Michael & Ashley were crowned the 2010 New Zealand Country Duo of the year at the National Country Music awards.
New Zealand IDOL finalist, Ashley Cooper, and veteran singer/songwriter, Michael Tipping, began performing as a duo in September of 2008. They started out working clubs and private parties around northern New Zealand, their home.
In October, just one month later, they were named the winners of the Rising Star Award at the Variety Artist Club Annual Awards Show. From that moment on, demand for their music has sky-rocketed, and they’ve been working non-stop from Whangarei to Queenstown. Avid and skilled songwriters, these two also got the nod as New Zealand Country Music Song Writers of the Year.
As a result, In June 2009, Ashley and Michael were the very first Kiwi's to appear on the Country Music Association's Global Artist Party in Nashville Tennessee! The event was viewed by over 40 million people, and Ashley and Michael were backed by legendary singer/songwriter Pam Tillis's band.
During the trip to the United States, Ashley and Michael met producer Jeff Huskins. Huskins was immediately convinced of the star quality of these two young people. “Rarely does the entire package walk in your door. They simply have it…whatever it is. And when I heard Ashley’s vocal, I actually cried.”
That very same night, Huskins picked up the phone and called his longtime friend and bandmate, Dallas-based entertainment attorney Clarke Wilcox, and they got to work. Funding was put together, sessions were scheduled using the finest engineers and musicians in Nashville, and the results are phenomenal! Make no mistake, Ashley and Michael will be a major force in the music industry. There’s no limit to their potential, and the record companies that have heard the project are completely “knocked out.” Perhaps most telling is the fact that the decision-makers at Clear Channel have already given Ashley and Michael’s project their stamp of approval and are playing the tracks all over the country. Upon arriving home from their United States trip, they were booked to open for Glen Campbell’s New Zealand tour and will be featured at this year’s Bay Of Islands Country Rock Festival.
Ashley and Michael have recently returned from the United States and have appeared on the Johnny High’ Country Music Revue, the springboard for such superstars LeAnn Rimes, Steve Holy, Lee Ann Womack, Gary Morris, Linda Davis, Box Car Willie, and John Anderson.
