This time last year, Dasha trusted her gut. She had released her debut album, Dirty Blonde, in January 2023, and couldn't shake how detached she felt from the music after the release party in Los Angeles. After initially pursuing a songwriting degree at Belmont University in Nashville, the San Luis Obispo, California, native had gone all in on becoming a pop singer/songwriter living in L.A., but, as she says now, "I was playing a part." So, Dasha moved back to Nashville.
"I knew that returning to my roots in country music was what I needed for my inner artist to shine," the singer/songwriter born Anna Dasha Novotny tells GRAMMY.com. "I told my friends I was going back to country, and they were confused because I already had all of this pop stuff. I was just like, 'I know you don't understand, but it makes me feel so good about myself doing this for me.' I just knew it."
It was only a matter of weeks before betting on herself paid off. What would become What Happens Now?, Dasha's unapologetically country LP, poured out of her between February and August 2023. She was still an independent artist, but she knew she possessed her golden ticket in her back pocket: an undeniably catchy revenge anthem called "Austin."
"I felt more myself than I'd ever felt in my entire life," she says. "It was me and five people [on my team] saying, 'We have all the pieces. How do we light it on fire?'"
"Austin" officially dropped last November, but didn't send TikTok up in flames until What Happens Now? arrived in February. The country-pop earworm rocketed Dasha to viral stardom, thanks in part to an infectious line dance choreographed by the ballet-trained dancer herself. "Austin" was inescapable throughout the summer, as evidenced by the song landing on the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at No. 3 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.
Charting and streaming success was validating, but Dasha placed more weight on country bona fides such as Keith Urban, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, and Kelsea Ballerini reaching out to commend her on "Austin." During a promo run in London, Dasha serendipitously ran into Shania Twain, who gave Dasha her stamp of approval; on Sept. 26, Twain presented Dasha with The Female Song Of 2024 at the People's Choice Country Awards for "Austin" — a full-circle moment that meant even more to Dasha because it was a fan-voted award.
Fans (and artists) have flocked to Dasha because her wry, vulnerable lyricism is a natural extension of her personality, as showcased by "Austin." What Happens Now? rapidly turned Dasha into a breakthrough star, but she doesn't feel lost in the overwhelming results. If anything, she feels emboldened in her authenticity.
"It's going to be hard to follow up this year, but I have to understand that your first moments are supposed to blow your mind," she says. "It's supposed to exceed expectations. It's supposed to be this crazy. As long as I keep writing songs, releasing music and making music videos I'm just as passionate about — keep the authenticity going and stay true to myself — I'll be set."
Next up, Dasha will kick off the North American leg of her headlining Dashville, U.S.A. Tour in New York City on Oct. 8. Below, in her own words, Dasha reflects on her year of unimaginable firsts — from making her Grand Ole Opry debut to her monumental first visit to Austin, Texas.
I wrote "Austin" on May 15, 2023. I remember writing a different song, and we'd gotten the hook in the verse, and I was just like, "Guys, I'm pissed right now. I'm not writing a sad song right now." We took five in the backyard, and I said, "We need to write a revenge song. I'm pissed at this guy right now."
We used the same chords, and we just sped 'em up. We were just f—ing around playing guitar, and I blurted out the melody. "Did your boots stop working?" came to my mind, but I was paying more attention to the melody. Travis [Heidelman] said, "Wait, what did you just say?" I didn't remember, so I listened back to the voice memo. It was a very collaborative process where all of our brains lit up at the same time.
November is a weird time to put out such an upbeat song because people just want to listen to "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town," but our strategy was to let the DSPs play with this before we have a moment when the album comes out in February. That was the long-term plan, but I felt discouraged that more people weren't immediately like, "Oh, my God, this song is so good." Because I knew the song was so good.
I was talking the other day about how artists get so tired of playing their first hit, but I love "Austin" so much. I'm so proud of the songwriting. I genuinely never get tired of hearing it. I always turn it up when I hear it on the radio.
I'm proud of the song, but I'm also really proud of the story behind it — how a group of independent music lovers did it. There was no major label behind this. It was just lucky timing, a good song, and a group of friends that wanted to do something special. I started writing when I was 8 years old. I put out my first song when I was 13 years old. I've always, always wanted to do this with my life, and "Austin" is the reason that I can. I don't think I'll ever get tired of playing it.
In February [of 2023], I took a trip to Nashville and wrote "Drown Me." I was like, Oh, my God, have I just been denying this part of me that's so authentic? I fully committed to making a country album, and making this country album made me feel whole again. It made me fall in love with songwriting all over again.
I am a country artist, and I've always known that deep in my heart. I had to go through the artistic development of doing pop music, writing for different artists, living in Nashville, living in LA, and then moving back to Nashville to find myself as an artist. But this album is the first time I've ever put out a body of work that feels actually like myself.
I had written the song "What Happens Now?" I freestyled, "But now, we're older/ What happens now?" It was stream-of-consciousness because I was moving to Nashville in a month and feeling weird about being in my early twenties. The album was almost called King Of California because I have a very masculine personality, so I liked the idea of claiming myself as the King of California, but [my manager] Alex [Lunt] suggested What Happens Now? My dad thought it was cool. By naming it What Happens Now? — I love manifestation. I was genuinely calling in a crazy year. Bring it on, baby.
Feb. 16 is when the album came out. The next week, we were [filming] the "Austin" line dances. Every day, I posted five [TikTok] videos while working on a horse ranch. I worked there because I had been an independent artist for three years — that does not make a lot of money. As a side job, I would shovel the horse s—, ride 'em, train 'em, whatever, because I grew up riding horses, so it made me feel grounded.
The day after [the album dropped], I threw my phone up on the fence and was like, "Move, horses, I gotta dance!" That was my biggest TikTok, too. I think it had, like, 70 million views. Anywhere I could possibly get a video, I was like, F— it, here we go, baby. It was two or three weeks after that when the song had gotten so big on TikTok.
The most pressure was releasing the next single after "Austin." That almost drove me off a bridge. It was so scary, but "Didn't I?" was the perfect next single.
I almost named the deluxe album What Happens Next? I have no plans of slowing down anytime soon. I feel like I'm just getting my bearings, and I'm ready to go harder. Anything is possible, and I'm ready for it.
Jimmy Kimmel asked me in March. That was the first big pop culture moment. Like, Oh, s—, this huge talk show host wants me to come and be the musical guest. At this point, I was just a TikTok artist, which has such a bad connotation. I hate it because it's like, What do you want me to do? Not post my songs online? Sorry that it blew up. But at the time, that's how I was perceived. It meant so much to me to have Jimmy and his team reach out.
Afterward, I got TMZ'd on the way to the parking lot. The headline was "Dasha looking slightly frazzled." But even though it was the worst TMZ ever, I was like, the fact I got TMZ'd at all is kind of crazy. People care about me. I felt like this was going to be something. I knew it was just the beginning. I just felt this fire inside me. Everything in my body, my mind, and my soul felt right.
Landing A Major Label Deal With Warner Records
Feb. 27 is my birthday, so Alex and I met with every f—ing label under the sun during my birthday week. I was treated like a princess — flown first-class across the world. It was such a crazy time because I was still broke.
There were nights when I wondered, What is the right decision? I mean, it was the best labels in the world. There was no wrong decision. But Warner Records felt like a family. People cared about me on a human level. As an artist, that can sometimes disappear quickly. You can get treated more like a product or a workhorse. I had already made personal connections with a lot of people at Warner Records. I felt safe there. That's why I chose them.
I felt so powerful going to those meetings, being like, I am the hottest thing on the market right now. Every label wants me, and I know it. A year ago, if I were doing those label meetings, I would've been like, "No, anything you want!" But because I had what they wanted, it was a total role reversal.
I was a little coy during meetings. It was fun having the attitude of, "I have a hit song. What's up?" Obviously, it was a joke, and they loved how I played up that role. But it reminded me, like, You are a powerful woman. It's fun to be in a position to show women you've got the power, girl, and you can be in this position, too.
When I got asked to play at the CMT Awards, I wasn't thinking about my first trip to Austin being to perform "Austin." But on the flight there, I was like, Wait, this is so cool. The universe has winked at me so many times.
I was scared that people would be like, "She's fake! She wrote 'Austin,' and she's never been here!" I'm like, "Chill out. The song is about Nashville, but Nashville doesn't rhyme. What did you want me to do? Write a s—ty song?"
I was so overwhelmed that I looked at my stylist and said, "Just make me look good." I gave her this vision — a reference picture of Khloe Kardashian in a floor-length cheetah dress. I needed to make a statement for my first carpet and wanted to reference Shania. Sami Miro did a custom floor-length dress for me. We had one size. Thank God it fit!
I'm a very emotional person, and I was trying to fight back tears when fans started screaming "Austin" from the stands. I was in full glam, like, Girl, do not do this right now. But I screamed back at them, and it was a fun, full-circle moment. Those five minutes walking the outside part of the carpet were genuinely one of my favorite moments of this entire year.
After my performance, I was shaking. I was so overstimulated and so stoked. I remember Lainey Wilson walking up to me. She was just like, "Girl, you killed that. I'm so proud of you." Even though we didn't really know each other, [it] felt like, Oh, I have a friend here. Those simple things mean a lot.
Playing CMA Fest at Nissan Stadium was my first-ever stadium performance. I went to Nashville when I was 13 years old with my dad to take publishing meetings with anyone who would talk to this random 13-year-old girl with a really big dream. Nissan Stadium was the first stadium that I had ever seen.
I had two minutes while they were announcing something. Standing up there, I was like, Oh, f—, I'm about to play this stadium I saw from Music Row when I was 13. It felt full circle and really, really special.
Then, I jetted over to the Spotify House at Ole Red on Broadway to play with Keith Urban. Two weeks before CMA Fest, I was doing a press run in Germany and got a text that said, "Hey D, this is Keith (Urban)." I was like, Is this a prank?! He said he was such a big fan of "Austin" and would love for me to come sing "Austin" at his Spotify House set during CMA Fest. Keith was the first artist of that stature to reach out and have me perform with them. And that was just such a surreal f—ing moment for me.
My publicist, Avery King, called me, and I was tearing up. Avery is such a good friend of mine, and she was just as excited as I was to have that news come in. It's been special to have all these big first moments with people who genuinely give a f— about me.
The Grand Ole Opry is a mystical, magical place. You hear about it growing up. It's so iconic. I felt so overwhelmed because it's the physical center of country music history and culture.
There was a beautiful piano in my green room, and I was trying to warm up my voice. I play guitar and piano, but started on piano. My mom put all her kids in piano lessons, even though I hated it. Thanks, Mom!
When you strip down "Austin," it's actually a really sad song. You can hear how betrayed and hurt I was by this guy. So, I started playing "Austin" on the piano in the green room. It felt so real singing it in the Opry on a piano. We chose to do the stripped-back version instead of the full band version of "Austin" for my Opry debut because I wanted to show that side of the song — the sultry, pain-ridden side — especially because acoustic songs shine at the Opry.
Headlining A Tour For The First Time
My dad has been calling Nashville "Dashville" for years now — such a dad joke. So when naming the tour, I was like, Wait, is it kind of cute if it's called Dashville, U.S.A.? Dashville is also my LLC, and I would love to open up a line-dancing bar called Dashville one day. It was very effortless.
I got advice from a voice teacher early on: No matter how small the venue is, pretend you're playing for 30,000 or 100,000 people in a stadium. My whole life, I've been working up to this moment. Not only did "Austin" do what it did this year, but it also brought the live show component. A lot of people who have a hit song don't sell tickets, and I understand that. I don't know how I got so lucky.
This is the first time I've played shows that are so authentic to me. I'm really excited to share more of my heart with people. Also, getting rowdy! I want there to be a mosh pit of people line dancing.
I want to build a community around my music — not just around liking my music and me. I want my fans to get to know each other and my shows to be their friendship bonding. My goal for this tour is to build the biggest, brightest and most supportive community. I feel like my style of country music is very inviting for all people.
I sold out every single show in Europe. Usually, there are a lot of little girls and younger people, but the tour's opening night in Stockholm was full of older couples. I was at the merch booth after the show, and there was a line of 15 dads excited to buy a T-shirt. Then, going to Ireland and having a tent with 10,000 people packed and screaming "Austin" — I could hear it through my in-ears. These moments have been such a magical way to start this very long career that I hopefully have ahead of me.