Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Cressy.
Hi Ashley, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The Story Behind Cré Magdalene
I started out singing as a toddler. My dad was in several bands and had a recording studio in our home, so I recorded my first song with him when I was three. Obviously it was more of a joke at the time, but it became a notable part of my existence.
I loved singing and dancing, as did my older sister, and soon my mother saw fit to audition us for a musical at our local community theater, The Baytown Little Theater. For my first show, I was cast as a little girl with a huge lollipop in Annie Get Your Gun. I think this was actually when it clicked to me—subconsciously, at least—that I could make a living just off of being “cute.” From there we went on to do professional shows, workshops, and auditions, with aspirations of fame, Disney Channel, and big stages. I navigated through life always using the hope of fame as a coping mechanism for the trials and tribulations of bullying, being the weird kid, having acne, and having a “wide load” sign taped to my bottom by another kid.
When I was fourteen, I secretly wandered into a strip club on Bourbon Street while on a family vacation in New Orleans. I was completely enamored by what I saw, and I set out to find the empowerment that I believed those women had. I knew I wanted to eventually combine my background in theater and my desire to be a sexually empowered woman to create an exotic career, but since that wasn’t legal yet, I focused on partying, defying my parents, and being a rockstar.
At sixteen, I tried drugs for the first time after a devastating breakup and the tragic death of a close friend. I now know I was extremely codependent, and that’s a huge aspect of my reformed career and artist identity today. But at the time, I was just looking to feel good.
By seventeen, I went on a small local tour, singing a hook for a band I had recorded with through my dad. I was pretty hooked on drugs already and was sneaking liquor anywhere I went. I got to drink Crown Royal with DMX, which was probably the highlight, but it was also just really cool sitting backstage in the same green rooms as many of my favorite artists.
At nineteen, I got my first dancing job at Treasures Houston. From there, my fame chasing really got the best of me because I thought I could party my way into it. I found out quickly I was wrong, but by then I had accumulated so much trauma—men who said they’d be my manager but just ended up molesting me, and boyfriends who were more interested in using me to frame for criminal activity, than “Love,” that- it was easier and actually less painful, to just stay. I figured I had made my bed, and I would lay in it.
When I met my daughter’s father at twenty-one, I was working as a dancer and an escort and I was still an aspiring artist. He was an older man who seemed well off, and he proposed to take me away from that lifestyle. Unfortunately for us both, he was also an artist, more stuck in the same lifestyle than either of us had realized.
During my fourth time in rehab, I discovered I was pregnant for the first time. That completely changed me overnight, internally. I was pretty hopeless until my daughter arrived, but knowing there was an innocent life inside of me helped me regain and nurture my own innocence again.
My name up until then was Cré, pronounced “Crey,” but I officially adopted the name Cré Magdalene in 2024 to more clearly express my artistry’s dedication to exploring themes of femininity as well as spirituality. I’m in no way proposing absolutes, but merely a sense of wonder, and the idea that God does not punish, nor does He live outside of us. He comforts us with passion and is within us.
This is the story I originated from, and the message my voice is dedicated to.
Since then, I’ve simply been following the light, and it’s taken me to great heights. I’ve had incredible growth in my career, sobriety, mental health, and relationships. I moved to LA in 2023 and did a social experiment as a homeless woman for about eight months, and in that time I worked with Industry mentor Chris Anokute, most known for managing Katy Perry, who I grew up being a huge fan of. I received a scholarship to Musicians Institute and got to study live performance right on Hollywood Blvd and meet amazing artists and professionals in the music industry, and I met my producer, MTStreets, through a mutual friend connected to the sober community.
I am now happily back home in Houston, TX, where I will be working more behind the scenes, nurturing my roots, and simply enjoying motherhood, family, and everyday life. Through everything I experienced, I learned that these things are what matters most and offer me the greatest sense of purpose, fulfillment, and peace. Music will continue to be my preferred career, but I am fluid about how that manifests. Live shows, albums, songwriting and sync opportunities- I might do one of them, all of them, or none of them! We will have to wait and see. No matter what though, I’ll never stop singing. I am a songbird for life. As long as there is air in my lungs, there will be a song in my heart and mind and soul.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has had many high highs and low lows. For years I battled serious mental health issues, which I actually believe were demons, and still are demons, that I have to actively ward away, daily. I am so thankful to have a relationship with Jesus. I tell my daughter not to fear demons, they are just like flies. So, I am thankful to have Jesus, my demon swatter. Haha! It HAS been challenging, but thanks to him, it has not been impossible.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am most known for my songwriting. I have a unique ability to write songs within Pop chord progressions without having an instrument around. I’m also a skilled lyricist, with a keen ability to predict rhyming patterns. It’s not SUPER impressive, actually, a lot more people probably do it than even realize they are doing it. We subconsciously take in a lot. So I was shocked when I learned that I was “naturally” writing songs in such a tight and organized theoretical format, even when to me, my musical impulses felt random. I think what sets me apart from others is my ability to nerd out about this kind of stuff. Lol!
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
As mentioned in my opening statement, I’m not clinging to any specific outcome too tightly. Life has humbled me and taught me plans are just ideas. The only thing I know now is that my priority will always be on my family, and most importantly, my responsibility as a mother, and servant of Jesus.
Pricing:
- Voice Lessons Available (Price is Negotiable)
- Yogic Life Coaching Sessions Available (Price is Negotiable)
- Live Performance Bookings Available (Price is Negotiable)
- Recording Features Available (Price is Negotiable)
- Visual Art Commissions (Price is Negotiable)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cremagdalene.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cremagdalene/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Cremagdalene
