From Big Brother to big pop hooks, Sam Ashby closes one chapter and steps confidently into another with debut EP ‘Not a Girl’.
For plenty of people, Sam Ashby will first be recognisable from their appearance on Big Brother. But a year on from entering the public eye, Ashby is looking to introduce people to another side of themselves.
Released on 8 September 2026, debut EP ‘Not a Girl’ is a six-track snapshot of a pretty eventful twelve months, touching on relationships, heartbreak, identity and everything that comes with suddenly having a lot more eyes on you than before.
Ashby describes the record as a way of wrapping up that chapter of their life, and across its six tracks there’s certainly a sense of somebody working things out in real time.
Musically, though, this is very much a modern pop record at heart, packed with electronic production, danceable beats, big choruses and plenty of those hooks that have a habit of sticking about in your head.
So, let’s get stuck in.
NOT A GIRL
The title track opens relatively gently, with piano chords given a slight electronic treatment before Ashby’s vocal takes centre stage.
There’s a warmth to the vocal delivery, while the introduction of a kick drum gradually gives proceedings a bit more momentum. Lyrically, there’s plenty going on, with Ashby telling the story of wanting somebody who simply doesn’t see them in the same way.
Then comes the hook.
The chorus lands on the title phrase before opening into a big, simple “woah-oh” vocal hook, and it’s here where the track really starts showing its pop credentials.
There’s nothing particularly revolutionary happening musically, but that’s not necessarily what ‘Not a Girl’ is trying to do. It’s polished, catchy and very easy to imagine finding a home on mainstream pop radio.
As the track develops, backing vocals and a livelier bridge help lift proceedings into an extended final chorus.
There’s a slight flavour of that polished, emotionally driven pop you’d associate with artists such as Justin Bieber, while Ashby’s own story gives the track its identity.
CODE
Things change fairly sharply with ‘Code’.
A faster, hip-hop-influenced beat gives this one a much more club-focused feel, while Ashby’s vocal is noticeably more processed and rhythmic.
The chorus is deliberately repetitive, built around the central idea of “talking in code”, and it doesn’t take long before you can imagine a room full of people joining in.
There’s almost a playful, slightly bonkers dance-pop energy to it, and of the opening tracks, this feels particularly suited to a club setting.
The production throughout is crisp and confident and, at only around two minutes twenty seconds, ‘Code’ doesn’t hang about. Get in, deliver the hook, get out. Job done.
Ashby laughing right at the end is a small touch, but a good one.
TORNADO WARNING
If ‘Code’ heads towards the club, ‘Tornado Warning’ throws open the curtains and lets some sunshine in.
Its opening electronic, almost glockenspiel-like melody immediately gives the song a bright, summery quality.
Interestingly, that upbeat production sits against lyrics which are considerably less cheerful, documenting the realisation that somebody you believed in wasn’t quite the person you thought they were.
That contrast works particularly well.
The “Tornado Warning” refrain is another strong pop hook, and Ashby again demonstrates a knack for writing choruses that are easy to pick up quickly.
Vocally, it’s another solid performance and probably one of the EP’s easiest tracks to picture popping up on daytime radio.
DEAR CHARLOTTE (TEACH ME HOW TO BE LIKE YOU)
‘Dear Charlotte’ wastes little time introducing itself, with Ashby’s vocal arriving immediately.
The opening is comparatively soft before a fast dance beat suddenly kicks right in, creating one of the EP’s more effective dynamic shifts.
It becomes a recurring trick throughout the track. Verses pull things back before the choruses arrive bigger and louder, meaning you really feel them when they land.
At just over three minutes long, it’s another concise bit of contemporary pop songwriting.
The ending is particularly nice too, bringing the energy back down and allowing Ashby’s calmer vocal to bring everything gently to a close.
NOT A GIRL (ACOUSTIC VERSION)
Rather than simply repeating the title track, its stripped-back counterpart gives us a much more exposed and emotional version of the song.
Despite being labelled acoustic, there’s no acoustic guitar taking centre stage here. Instead, piano carries the arrangement.
And it works.
Without as much production surrounding it, greater emphasis is placed on Ashby’s vocal and the emotion sitting underneath the song.
It actually gives the track a slightly cinematic quality. You could quite easily imagine this version appearing underneath an emotional scene in a film or TV drama.
Including both versions is worthwhile, because they show what the same song can become when approached from two completely different directions.
LOVE ME NOT
Finally, we reach ‘Love Me Not’, and there’s another stylistic shift waiting for us.
Guitar sits underneath the opening vocal before the track develops into something with more of an R&B-pop flavour.
Like several songs across the EP, there are a lot of words packed into the arrangement, but this time another vocalist enters the picture and creates a welcome contrast with Ashby.
The interplay between the two voices gives the track a different personality to everything preceding it, with Ashby largely carrying the recurring central hook while the contrasting vocal adds another texture.
As the finale approaches, the vocal production becomes increasingly electronic, giving the EP one final production flourish before bringing proceedings to a close.
FINAL THOUGHTS
‘Not a Girl’ doesn’t feel like an EP interested in reinventing pop music.
What it does instead is deliver six polished, accessible tracks built around memorable hooks, personal storytelling and strong modern production.
And importantly, there’s enough variation here to stop the six tracks simply blending into one another. ‘Code’ brings the club energy, ‘Tornado Warning’ has that summery brightness, ‘Love Me Not’ leans towards R&B, while the stripped-back ‘Not a Girl’ shows a considerably more vulnerable side.
For Ashby, though, perhaps the most important thing about this EP isn’t simply how it sounds.
‘Not a Girl’ feels like somebody drawing a line underneath one chapter of their life and having a crack at defining what comes next on their own terms.
Big Brother might have introduced Sam Ashby to a wider audience.
This feels like the point where Sam Ashby starts introducing themselves.
And you know what? That’s not a bad place to start.
5/5
LISTEN & FOLLOW
Listen to ‘Not a Girl’: ditto.fm/not-a-girl
Sam Ashby: @samashbyofficial
Released: 8 September 2026
EP: Not a Girl
Tracks: 6
