Tasha Layton was touring with Katy Perry for four years when the backup singer was offered the chance to become a pop star but turned it down. For the songwriter and singer, the timing was perfect. She was ready to share her testimony through Christian music and went on to do just that.
Layton recently released a new single, “Never,” inspired by how she turned to God in tough times. She explained to Fox News Digital, “When I was growing up, I wanted to be in ministry full-time. I wanted to be married with a family. I just had this picture of what I wanted life to look like. I was in my 30s, and that still hadn’t happened. I just thought, ‘What’s wrong with me? God, are you holding out on me? Did I do something to deserve this?’ The deepest part of my heart wanted this thing, and it wasn’t happening. I just felt like I was forgotten and abandoned.”
She added, “When I started writing this song, it had a lot to do with that.” Now, Layton is happily married with two children living in Nashville, where she makes music on her terms. She couldn’t have predicted how her story would unfold. It was 2010 when Layton found herself auditioning for season 9 of “American Idol.”
She explained, “Some people I knew were auditioning and asked me to go just hang out. I ended up learning that you can’t go hang out in the line unless you are signed up. I thought everyone was crazy. There’s 14,000 people coming to the Rose Bowl [in California], and they’re only choosing 300. Like, none of us have a shot. This is just for fun. And then when I got picked, I was like, ‘Oh, I gotta follow through with this now!’”
The South Carolina native didn’t make it to Hollywood but briefly met her future boss. Layton returned to her everyday life and led worship for a multi-level marketing conference in Orange County, where she received an offer that seemed too good to pass up initially. She said, “The keys player played keys for Kesha, and they needed a background vocalist for the Kesha/Rihanna tour. She told me that I should audition. I thought, ‘Maybe this is the open door I’ve been praying for to do music outside the church.’… I got the job, and we were supposed to start on Wednesday at 2 p.m. for rehearsal and leave Friday for Japan.”
When Wednesday came along, Layton said she realized the gig wasn’t for her. “I just felt that small voice say, ‘Don’t do it,'” she recalled. “I had gone against that voice enough in life. So I called them, and I said, ‘I’m so sorry. I just feel like maybe this isn’t right for me.’ And they were so gracious.” Layton admitted she immediately had second thoughts. But fate had other plans.
She explained, “As soon as I got off the phone, I thought, ‘I have made a huge mistake. I’m self-sabotaging. What have I done?’ At 2 p.m., the same time I was supposed to be starting rehearsal with Kesha, I get a call from Katy Perry’s manager. ‘Can you be here in 20 minutes?’… I had taken off my 9-5 to go to this other rehearsal.”
Layton continued, “So, I downloaded the song on my phone, and I learned it on the way to [the studio in] Hollywood. I was the last girl of the day. I met Katy, spoke with her for a few minutes, auditioned, and then I got a call the next day. I needed to show up for rehearsal, and we were leaving for Madison Square Garden on Friday.”
Layton said that some labels were eager to sign her. But the singer was yearning for something more. At the time, she was still leading worship at her church whenever she was home from touring. She said, “I had no interest in it at all. Having experienced that culture and that pressure from being on the road with Katy and seeing it firsthand, I got a bird’s-eye view of how damaging it can be to your soul. And I just missed singing songs that directly connected people to God. I’ve always led worship in church. And you know, when I’m on my deathbed looking back, I’m not going to care that I built a career. I’m going to care that I helped people. I just didn’t see how a mainstream deal and the music that they wanted me to sing, the kind of thing that they wanted me to do, was going to be helpful for anyone and much less, connect people to who I believe is the creator of the universe.”
After touring with Perry, Layton said she “felt stuck.” She focused on her mental health before feeling ready to share her message with audiences, one of how her faith in God has guided her life. As someone who once struggled so much in college that she considered taking her life, Layton wanted to help uplift others through song, letting them know they weren’t alone.