Lauren Ash‘s newest song “Cool Story, Bro” isn’t just the perfect rage anthem — it is also the biggest Superstore cast reunion.
In Us Weekly‘s exclusive debut of the “Cool Story, Bro” music video, Ash, 42, hit back following a “really devastating breakup” with a very cathartic track.
“At one point in the end, [my ex] said to me [what] the meanest thing I ever said to him was. I replied, ‘Cool story, bro,’” Ash recalled about her recent split. “I thought it was so interesting. I was like, ‘He’s right.’ That is the meanest thing I ever said to him. But there’s just so many meaner things that I would’ve loved to have said. But of course I never would because I’m not a monster.”
The interaction served as inspiration for the song, with Ash adding, “If you listen to the lyrics, it’s like the letter that you write to an ex that you never really intend to send. It’s just you at your most petty and mean self. You put it all down but you never actually send — or I never actually send those letters. But you feel better just having written it.”
“Cool Story, Bro” documents the period of time after a difficult breakup.
“It starts where it’s, like, two weeks out and that first verse is almost kind of pathetic. I think that’s relatable too. You’re like, ‘What can I do? How can I change? What can I do to get you back?’” Ash explained. “Then the second verse starts talking about two months out and then it’s like, ‘Wait a second, this was crappy. Maybe I don’t want this person back.’ It is just trying to really encapsulate what it is to go through that kind of blindsiding heartbreak in real time.”
In addition to the catchy — and relatable — lyrics, Ash also surprised Us with onscreen cameos from Ben Feldman, Nico Santos, Colton Dunn, Nichole Sakura, Mark McKinney, Kaliko Kauahi and Jon Barinholtz.
“I actually got those clips from them a while ago for a different part of my music project, which didn’t end up happening,” Ash recalled. “But I was very lucky that there was definitely stuff that I could use. I was very lucky and very humbled that my dear friends that are all featured in the video were very keen to make a video roasting me. I’m very lucky there’s so many amazing lifelong friendships that were made on that show.”
Ash rose to stardom playing Dina on the NBC sitcom, which followed employees at a fictional big-box chain store. Her love for music, however, is something Ash has explored more recently after writing songs for years prior.
“Music has always been a huge part of my life. I’ve written songs since I was 13 when I got my first guitar — and even while shooting superstore. I would come home at the end of the day and unwind by playing my guitar and writing songs,” she recalled. “Prior to 2023, I just wasn’t really playing them for anybody. But there’s something really powerful about communicating and expressing yourself through art. music is way, way more vulnerable in some ways than acting is for me.”
She added: “That idea of communicating something that’s so real to you and vulnerable and raw was a completely different thing. I really love connecting to that different part of me and expressing it to people. The live performance of my music is the most fun. When you act on TV, it’s an amazing and wonderful experience, but there’s no feedback. But with music, it is this exchange of energy. People are singing and dancing along with you. It’s like a shared experience, which is what really kind of sets it apart for me from acting.”
Ash is still focused on exploring both career paths, though.
“I learned something with every song that I put out,” she explained. “I started doing music and then there was kind of this perception that I quit acting. I was like, ‘Why can’t I have it all?’ I’m hosting a new baking show in Canada right now and I’ve got lots of things on the go. I’m just somebody who doesn’t really like any downtime. I like a project, and music has kind of always been a part of my life. This is just the first time that I’ve been exploring that publicly. There’s 24 hours in a day though and I’m going to use each and every one of them.”
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