Interview: Tailah
Popular Christian Tiktoker Tailah has just released her debut single 'Radiant'. Tailah is one of the most popular Christian influencers right now, especially among youth. She boldly tells her story on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram where she shares her powerful testimony about leaving witchcraft and the New Age movement to follow Christ. Louder Than The Music had the chance to ask Tailah a few questions to find out more about how she started out in music, and what inspires her to keep going.
For those who haven't heard of you before, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got involved in making music?
My name is Tailah, pronounced (Tay-Lah) and I was born and raised in Nashville, TN. When I was 12, my 19-year-old cousin from L.A. moved to Nashville. He is an incredible music producer. I had recently started writing songs at the time, so he invited me over to record vocals one day. From there, we started making music together all the time in his basement-turned-recording-studio. I instantly fell in love with telling stories through songs. He would pick me up from my house after school and we would just write and create music for hours. So at 12, I began recording my songs and experimenting with different genres for fun. We released a lot of songs during my teenage years, mostly electronic pop. During this time I was also singing and playing guitar on the worship team at church.
In college, I decided to pursue Christian music. I had no desire to make the show all about me. I have always been more comfortable on stage, speaking or singing, when I am praising and glorifying God.
My dream is for people to experience the presence and the love of God through my music.
Tell us about your new single 'Radiant' and what the inspiration behind it was?
My new single ‘Radiant’ is about how God rescued me from my sin and transformed me into a radiant, new creation. I think every Christian can relate to that.
I went through a period of time where I had backslid from my relationship with God. I turned to false spirituality and relationships to fill the emptiness. Those quick fixes left me even more broken, and I finally had enough. I cried out to Jesus and He rescued me from the sin and darkness I was living in. That same night, I wrote radiant in my college apartment. The song just came from my spirit-I remember it was completely finished in about 45 minutes. Because this song is my testimony, it will always be very special to me.
Do you have any plans to release more music in the near future?
Absolutely. I am always thinking about the next song I want to write or record. I never get bored of the process! You can definitely look forward to more songs-especially worship-in the future.
What message would you like people to take from your music?
The entire bible has one overarching message from the Old Testament to the New Testament: Jesus. He is the message I always want people to take away from my music. My prayer is that people are healed and touched by God as they listen to my songs.
How would you describe your style of music and what are your influences?
My style is Pop CCM and Worship.
I love Upperoom, Kim Waker-Smith, Steffany Gretzinger, and Tasha Cobbs Leonard, just to name a few. You can hear their heart for ministry through their music and that inspires me.
If you could work with any songwriter, who would it be and why?
I would love to write with Steffany Gretzinger. Her music is so raw and anointed. I get chills every time I listen to her sing. She is my favorite artist. My husband Jerricho has been fortunate enough to work on her last two albums and he loved every minute of it.
How would you define success in your career as an artist?
I would define success as an artist as fulfilling God’s purpose for my music. For me, it isn’t about followers, streams, awards, or recognition. Is my music going out and accomplishing its purpose? Are people being healed and set free as they listen to my songs? Is Jesus getting all of the glory? Those are some of the questions I ask myself. Those are the questions that are important to me. I never want to hold back songs that God is calling me to release. To me, success is boldly walking in my calling.
What is your favorite album of all time?
Probably Speak Now by Taylor Swift. I remember when that album came out I was 13, and Taylor was doing interviews talking about how she wrote the entire album by herself. That really inspired me to become a female artist and develop my songwriting skills to a level like that. I love to collaborate, but I am also really proud of the fact that I wrote Radiant myself.
You're stuck on an island, it's hot, and you only have enough battery life left to listen to one song on your phone. What track is it?
Worthy Of It All - Upperroom
That song is one of my favorites this year!
What does the next year hold for you?
Hopefully a lot of new songs! I will definitely be creating a lot of music as well as content for Instagram and YouTube. I have recently started speaking at events and churches, so it will be fun to see where that goes in 2023!
