Jayla walton
Massive following aside, you might mistake Jayla Walton’s social media presence for that of your everyday 19-year-old. A quick scroll through her Instagram feed reveals dozens of workout reels, perfectly posed photo carousels, and selfies with family and friends—the kind of content you’d find on anyone’s profile. But look closer, and you’ll spot snaps of the multi-talented teen’s less-ordinary experiences—like acting in the final season of AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead as brainwashed apocalypse-survivor Dove, or modeling for several Savage x Fenty campaigns—casually posted alongside her last Disneyland trip. Going from mega-influencer to actor and model, Walton has proven she’s comfortable having an audience. That’s why it’s surprising to learn that, until recently, she kept her passion for music under wraps.
Jayla Walton is photographed by Anthony Giovanni, Fashion by Edwin J Ortega, Hair by Nathaniel Dezan Makeup by Bex Marie Words by Bailey Bujnosek, Cinematography by Aramis Duran Shot at HYPE studios
Jayla wears Mugler top, Skirt JW Anderson, Tie Gucci, Heels Ami,
Jayla wears Acne Studios
Jayla wears AMI
Jayla wears GUESS, Heels N21
“I definitely had friends that were in theater and choir and everything. But for me, for so long, music was private—because it was an outlet. I used it as therapy,” she shares on our midday video call. She’s leaning against her bedroom wall in her family’s Atlanta home, where the Georgia native put her earliest lyrics to the page. “I would go home [from school], and if I was feeling any kind of way that I didn't want to talk about, or I couldn't explain, I was always writing. Always singing.”
Most of us aren’t penning songs in elementary school, but it was as natural as learning to tie her shoes for the rising artist. Walton grew up in recording studios—her aunt is global superstar Alicia Keys, and her father, DJ Walton, has managed Keys’ company for nearly 2 decades. “I've just been around music, from [my aunt’s] perspective, my whole life,” she tells MOOD. The influence shows. After spending time with the “Girl on Fire” singer, the 19-year-old’s first playlists were stacked with R&B and soul-pop artists like Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill, Beyoncé, and Whitney Houston. These days, she’s steeped in pop and country—like the rest of us, she can’t get enough of Sabrina Carpenter and Cowboy Carter—but debut single “Premonition” bears traces of those early icons in Walton’s smooth vocals and ever-so-smoky delivery.
The singer-songwriter’s taste in music isn’t the only thing her aunt had an impact on. Keys also offered her niece her first recording experience, when the latter was just 10 years old. “It was a family vacation, but for some reason, while the other kids were out at the pool and the beach, I wanted to be at the studio with my aunt. And I remember her playing with some ideas of her own, and I brought my song journal out. I was just running ideas through my head, and then bouncing them off of her—telling her that I wanted to write music too. I think she thought I was just playing around,” she says with a laugh. “But I remember that being a pivotal moment for me. Like, wait a minute, I can literally make music if I want to.”
Singing in church with one of her uncles helped Walton get over her fear of performing in front of others. At 18, she was ready to take her musical ambitions to the next level—but her industry-veteran father wasn’t sold on the idea at first. Though Walton had already landed coveted roles as a child actress and modeled in a few major campaigns, singing professionally would be new territory. “I think with all the experience he has in the music world [...] I feel like he knew how much pressure this space held. And I think he knew that it was going to take a lot of work. It was not an overnight-success type deal.”
To prove her seriousness about pursuing music, the determined future artist pulled a classic Gen Z move: making a PowerPoint presentation. After spending time conceptualizing a record idea with her uncle, she presented her case to her parents. Despite lingering hesitation—”a lot of people have what it takes and can never enter this space,” she recalls her father telling her—Walton’s resolve won out. She soon packed her afternoons with vocal lessons to hone her sound. She also took up piano, a necessary step to be able to write songs with an instrument. (Next up: guitar.) Finally, she dusted off her old journal to revise the poems and lyrics chronicling her first love, first heartbreak, and more instances of the teen angst that’s fueled generations of songwriters.
In the two tracks she’s released thus far—the aforementioned R&B-tinged debut “Premonition” and upbeat summer anthem “Know You Too”—Walton croons about familiar feelings of betrayal, blindsides, and unmet desires. “Think you have me in circles/ I know what you think I don’t,” she hints to a deceitful partner on the chorus of her hypnotic debut single. On “Know You Too," meanwhile, she sings about the dream of meeting someone who feels like they already know you, only to wake up to how they used your trust to take advantage of you. Writing from a medley of personal experiences has been therapeutic, offering her a chance to revisit formative relationships with fresh eyes.
“A lot of my teenage heartbreak moments have been really good for my songwriting, because I've gotten to experience more feelings after writing them down, and I’ve experienced more life since then,” she shares. “I feel like in a relationship now, I have a better concept of what it's supposed to be. But ‘Know You Too’ was a teenage heartbreak moment, I’d say.”
Despite its gloomy subject matter, the song has a silky beat that’s as airy as Boardwalk cotton candy, softening the sadness that tinges the performer’s signature raspy vocals. The “Know You Too” music video makes it apparent, if it wasn’t already, that Walton has shaken off her heartbreak and let the sunshine in. “I basically just called up a bunch of my girlfriends, and I was like, ‘Do you guys want to go have a boat day and film it all?’ And without them knowing it was a music video, they were like, ‘Yes!’” Filming it was, of course, a blast. In the final cut, Walton lip-syncs the song while going on various adventures with her squad, from boating across the lake and brunching shoreside to diving off cliffs and singing in the car. The whole thing could be an excerpt from an ‘00s teen comedy—the road trip scene just before the third act, where the protagonist goes on a glossy girls’ getaway to get over someone who was never worth the tears.
“Need a new summer jam for my playlist, so I wrote one,” reads the caption on her Instagram reel announcing the song, which shows her watching fireworks with her family on Independence Day. At the time of writing this article, the clip has racked up over 1 million views—and countless commenters proclaim it their new favorite song. The up-and-coming artist may have been shy about sharing her lyrics with the world at first, but it’s clear her new chapter is a welcome one. Asked if she feels any pressure about having a platform that reaches millions, as a teenager no less, her response is an admirable take on the influencer-to-artist pipeline.
“I don't feel pressure necessarily,” she says. “If anything, I feel more support. I feel like the platform I've been given has only helped me, because I have a lot of people my age that relate to me outside of music. Once I started stepping into this element, it drew more people in, and I feel like it's only going to continue to grow. [...] As of right now, I feel nothing but love.”
As her fans can attest, Walton has the drive to keep refining her artistry—and cement her status as a triple-threat. Besides making her debut as a singer, 2024 also finds her star on the rise in the fashion and entertainment spheres. She’s done several LuLu’s campaigns, most recently modeling the everyday-luxury brand’s Spring ‘24 collection. On the small screen, you’ll spy her in FX’s new comedy English Teacher and the indie action flick Chasing Raine. She also teases new music to MOOD, though she can’t share many details yet.
“I’m working all the time behind closed doors. I write every day. And I know a lot of people have been asking me, like, ‘We want more songs. We want an EP. We want an album.’ But all I have to say is, just trust the process, because I’m trying to do it in the best way possible.”
Walton is also—somehow—finding time to be a regular teenager. She hangs out with her siblings and friends. She’s raising two Bernese Mountain puppies (who are also on Instagram, in case you were wondering). And she just got into running, after trying “every sport in the book” growing up. By doing everything, everywhere, all at once, the artist-to-watch is leaving no room for regrets. “The plan is to do everything I love,” she summarizes—and coming from Jayla Walton, it’s no hyperbole. If she believes it will happen, you can bet it’s as good as done.
