For 23-year-old graphic designer Ashley Bush of Falls Church, singing and songwriting is only a part-time passion. That being said, Bush and her buddy Amanda Dillard could be getting full-time exposure, every single morning if their song is chosen to be the theme song for the Headline News program, “Morning Express with Robin Meade.”
The duo found out about Meade’s ongoing “Rise and Shine Song Contest” several weeks ago from Bush’s husband, who works at Booz Allen Hamilton and is glued to HLN all day long. “So we looked up the other songs that had been entered so far and said, ‘yeah, why not,'” Bush explained to Yeas & Nays. She and her friend, Dillard, a 25-year-old singer and guitarist from Roanoke, spent only a few hours penning the ridiculously catchy tune entitled “Morning Express,” just like Meade’s show.
“We recorded it and then the next morning the CNN producer called and he said they wanted to put it on the air,” Bush said. “I was like shocked.” Since the girls’ initial debut, their music video has caught steam, making the cut to be in the top ten. If they win, the girls get a trip to CNN and HLN’s headquarters in Atlanta to record their jingle, which will serve as the theme song for the show. “We’ve never professionally recorded anything, so that would just be amazing in itself,” Bush gushed.
Voting will continue until the end of the month with a winner being announced in September.
