Cassadee Pope

Cassadee Pope
Pope performing in 2017
Background information
Birth name	Cassadee Blake Pope
Born	(1989-08-28) August 28, 1989 West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Country pop[1] pop rock[2] power pop[2] pop punk[3] emo pop[4]
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar violin drums
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Universal, BMLG, DCD2
Associated acts	Hey Monday Blake Shelton Chris Young All Time Low
Website	cassadeepope.com

Cassadee Blake Pope^[5] (born August 28, 1989) is an American singer and songwriter. Pope was the lead vocalist of the rock band Hey Monday (on hiatus as of December 2011), with whom she released one studio album and three EPs. Pope embarked on a solo career in early 2012, and released Cassadee Pope EP in May 2012. She took part in the third season of The Voice and became the first female winner on December 18, 2012. Her debut solo country album, Frame by Frame, was released on October 8, 2013 to a top 10 Billboard 200 charting.^[6] It debuted at No. 1 on Top Country Albums, with 43,000 copies sold in its first week.

Life and career

2008–11: Career beginnings and Hey Monday

Pope in 2008

While attending Wellington High School in Wellington, Florida, Pope formed the band Blake with good friend Mike Gentile. The project disbanded before being signed and in 2008, she and Gentile along with Alex Lipshaw, Michael "Jersey" Moriarty, and Elliot James founded the pop punk band Hey Monday. Hey Monday released their first studio album, Hold on Tight, in October 2008. Pope wrote two songs and co-wrote the other nine songs. She appeared in Fall Out Boy's video for "America's Suitehearts", from their 2008 album Folie à Deux. She also provided guest vocals for The Cab's remix version of their song "Take My Hand" that appeared on Fall Out Boy's mixtape, Welcome to the New Administration, and appeared in the music video for it the following summer of 2009. James left the band at the end of 2009. Hey Monday's first EP Beneath It All was to be released in August 2010; to promote the album the group toured the US and played on the 2010 Warped Tour. The Christmas EP was released on December 6, 2011, and later that month Hey Monday took an indefinite hiatus on good terms.

2012–2014: Solo career, The Voice and Frame by Frame

In January and February 2012, Pope embarked on her first solo acoustic tour across the east and west coasts of the United States.^[7][8] She released her debut self-titled EP (self-labeled) on May 22, 2012, containing four songs written by Pope.^[9] She auditioned for season 3 of the singing competition The Voice during the summer and had all four coaches offer her a place on their teams; she ultimately picked country singer Blake Shelton. In the third live round, Pope performed "Over You", co-written by mentor Shelton. The song reached number one on the iTunes chart, knocking Psy's "Gangnam Style" down to number two. She was the only female contestant to advance to the Top 4 round where she performed "Stupid Boy" by country singer-songwriter Sarah Buxton, which also reached number one on iTunes. She advanced to The Voice finals, winning the title on the live finale results day in December. An album compiling her performances on The Voice entitled The Voice: The Complete Season 3 Collection reached No. 1 on the Heatseekers and sold 11,000 copies, and 8,000 more copies in the following week. Her self-titled EP also re-entered the chart at No. 42, selling 1,000 copies.^[10] Pope performed "Stand" on New Year's Eve with Carson Daly, and later performed that night with Grammy award-winning group Train at the NIVEA Kiss Stage in Times Square in New York City.^[11]

In January 2013, Pope signed with country music label Republic Nashville; the lead single of her solo album, "Wasting All These Tears", was released on May 31, 2013. It debuted at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It sold 125,000 copies in first week of release.^[12] The album, Frame by Frame, was released in October 2013.^[13] Pope spent most of 2014 touring with country artists Tim McGraw and Dierks Bentley. She also was featured on the Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute to Mötley Crüe album where she covered The Animal In Me.^[14]

2015–present: Summer EP and upcoming second studio album

Pope playing acoustic guitar in 2017

Pope released the lead single, "I Am Invincible" from her upcoming second studio album. During late 2015, Pope recorded a duet with Chris Young, titled "Think of You" for his 2016 album I'm Comin' Over. This single became Pope's first song to peak at number one on the US Country Airplay chart in May 2016. In March 2016, Pope travelled to London and performed several times as part of the C2C: Country to Country festival line-up, including an appearance on the main stage with Young.

Pope's new EP, Summer, was released on June 3, 2016 and the title track was released as a single on June 6, 2016.

On July 24, 2016, Pope sang the Star Spangled Banner, the United States national anthem, before the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

On October 16, 2016, Pope sang the Star Spangled Banner, the United States national anthem, before the Houston Texans and Colts game.

Pope and her duet partner Chris Young were nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their hit song "Think of You", making her first contestant from The Voice to receive a Grammy nomination.

In July 2017, Pope parted ways with BMLG records due to lack of promotion.

Influences

When it comes to Pope's influences she has said “I’m all over the place. I tend to go backwards a little bit and listen to Natalie Imbruglia's Left of the Middle and old Shania, Michelle Branch, Avril, Blink 182…I’m kind of all over the board. And then more recently I’m into the new Blake Shelton album, not gonna lie. Hunter Hayes and Taylor Swift.”^[15] Pope also mentions Martina McBride as one of her influences.

Personal life

Beginning in January 5, 2010, Pope was in a relationship with Rian Dawson, the drummer of All Time Low. In February 2017, the pair were engaged.^[16] The two announced their separation in June 2017.^[17] Pope has been estranged from her father, Lenny Pope,^[18] since her parents' divorce. Since winning The Voice, they have come back into contact.^[19]

Performances on The Voice

     – Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Promotional singles

Music videos

Releases from The Voice

Compilation albums

Singles

Guest appearances

Other appearances

Awards and nominations

Tours

Headlining

• Solo Acoustic Tour (2012) with Stephen Jerzak, Justin Young, and Darling Parade

Supporting

• Live & Loud Tour (2013) with Rascal Flatts & The Band Perry
• Sundown Heaven Town Tour (2014) with Tim McGraw & Kip Moore
• Riser Tour (2014) with Dierks Bentley & Randy Houser
• Southern Style Tour (2015) with Darius Rucker & David Nail
• I'm Comin' Over World Tour (2016) with Chris Young

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cassadee Pope.

• Official website