Tayla Parx

A soulful, genre-crossing singer, Tayla Parx is known for her hooky pop- and R&B-influenced songs. Initially garnering attention as an actress in the mid-2000s, Parx established herself as a go-to songwriter, collaborating on hits like Fifth Harmony's "Boss," Khalid & Normani's "Love Lies," and Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next." His own singles followed, and in 2019 she issued her debut album We Need to Talk.

Born Taylor Monet Parks in 1993 in Dallas, Texas, Parx became interested in performing at a young age. Initially interested in singing, she shifted toward dance for much of her adolescence. Following a meeting with noted dancer/choreographer/actress Debbie Allen, during which she was encouraged to try acting, Parx began auditioning for parts, and by her early teens had appeared on TV shows like Gilmore Girls and Everybody Hates Chris, and scored a recurring role in the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP. She also starred as Little Inez in the 2007 film version of Hairspray.

Along the way, she rediscovered her love of music, however, but her reputation as a dancer/actress meant that she had to prove her worth to the music industry all over again. Subsequently, she dove back into songwriting, producing, and engineering. She also began studying entertainment law. At age 19, roughly two years after her last acting job, she was signed as a songwriter by music executive Jon Platt at Warner Chappell Publishing. Soon after, she began picking up songwriting work, collaborating on tracks for major artists like Ariana Grande, Mariah Carey, and Jennifer Lopez.

In 2015, she had her breakthrough success co-writing the hit song "Boss" for Fifth Harmony. That same year, she also co-wrote and was featured on Chris Brown's "Anyway." More high-profile songwriting placements followed, including co-writes on four Billboard Hot 100 singles with Panic! At the Disco's "High Hopes," Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next," and Khalid & Normani's "Love Lies." As a solo artist, Parx made her debut in 2015 with the single "Do Not Answer," followed by a handful of well-received tracks including "Bump That" in 2016 and "Me vs. Us" in 2018. She also issued the self-released mixtape Tayla Made in 2017. In 2019, her debut full-length album, We Need to Talk, appeared, and included the single "I Want You." ~ Matt Collar