Nie was born Ashley Nichole Sullivan in Long Beach, California on January 27, 1994. She was raised modestly by her father who was in the military and worked as a police officer. As a child, her and her family traveled a lot and resided in many different states on a temporary basis due to his military involvement. Because of the moves, Nie struggled making friends at school so her father decided to introduce dance, music, and musical instruments into her life. She fell in love and the rest is history. By the age of 10, Nie could play the guitar, flute, violin, and piano. By the age of 12, she was trained to sing classical music on a professional level. For years, she also competed in beauty pageants in both Arkansas and California, where tap dancing or singing was her talent of choice. At the age of 13, she took up competitive cheerleading until the tender age of 14 when her father tragically committed suicide on Father's Day. Nie was very close with her father and shortly before his death she shared with him that she wanted to be an entertainer and one day be in a singing group. He said to her, "I have given you all of the tools that you need to be successful and I know that you will be something special." Her father also suggested for the singing group to be called Innocence. After her father's death, Nie moved to Memphis, TN with her mother and continued to struggle with her surroundings and making friends at school. Losing her father was traumatic. To cope with the loss, she began writing songs as an outlet for her pain and discovered a hidden talent within herself. At 15, she formed her first singing group with her then best friend 'Bree'. In honor of her father, Nie named the group Innocence. Nie created their image, wrote all of their songs, and arranged all of their music. The group performed in two talent shows in Memphis, TN. They also traveled to Atlanta to audition for a talent search that was hosted by Ne-Yo;however, they were turned around because they were not yet 16 years old, which was the minimum age requirement. Innocence had several studio sessions and recorded many songs together; however, the group was not properly managed and did not get the exposure that they deserved. When the duo finally turned 16, Bree's mother made her leave the group due to failing grades in school. Bree and Nie stopped communicating shortly after the group split. Determined to still reach her goals, Nie decided to be a solo artist and go at her dreams alone. While she was still 16 years old, she traveled to Orlando, Florida and auditioned for American Idol. She made it through the first round, but was cut shortly thereafter. The rejection was a blow to Nie and all motivation was lost to do music. For three years Nie did not write or perform. She made up her mind that the music industry was not for her. It wasn't until after she became pregnant with her first child that she turned back to song writing to find her way through yet another speed bump in her life. Music has saved Nie's life countless times and now she wants to share her story, with you. She is young but relatable to all ages and walks of life. Her song writing skills paired with her silky smooth voice and mysterious style is captivating. Nie is a true ICON in the making.