Ha*Ash Talks Staying ‘Loyal' to Its Sound — Even When It Meant Saying No to Record Labels

Yahoo

23-04-2025

Hanna Nicole and Ashley Grace are so in sync that they even finish each other's sentences at times.
Collectively known as Ha*Ash, the Louisiana-born sisters' bond has powered the duo's career over the past 20 years, and that built-in connectedness also contributes to their unbreakable status in Latin music. On April 24, the sisters will be honored at Billboard and Telemundo's annual Latin Women in Music event with the Unbreakable Award, celebrating both their music and their career as a remarkable sibling duo that is perhaps more relevant than ever today.
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'When I hear the word unbreakable, the first thing that comes to my mind is that, although this career has been like a roller coaster, here we are doing what we love to do the most,' says Hanna, who is a year and a half older than Ashley. 'It's an honor to not only be recognized for our work after 23 years of career but to continue to live from our stories and songs. It's a blessing.'
Speaking in perfect English and Spanish, a reflection of their bicultural upbringing — living half of the year in Mexico and the other half in the U.S. as kids — Hanna and Ashley are in the midst of their biggest tour ever, with a South American trek that included stops at Chile's Viña del Mar Festival, in the wake of their 2024 album, Haashville.
It's the latest high point in a career that fueled Latin pop's domination in the early 2000s with their country-tinged 'Odio Amarte,' the first single from their self-titled debut album, and 'Estés Donde Estés,' which became Ha*Ash's first top 10 hit on Billboard's Latin Pop Airplay chart.
' 'Estés' became the theme song of a Mexican telenovela, so it got such a big push from that,' Ashley explains. 'Back then, if one of your songs was picked up by a telenovela, it was like wow you made it. We never imagined this would be our breakthrough song, but it opened doors. We started performing small gigs, and after that, we kind of took off.'
But it was 'Odio Amarte' that showcased Ha*Ash's signature sound: Latin pop with a country twist. It was a style that came naturally to the Mexican-American sisters who grew up in the South listening to the likes of Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks. Hanna and Ashley — professionally trained musicians and singers — would translate those artists' songs to Spanish so their friends in Mexico could understand what they were singing about.
'That's who we are, a mixture of two cultures, different musical genres, that's the consequence of where we lived and who we are,' says Hanna. But their vision of fusing pop with country was met with resistance from some label execs who argued country wasn't popular in the Latin world. 'We would get yeses from labels we were visiting but they wanted us to just do pop, and we didn't want to record just to record, we wanted to do what felt natural to us. We said no to those labels because we weren't in a hurry to release anything, and we wanted to be loyal to our sound.'
Eventually, their demo ended up in the right hands at Sony Music México, with whom they signed and released their debut LP, Ha*Ash, in 2003. It was also around that time that the then teenagers signed with Ocesa Seitrack for management.
'Staying genuine to their music has been extremely relevant [to their success],' says manager Octavio Padilla of Ocesa Seitrack. 'That is what has generated a true connection between Ha*Ash and their fans and that has maintained this bond for so long. If today you go to a Ha*Ash show in Chile, Argentina or anywhere in Latin America, you will be able to see that connection where all their fans feel identified and close to Hanna and Ashley.'
All told, Ha*Ash has released a total of eight albums and, over the years, the duo has accumulated a total of 16 entries on Latin Pop Airplay, four of which reached the top 10, including 'El Cielo Te Mandó Para Mí' from their latest studio album, Haashville (2024), which reached a No. 7 high on Latin Pop Airplay.
Besides recording music, touring has been key to Ha*Ash's success. 'Thank God that's been where we've overachieved,' says Hanna. 'I wouldn't say that we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for live shows, but our careers would be different. Today, we are very fortunate to be on tour and sell the number of tickets that we have sold but tomorrow is not guaranteed so we value the good moments.'
That grateful mentality was instilled in them as little kids. Hanna and Ashley grew up in a strict household where they were taught the value of hard work at a young age. They started performing when they were around 12 years old at state fairs, rodeos and even a stint at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, as tourism ambassadors — handpicked by the Secretary of State in Louisiana who heard them sing at church. 'On the weekends, we would fly from Mexico to Louisiana to sing at all these events and we'd take our guitars, which were way bigger than us, and we'd perform and then fly back to Mexico on Sundays,' Hanna recalls of their extraordinary childhood.
Ashley chimes in, 'We were home-schooled and when we weren't touring, my dad would ask, 'What's your schedule? Because you're not just going to sleep around or watch television.' So, it was either piano or guitar class, singing class, going to the gym, doing something productive. 'If you have an hour that I don't see on your schedule, you're wasting your time,' he would tell us.'
And they wouldn't have it any other way either. 'When we signed with Sony, we were underage so my dad would go into every single meeting. He was always like, 'One day I won't be here, so you guys need to sit in and listen because I know I have done my job when I'm not here and you're able to continue with your career.' We are very grateful to my dad for that, for teaching us to work and to value.'
Reflecting on their 20 plus years in music, Hanna and Ashley are most grateful to be able to do this together.
'I just feel that we were brought up to do everything together and once we were working and traveling, although we're surrounded by so many people, at the end of the day, it's just us,' Hanna says. 'We've always had each other's backs, and we speak so openly about what works and what doesn't because we have a bond that is like no other. We're sisters first and then we're partners. Sisterhood always comes first.'
The third annual Billboard Latin Women in Music special will air live at 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT on Thursday, April 24 exclusively on Telemundo, Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.
Read Billboard's Latin Women In Music 2025 executive list here.
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