Loading AI tools
American actor, dancer and singer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jaydon McCrary[1] (born July 18, 2007) is an American actor, dancer and singer. He is best known for his turn as Kenny Payne in The Paynes on the Oprah Winfrey Network. He starred in The Lion King (2019) as the voice of young Simba.[2] He is signed to Hollywood Records and released his first extended play Shine, in April 2019. His song "Keep In Touch" was featured in dancing video game Just Dance 2020.
JD McCrary | |
---|---|
Born | Jaydon McCrary July 18, 2007 Granada Hills, California, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Actor, dancer, singer |
Years active | 2014–present |
External image | |
---|---|
McCrary in 2022 |
McCrary began his acting career in 2015 at age 8 on K.C. Undercover, where he appeared on two episodes.[3] In December 2016, he made a guest appearance on Childish Gambino's song "Terrified".[4] He then had live performances on Little Big Shots singing The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back",[5] The Ellen Show singing "Who's Lovin' You",[6] and the 60th Annual Grammy Awards to support Childish Gambino's "Terrified".[7] In December 2017, he sang the national anthem before a Los Angeles Clippers game after a viral singing display a few weeks prior.[8] In 2017, he later appeared on I'm Dying Up Here and Teachers as minor roles.
On January 14, 2018 he released his first official single called "Inviting All of You".[9] On August 13, 2018, it was announced that JD McCrary became the youngest artist to sign with Disney Music Group's Hollywood Records, as he released the music video to his second single "My Name" on August 28.[10][11] On January 24, 2019, he released the first single after signing to the label called "Keep in Touch."[12] He stars in The Paynes on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
In 2019, McCrary co-starred in the Universal comedy film Little, and provided the voice of young Simba in the live action remake of the Disney film The Lion King.[13][14][15] McCrary said that "Donald Glover [who voices adult Simba] is so talented that [I] actually did have to take it into consideration, because if Simba is going to grow up to be some sort of figure and you know of it, you have to keep that motive."[16] Also that year, McCrary portrayed a young Michael Jackson in the BET series American Soul, which premiered in February. On April 19, McCrary released his debut EP, Shine, which includes production from Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox.[17]
In an interview with Vibe, McCrary cited Michael Jackson as his biggest influence, as well as Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, and Chris Brown.[18]
Title | EP details |
---|---|
Shine |
|
Title | Year |
---|---|
"Inviting All of You" | 2018 |
"My Name" | |
"Keep in Touch" | 2019 |
"Winter Wonderland" | |
"Where Do I Belong" | |
"Closer to Christmas" | |
"Stuck With You" (JD McCrary with Coco Quinn) |
2020 |
"Tell Me Why" | |
"Walking on Air" | |
"Brain on Love" | 2021 |
Title | Other artist(s) | Year | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"Terrified" | Childish Gambino | 2016 | "Awaken, My Love!" |
"Cautionary Tales" | Jon Bellion | 2018 | Glory Sound Prep |
"This Neverland" | G Tom Mac | A Lost Boys Story: The Musical (Original Score) | |
"I Just Can't Wait to Be King" | Shahadi Wright Joseph, John Oliver | 2019 | The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
"Hakuna Matata" | Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, Donald Glover |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Little | Isaac | |
The Lion King | Young Simba (voice) | Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor | |
2022 | 13 | Brett | |
2023 | Wish | Singing Animal |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Blunt Talk | Singing kid | Episode: "A Beaver That's Lost Its Mind" |
2015–16 | K.C. Undercover | Young Ernie Cooper | 2 episodes |
2017 | Teachers | Ayo | Episode: "Brokebitch Mountain" |
Little Big Shots | Himself | Episode: "Memory Lane" | |
I'm Dying Up Here | Adam’s brother | Episode: "The Unbelievable Power of Believing" | |
2018 | The Paynes | Kenny Payne | |
2019 | American Soul | Young Michael Jackson | Episode: "68 BC" |
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.