Eureka native and three-time “American Idol” contestant Ashley Lusk says her parents report she was singing before she could talk.
Now, at age 20, she is working on her first album.
Her musical roots were deep and obvious.
“My parents always told me the story of (them) playing opera music in the car and they heard me in the background. I was 8 months old,” Ashley said.
Next up, as a preschooler, she sang along, over and over again, to the songs on the “Lilo and Stitch” album, which was issued alongside the 2002 movie.
“I just remember that being my most favorite soundtrack ever,” Ashley said.
She said she got her first guitar of her own when she was 5.
“I was always jamming,” she said.
Ashley said her interest in music was boosted by her dad, who plays the guitar.
“I think he really inspired me to sing,” she said. “I was surrounded by it.”
Ashley said she got more serious about building her guitar skills at age 11 and began going to “open mic” nights to get experience in front of an audience.
Ashley grew up in Eureka, where her parents, Shannon and Robert Lusk, still live, and where Ashley returns for holidays and visits while attending Missouri State University in Springfield.
Her mom said Ashley is always singing.
“I have pictures of her when she was 4 with headphones and a guitar and she was just singing away,” Shannon said. “Before she could talk, I would be playing music in the car and she would be singing along with it. She always just had a passion for it.”
Shannon said Ashley’s voice teacher took her to a recording studio, and after that, Ashley really wanted to record a song.
“She kept bugging me that she wanted to make some songs,” Shannon said. “I kept kind of blowing her off because she was a kid.”
But, eventually, Mom gave in. In 2013, Ashley recorded her first song, an original, “Crazy for You,” and made a music video at LaSalle Springs Middle School.
Ashley said she co-wrote the song with Tony Esteryl and Luke Arens, producers of the video, which can be seen on Ashley’s YouTube channel.
“It (Ashley’s career) really kind of took off from there,” Shannon said. She said Ashley focused at first on country songs, but now opts for pop music more often.
She tried out for the “American Idol” TV show while a student at Eureka High School, where she graduated in 2017.
Her first audition was in 2015 when Ashley was only 16.
“I was under 18, (so) I had to have my mom come with me – which was amazing,” Ashley said.
In her first attempt, she made it past the first cut to Hollywood week.
“The first year was definitely brutal,” Ashley said. “It was like singers’ boot camp. (There was) a lot of amazing advice – advice you wouldn’t really get from just a music lesson.”
The judges were Keith Urban, Harry Connick Jr. and Jennifer Lopez.
“That was really, really cool,” Ashley said. “Those judges were amazing.”
Ashley said the show filmed a hometown segment about her.
“The whole production company came to Eureka and filmed me in my house, writing music and stuff,” she said. “They filmed Eureka and everything, and then they didn’t show it.”
In her first attempt, Ashley made it to the last round of three in Hollywood week, but was not named a finalist. She tried again in 2016 and again advanced to Hollywood week. She also made the third round again, but did not advance to the finals.
“I think about it every day, how grateful I was to have that experience,” Ashley said.
She tried out for the show for a third time in 2018, with Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan as judges.
“It was really, really, really, really cool because I’ve listened to Katy Perry since I was in fourth grade,” Ashley said.
Ashley said Richie told her she has a “powerful voice.”
“That really hit me because I do have that soul and it really made me feel good,” she said.
She made it to the first round in Hollywood week in 2018.
Ashley is majoring in marketing at college, but makes time to sing.
“I have my guitar down here and I practice and then I’ll have some gigs in St. Louis,” she said.
She said the project she is working on now is with three other artists.
“I have two original songs that have not been released, yet,” she said. “I’m super excited to release those.”
Ashley said she does not have a release date yet, but hopes it will happen this summer.
She said once she is finished with college she would like to pursue a music career.
“You never know what could happen,” she said. “I’m going to keep going and see. Try to get my name out there as much as possible.”
Ashley performed in Eureka during the Scarecrow Festival in October. She said Eureka is one of her favorite places to perform.
“It’s empowering because, basically, I am representing my town and I love Eureka,” she said.