A former backup singer for pop star Katy Perry opened up about leaving her career behind for God.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Tasha Layton, who was also a contestant on Season 9 of “American Idol,” revealed she landed the opportunity to work with Perry after first receiving an offer to sing back up for singers Kesha and Rihanna.
“The keys player played keys for Kesha, and they were needing a background vocalist for the Kesha/Rihanna tour,” she explained. “She told me that I should audition.”
Layton said she thought, “‘Maybe this is the open door that I’ve been praying for to do music outside the church'” and got the job.
“We were supposed to start on Wednesday at 2 p.m. for rehearsal and leave Friday for Japan,” she recollected.
View this post on Instagram
Despite just getting her big break, Layton decided to reject the offer.
“I just felt that small voice say, ‘Don’t do it,’” Layton 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.”
At the time, she said thought she had “made a huge mistake.”
“I’m self-sabotaging. What have I done?’” she contemplated.
However, a chance afternoon call from Perry’s manager changed her life.
“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 explained, adding she learned the song on her way to the studio in Hollywood.
She continued, “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.”
When she would be home from touring with Perry, whom she said was a “compassionate” person, Layton still led worship at her church.
Although she had different labels who were ready to sign her for her solo pop music career, Layton admitted she “had no interest in it at all” and wanted to go in a different direction.
She shared:
“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.”
She added, “And there’s so much icky stuff that goes on behind the scenes with that kind of thing that it didn’t really tempt me at all. I think there was a lot of money thrown at me to do that kind of thing, to do that kind of music, a pop album by a big label.”
Nonetheless, Layton said “it wasn’t hard to turn it down.”
After touring with Perry, Layton struggled with her mental health and battled suicidal thoughts throughout her college years. She told Fox News Digital her connection with God has been “everything.”
“That’s the impetus for everything that I do. I want [people] to see God’s hand in my life over the years, through the valleys and the hard times… And when they see God’s hand in my story, my prayer is that they’ll be able to see God in their stories, too,” she said.