Regarding the song selection for The Blade, she said, “I had written so many new songs and I just had so many to choose from. My manager, Vince Gill and Justin Niebank and I listened to every song, and I really trusted Vince Gill on song selection, since he has done well with it in the past.”
It features the lead single “On To Something Good,” and as soon as she wrote the song “Bombshell” she knew that it had to be on the album.
Monroe revealed that the song “Dixie” can be interpreted in many different ways. “Justin Davis and Sarah Zimmermann from Striking Matches came and wrote with me a lot while on the Hunter Hayes tour, and we finished it together. I’m glad they brought me in on that one,” she said.
While she did not write the title track “The Blade,” she noted that each time she sings it live, it feels like she wrote it. “I have such an attachment to it,” she said.
She described her show for NPR this past Monday in New York City as “magical.” “I love NPR. That was the radio station that I wanted to be on. The sound was great, and I love singing to a crowd who is so interested that they are closing their eyes. There were so many people doing that. I feel like I am doing my job, since I am touching other people. I think it went great,” she said.
Her plans for the future are to continue touring, to promote her new album. A fond moment for Monroe was being able to perform live with Pat Monahan from Train on the song “Bruises” at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. “Train played there a few weeks ago, and Pat texted, and I went out and sang with them. I love them so much, but Pat is one of my favorite friends as well. He’s amazing,” she said.
While Monroe was not a part of Train’s show on June 16 at Jones Beach, New York, to sing “Bruises,” she joked that Train could do something to rectify that, so that Monahan doesn’t sing “Bruises” by himself. “They could get a hologram or something of me,” she said with a sweet laugh. “I’m going to text Pat and tell him that I expect a hologram next time.”
The same holds true for country star Hunter Hayes when he sings “What You Gonna Do” in his shows without her these days, especially since they haven’t seen each other in a while. She subsequently joked that he needs a hologram of her as well.
For more information on country songstress Ashley Monroe and her new album, check out her official website.
