Dasha Is ‘Here for the Party’ as Amazon’s New Breakthrough Artist

Dasha has been named by Amazon Music as the service’s next Breakthrough Artist, part of a spring wave the rising country singer is riding with some fresh material and high-profile live appearances. Her Amazon platforming was announced during Variety‘s Power of Women: Nashville event Thursday, at which Dasha entertained the star-studded crowd with a feverish live version of “Here for the Party,” the Gretchen Wilson country classic.

As part of its initiative promoting Dasha, the service has released an Amazon Music Original studio version of “Here for the Party,” which she also sang last week as part of her Mane Stage performance at the Stagecoach festival in California. The new recording can be heard here.

Dasha tells Variety that getting Amazon Music’s premiere cosign “means the world. This past year, I’ve been so lucky to find people who truly believe in what I’m doing and just want to help get the music out there. Amazon Music really champions breaking the mold and being unapologetic with your art, which is exactly what I’m trying to do. When I found out I was chosen as their Breakthrough Artist, I immediately freaked out with my team — especially knowing the artists who’ve had this spotlight before me, like Chappell Roan, Bailey Zimmerman, Nate Smith and so many others. It’s insane to be in that mix.”

Dasha may still have some breaking through to do, but no one can count it as her first break — that came last year, when her viral song “Austin” made it into the country airplay top 10 after essentially becoming so popular as a streaming sensation that radio had little choice but to follow their listeners.

For some country fans, the Gretchen Wilson song will feel like it came out just yesterday… but, being 25, Dasha experienced it as a childhood-into-teenage thing. “I grew up on Gretchen’s ‘Here for the Party’ — I’d hear it playing around the horse barn I used to ride at and the mid-state fair” (in her native California. “It became the anthem for my friends and I while we were getting ready for a weekend out. It’s just one of those songs that makes you feel unstoppable. It’s so badass, and you feel like a badass listening to it. So when Amazon Music asked me to pick a cover, it was a no-brainer. I had to go with something classic that made the party better.”

Performing it at Stagecoach “was insane. Getting to do that one on the Mane Stage was seriously surreal. The crowd was so here for the party — I swear the energy was electric. Seeing everyone get all hyped up to that song and then roll right into ‘Austin’ was a feeling I’ll never forget.”

Besides “Here for the Party,” Dasha has another new song out, “Not at This Party,” previewing what should be a full-length sophomore album later this year. Between those two songs, it might be easy to characterize her as country’s preeminent Party Girl of the moment. But actually, the two tracks do demonstrate her range. “Not at This Party” is a more downtrodden song about not wanting to be at a social gathering when her head is somewhere else. Whereas the cover of the Wilson classic is, of course, about enjoying the good times so much she will need to be forcibly ejected.

The irony of the juxtaposition of her “party” songs has not escaped her. “Well, ‘Here for the Party’ is definitely the one that gets everyone hyped — it’s a full-on let’s-get-rowdy moment,” she says. “But ‘Not at This Party’ hits in a totally different way. It’s still got that upbeat vibe, but the lyrics are a little more of a play on words. It’s about being somewhere in person, but mentally you’re miles away. That feeling of being in a room full of people but still feeling completely disconnected — I’ve been there, and I know I’m not the only one.”

The idea with Amazon Music is to help keep her in those rooms full of people, of course… with the tens of thousands that cheered her on at Stagecoach as a model for career sustainability and growth. “The biggest perk” of being their Breakthrough Artist, Dasha says, is that “they’re out here actually helping get my music in front of new fans. And that’s always the goal — to keep growing and connecting with more people. They also want to support me being my most authentic self, which is normally a little messy and all over the place, but honestly, aren’t we all?”

“We’ve long been fans of Dasha,” said Michelle Tigard Kammerer, head of country music at Amazon Music, in a statement. “She’s a true presence in country, unafraid to be herself, ruffle some feathers, and make some of the most undeniable music at the intersection of pop and country in recent memory. We look forward to helping make her creative vision a reality. We’ll see you all in Dashville, U.S.A.”

What that support means in practicality, according to Amazon Music, is “bespoke video and audio content, global marketing campaigns, increased visibility across Amazon Music’s playlists and programming, and support for (her) music across Amazon’s diverse businesses.”

As for what she’ll be doing to capitalize on the support? “It’s such a huge help with everything we’ve got lined up this year. I’m hopping on some major tours with Dylan Scott and Thomas Rhett, which is wild, and I’ve still got a bunch of headline dates too,” Dasha says. “On top of that, I’m deep in the middle of working on my next project, and it’s dropping later this year.” Her existing fans might make the argument that she may actually be a 10, and we’ll see whether Amazon’s support allows her to really clean up good.