Ashley Cooke’s ‘Good Goodbye’ Video Brings a Twist

Country newcomer Ashley Cooke knew ACM New Male Artist of the Year Jimmie Allen would be a perfect addition to her new single “Good Goodbye,” it was just a matter of making it happen.

“We originally recorded ‘Good Goodbye’ as an individual song with just my voice on it, but something felt missing to give the song the depth it deserves,” Cooke shares in a press release.

“I knew Jimmie would be the perfect addition and I’m just honored to get to collaborate with such an unbelievably talented artist,” she says. “His tone, harmonies, riffs, storytelling, etc. adds so much to the song and I’m so proud to be releasing this with him.”

Written by Cooke and Blake Pendergrass, “Good Goodbye” is a breakup song that doesn’t sting — it’s the story of a relationship that’s ending, but both parties want it to end well. In the midst of saying goodbye, they want to push back the pain and soak up the last moments of what they were when they were great, to say goodbye with the best memory.

The official music video — premiering exclusively on Taste of Country and The Boot on Wednesday (Sept. 1) — takes that breakup and spins it into something completely different. It was actually Cooke’s manager who suggested a different kind of goodbye: A military goodbye.

“It was a no-brainer and ended up being one of the most beautiful, subtle in the video, but incredible stories to tell,” Cooke says.

In the video, filmed in a home 25 minutes outside of Nashville, Cooke plays two parts: She’s portraying the woman who’s saying goodbye to her man who’s being deployed, and she’s also the artist, with the cameras swinging back to her and Allen singing the song in between scenes.

“Music is so subjective and it can apply to different people’s lives and that’s the beauty of it,” Cooke shares. “I’ve never dated someone in the military or have ties to the military, but the fact that I could tell such a similar story to what I’ve been through, through a different lens, was really inspiring and cool.”

“It just proves this song isn’t just about my own experience — it’s also about everybody else that’s ever had to say goodbye to somebody they still care about and love.”

Allen doesn’t play her love interest, but appears in the video to sing the duet parts with Cooke. To say she enjoyed working with him would be an understatement.

“Jimmie is one of those people who refuses to let anyone put him in a box. He’s just in his own world in the best way,” she says.. “It was fun performing with him because you see it in his eyes that he really means what he’s saying.”

“Good Goodbye” is part of Cooke’s eight-song debut album Already Drank That Beer, Side A, released on Aug. 27. Produced by Jimmy Robins, the project includes four new songs co-written by noteworthy songwriters Nicolle Galyon, Jameson Rodgers, Matt Roy and Hunter Phelps.

Cooke’s musical journey blossomed in a short amount of time. After gaining traction on TIkTok, the momentum of her career never slowed down — it’s been a year she calls ”unexpected and untraditional.”

“I’ve been around music since I was a kid and always wanted to be in it, but I had this idea of how I wanted to make it happen and this path I wanted to go down,” the singer shares.

Now when people ask what her future goals are, Cooke likes to say she doesn’t have set goals. “I want to just keep my mind open because I feel like this last year, if I had never gotten on TIkTok or really started posting videos, going on livestreams … my life would be completely different,” she says. “It’s been a blessing overall.”

Cooke will hit the road on tour with Breland for select dates this September before teaming up with Spencer Crandall throughout the fall.

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