryde does have one tattoo that she regrets (and that the world will probably never see): A fat baby devil on her lower back that she got when she turned 18.
"It's a fat baby devil in a bikini, and it's a tramp stamp," she admitted in a 2018 radio interview. "This is my 'I'm out of the house, I'll do whatever I want' tattoo. Even the tattoo artist was like, 'Are you sure? Are you sure?' And I was like, 'Yeah, put it on there.' And I was sober ... In all fairness, it has wings and a halo as well, so it has both. But it's really ugly."
What happened to Ashley McBryde's brother?
Ashley McBryde's brother, William Clayton "Clay" McBryde, died at age 53 in June 2018. It's unclear what caused his death, and few details around the circumstances of his passing are publicly available. Clay was an Army veteran who served in the Iraq War and was a police officer for 25 years. He married his wife Tanya in November 2017.
Clay had a son named Bradley, who requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Mission 22 organization, which aids veterans with and raises awareness of PTSD and suicide. McBryde previously told PEOPLE that she suffered panic attacks and severe anxiety after Clay's death, but that she eventually got it under control.
What is Ashley McBryde's net worth?
Ashley McBryde's net worth is estimated to be between $1 million and $5 million. The specifics of her income are not publicly known.
Does Ashley McBryde have siblings?
McBryde had a brother named Clay. After his death, she revealed she wrote a song about him with frequent collaborator and friend Nicolette Hayford.
"During one session, I said, 'We have something in common that I hate.' Nicolette and I are both members of the Dead Brother Club," McBryde recalled to About You magazine. "And both of our brothers are veterans. They died in very, very different ways, but both were Army veterans nonetheless. And so she said, 'Yeah, what do you want to say about it?' And I was like, 'Well, I'm pissed off about it.' So she's like, 'OK, let's grab our cigarettes.'"
Who wrote "Martha Divine?"
Ashley McBryde co-wrote "Martha Divine" with Jeremy N. Spillman.
What is the meaning behind the song "Martha Divine?"
"Martha Divine" tells the story of a girl whose father is cheating on her mother. The girl, who McBryde describes as "a little bit crazy ... Bible-beating and protective of her mother," confronts her father's mistress. McBryde recalled of writing the tune, "I love the way [the word] 'divine' sounds. That’s fun to sing, so we should just make up a story, and we could do a sort of 'Jolene' thing. Instead of singing ‘Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, please don’t take my man,’ what if we said, ‘Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I’m coming after you with a shovel?'"
Related: American Idol Winner Chayce Beckham on His Growing Country Music Career
What is the conclusion to "Martha Divine?"
While the song "Martha Divine" basically tells of a young girl murdering her father's mistress or burying her alive, the music video series of which "Martha Divine" is a part—which began with "One Night Standards" and concludes with "Hang In There Girl"—shows the girl in question leaving Martha Divine barefoot in the woods alone.
When did "Martha Divine" come out?
"Martha Divine" was first released in October 2020.
What does Ashley McBryde sing?
McBryde has three studio albums to her name so far. These include Girl Going Nowhere (2018), Never Will (2020) and Ashley McBryde Presents Lindeville (2022). Her best known songs include:
"Martha Divine"
"Girl Goin' Nowhere"
"Fooled Around and Fell In Love" (cover)
"One Night Standards"
"Hang In There Girl"
"Never Wanted to Be That Girl"
"A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega"
"Andy"
"Velvet Red"
"First Thing I Reach For"
"Stone"
"Brenda Put Your Bra On"
"Home Sweet Highway"
"Radioland"
"If These Dogs Could Talk"
"Voodoo Doll"
"Never Will"
