BACKSTORY Ayaka Taylor might be new to the Las Vegas music scene, but she’s no stranger to putting herself out there. The Vegas-born model and actress has been the face of several campaigns for Maybelline and Rizos Curls, and she even starred in a Super Bowl commercial for Poppi.
As a singer-songwriter, Taylor has established a voice that’s entrancing, fluid and able to adapt to any genre. She’s mastered all the warm nuances of neo-soul, the playful ease of pop and that smoky sensuality ascribed to R&B slow jams.
“I make music for people like me, who are growing into themselves,” Taylor says. “People who feel deeply and are goofy and like to experiment and be weird and also doubt themselves, but eventually, they don’t.”
SOUND Everything Taylor’s artistry seems to touch turns to sonic, liquid gold. On her first single, “Love Don’t Come Easy,” the singer’s voice takes on a feather-like quality that floats over live instruments. It’s tender and sensual, dripping with a desire that surprises even her. “I don’t know what business I had singing about love like that,” Taylor laughs. “But I feel like I did a pretty good job.”
As a lyrically driven artist, Taylor surrenders to her spectrum of emotions, penning songs with vulnerable, diaristic weight. On “Waves,” she sings about a partner resenting her for changing; on “Backseat,” she shifts to a flirty, sun-splashed story about a summer fling. Taylor’s background being so deeply rooted in performance makes her an expressive force of nature.
NEXT UP Taylor’s hard at work on her first EP and recently directed her first music video for “Backseat.”
“Music, acting and modeling are all a big part of my identity,” she says. “I love fashion. I love pretty things but I also love ugly things, and film and cinematography. I’m still learning how to balance them all, but I also learned that they can all intertwine.”
LISTEN NOW! linktr.ee/ayakataylor
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