PRINCESS OF R&B: ASHTHON AHMIIR
ATLANTA, GEORGIA | ASHTHON AHMIIR
INTERVIEW REALIFE PHOTO Chris Kelly (KB Photography)
“I’m on they necks this year, haha! Pushing harder than ever, dropping singles, mixtape coming soon, with an ep after that, visuals to every single I drop! It’s about to be crazy so stay tuned!” - ASHTHON AHMIIR
R&B singer-songwriter Ashthon Ahmiir has been making a name for herself in the entertainment world. Inspired by singers like Chris Brown, Jhene Aiko, Usher, Beyonce, Tory Lanez, and Mary J. Blige, this go getter finds a way to blend remnants of old school soul and the new school vibe through vocal ability and relatable content. ASHTHON recently dropped the single, “How I Feel”, which embraces the sounds and vibes of the 90’s as she pays homage to Al B. Sure. Validated spoke to the songstress about her love for music, American Idol experience, being a judge on the hit show Shine, new music, and more.
VALIDATED: Being raised in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, what’s your earliest memory of R&B music?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: Not many people know that I grew up in two different cities, which was Nashville and Valdosta. I was with my Mom in Nashville for school and she sent me down to Valdosta, Ga during summer breaks. I was raised listening to R&B and Gospel music at the same time. R&B in Nashville and Gospel in Valdosta. I remember singing R&B music from Monica, Brandy, Faith Evans, Aaliyah, Usher, and Mary J to name a few. I wasn’t one of the popular kids, but I was known for singing in talent shows and choirs.
VALIDATED: You come from a musically talented family and started out singing in the church, was singing something that came naturally for you?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: My Valdosta family (The Bellamys) say that I started singing in the chior when I was only 6 years old. I can remember just singing my liitle heart out so it was definitely a God-given talent. Only my cousins can sing in my family, but no one else in the family.
VALIDATED: In the 10th season of American Idol you finished as the 13th place finalist, how would you describe the American Idol experience?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: My experience on American Idol was incredible. It was by far the best artist development for an artist like me. Learning how to perform on a grand stage in front of thousands of people, while being thrown into stardom by some of the worlds greatest superstars! I’d say it was f$&*ing amazing! lol Being judged by Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler, and Randy Jackson gave me the confidence I needed being an independent artist in this industry. I was very blessed to have made it all the way to top 13 out of 120,000 people!
VALIDATED: To go from quitting your job to audition for American Idol, to being a finalist on the show, to doing the IDOL WORLD TOUR and numerous interviews including “LIVE with Regis & Kelly”, “Entertainment Tonight” and “MTV News”, what was that transition like?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: I’m not gonna lie, it was a little shocking coming from working as a manager in a shoe store to being on the worlds largest stage. But I had the most calming feeling that I was suppose to be there. It all happened so fast!
VALIDATED: At what point did the exposure from American Idol begin to open up doors to new opportunities?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: The opportunities didn’t come until after I was eliminated from the show. I started getting booked for multiple shows and even went on a 3 month world tour with some other American Idol contestents from different seasons. Performing in places like Japan, Korea, Gwam, Netherlands, Kuwait, London and Qatar.
VALIDATED: Do you find it easier to write songs for yourself or other artist?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: It’s much easier as an artist to write for myself because I know exactly what I wanna say without caring about being offensive. It can be tricky writing for other artist because you have to touch on subjects that they can relate to.
VALIDATED: Currently you’re a judge on the hit show “Shine”, for those who don’t know, what’s the premise of the show?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: Shine is a singing competition that challenges talented undiscovered artists to go head to head as they find their own voice in music. Singers learn to write, sing and sell themselves as the next indie phenomenon. A fully immersive, superstar experience that includes red carpets, photoshoots and celebrity mentors. Our mission? To find the most talented undiscovered artists and prepare them for the spotlight. Contestants that pass through auditions must fight for their spot in the finale, where they battle for the vote of the judges, mentors and fans. But unlike other karaoke competitions, they can only use their own lyrics, their own vision and their own voice. Singers from our show have gone on to work with Networks such as NBC, ABC and Walt Disney, while putting a prime focus on releasing their own music worldwide. Shine is also voted the #1 web-series singing competition show in the country!
VALIDATED: Now that you’re judging the upcoming talent, what’s it like having the roles reversed?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: Hahahaha, I talk about this all the time! It’s completely mind-blowing to be on the other side of a competition show! I get to see contestents sing through their nervousness just like I did on American Idol. I’m able to be a role model and give advice that I know will help them with their careers in the long run. It’s so surreal seeing these contestent sing for their lives and get emotional when they don’t make it through. I’m a real softy! It gets hard to judge at times.
VALIDATED: Recently you dropped the record “Fake Love” produced by Deraj Global, what’s been the response to the record?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: Ok so “Fake Love” is one of my fav new records only because I know and I feel that I spoke from a women’s perspective. Guys always talk about how they just wanna chill and have a good time with no strings attached, but females barely say the same. Sometimes we don’t want love either! “Fake Love” got more attention then I thought it would. It was just a single I dropped for my supporters to keep the fire hot, not knowing that the streams would shoot up!
VALIDATED: Your latest single “How I Feel”, what’s the “mood” of the record and what else can you tell us about it?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: It’s a song that fans of the 90’s music will love and relate to! Paying homage to 90’s legend Al B. Sure, specifically his hit R&B single “Night and Day.” That was the biggest record he had! When I got this track from my producer, it immediately made me think of Al B. Sure’s song. I fell in love with it. It doesn’t have the same music and beat pattern as the 90’s but it definitely reminded me of that. A lot of people out there today who are singers are dabbling with rap and vice versa, and I thought with this song, I’m just gonna have fun with it and do what I want... so I sang and I rapped. The music video I dropped for it is very colorful and I think it brings you back to the day when you were hanging outside with the girls and you have candy all over the place and you’re just dancing and having fun.
VALIDATED: You also have a Fabolous remix record which dropped today, can you give us details?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: Ok so this is crazy! I remixed Fab’s “Cold Summer” song weeks ago way before he started a challenge. I posted it on my page and asked my fans to tag him. He did’nt see it then, but it took one of my followers to tag me in order to find out that Fab just started a Cold Summer challenge. I was like wow look at God! I had already had it done! So I had my followers tag Fab again and the next moring he sent me a message on Instagram telling me it was dope and asking if I could do a video singing it live! He’s so freakin humble! Soon as I made the video and posted it, Fab posted it on his page! I was oooooohhhhh yasssss! It’s now at half a million views and going up as we speak! People are responding to the switch up I did calling it “Dope Summer” instead! Definitely a summer song for the ladies, especially with what’s going on in the world today with Covid-19. We don’t know if there will even be a summer this year. So people are really vibing with it more than I even thought! Shouts out to Fabolous for starting this challenge and giving artist such as myself a chance to gain new fans! This is an incredible opportunity!
VALIDATED: Which r&b artists influenced your sound and what if anything did you “borrow” from them?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: I’m inspired by many artist male and female! I got my passion from Mary J because every song she sings you can feel it, and I’ve definitely applied that to my music. Chris Brown is one of my favorite male artist as well. Talk about the total package! Chris kills every performance and every hook on a record! Can’t wait to work with him. Jhene Aiko, Usher, Beyonce, Tory Lanez, are all artist that I’m inspired by.
VALIDATED: You recorded a song on former First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Song for a Healthier America” hip-hop album, which has been featured on GRAMMY.com’s “Exclusive First Listen” and you’re touring with the nationwide campaign, how did the opportunity come about?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: Shout out to songwriter/producer Quennel Worthy for reaching out to me for that opportunity! Michelle Obama started a Lets Move campaign and wanted to do a R&B Hip Hop album for child obesity. Songs about healthier eating! The album has big namers such as Ariana Grande, Ashanti, Doug E Fresh, Jordin Sparks, and Dr. OZ to name a few. This is history being able to be apart of such a great cause with Michelle Obama! Wow!
VALIDATED: You’ve also been featured on Lacrae’s GRAMMY winning album with Big KRIT on the single, “Mayday”, as well as Big KRIT’s new single “Good 2Gether”, how did the collaborations come about?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: Major shouts to Nashville producer Barnone who introduced me to Lecrae! Lecrae sent over a dope instrumental from DJ Khalil that was fire, and he needed a soulful hook which was right up my alley. At that moment I had to catch a flight to perform overseas the very next morning. I almost missed my flight, but after I was done it was well worth it because after that, Lecrae got a Grammy for the album that I was apart of! Such an amazing opportunity!
VALIDATED: What’s next for Ashthon Ahmiir?
ASHTHON AHMIIR: I’m on they necks this year, haha! Pushing harder than ever, dropping singles, mixtape coming soon, with an ep after that, visuals to every single I drop! It’s about to be crazy so stay tuned!
VALIDATED: What’s your social media contacts and website?
ASHTHON AHMIIR:
https://www.instagram.com/ashthonjones/
https://mobile.twitter.com/AshthonJones
https://m.facebook.com/ashthon.jones?ref=bookmarks
https://open.spotify.com/album/6yPwHPePMV7yswPM6oeDbk?si=BX3-w9R_Tcy7u1zpNn6vsA
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtwCCqiYcyoFuH4cUz-IeoQ