Photo: Brayln Kelly
Ashley Cooke opens up about moving forward after a toxic relationship in the music video for her autobiographical ballad, “your place.” Cooke, 26, premiered the storytelling video on Monday morning (January 29).
The Justin Clough-directed project captures the singer-songwriter establishing her independence again after the breakup. Cooke sets boundaries with her ex-boyfriend as he continues to pop into her life throughout the video: “It ain’t your place/ To walk up say hey ask how I’ve been at some party/ It ain’t your place/ To ask my friends when you see ‘em out if I’m seeing somebody/ You don’t get to call me up/ ‘Cause you’re drunk/ 2 a.m. say you miss us/ Nah you don’t get to care where I’m waking up these days/ It ain’t your place.”
“When I walked onto the set to shoot the video for 'your place,' I had no idea what to expect,” Cooke said in a statement on Monday. “The way Justin used an elevator to bring such a tangible plot line to the metaphor of the song is so creative, and I'm so excited for fans to see it.
“this video might be my favorite we’ve ever done,” Cooke added in a caption on Instagram. “the creativity behind it, the experiences on set, the team, the outfits.. everything about it was truly putting our best foot forward and I’m extremely proud of it. shoutout to everyone who had a hand in making this happen, the dream team. thank you for your hard work and brilliant creativity 🤍🚫🏡”
Cooke co-wrote the post-breakup anthem with Jordan Minton and Mark Trussell. It’s one of 24 tracks to appear on Cooke’s long-awaited debut album, shot in the dark, which released in July. She marked that occasion with an exclusive iHeartCountry Album Preview Party hosted by iHeartRadio's Brooke Taylor in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
“I've waited my whole life to release my debut album – growing up with this dream and finally getting to see it come to reality is something I can barely believe,” Cooke said at that time. “It's not lost on me I'm getting to share my diary with fans during a pivotal time in my life when I'm living out so many emotions and firsts every single day, and that's what's reflected in these 24 songs. The coolest part is that I'll have this time capsule for the rest of my life and I hope listeners get transported to those specific moments and feelings in their own lives, too.”
Lainey Wilson recently surprised Cooke with the news that she’s the iHeartCountry On The Verge Artist, a title previously held by Wilson, Carly Pearce, Megan Moroney and others. Cooke said when she shared a video of that moment in December that she “didn’t have becoming the next [iHeartCountry] ‘on the verge’ artist on my bingo card for 2023.. let alone having the torch passed down from my girl [Lainey Wilson]. this is truly something I’ve worked so hard for for so, so long and I’m ridiculously honored to have this opportunity. let’s do this 2024!!! 🤟”
Watch Cooke’s new “your place” video here: