Every week at FishWorship, we shine a little extra light on an artist whose music has something worth hearing—and whose story is worth discovering. Our Artist of the Week isn’t necessarily the biggest name in Christian music; sometimes it’s an artist we’ve loved for years, and sometimes it’s someone whose music you may be hearing for the first time. This week, we’re turning our attention to Tasha Layton, an artist whose journey into Christian music is every bit as interesting as the music she’s making today. To get things started, here’s Tasha with one of her most powerful and personal songs, “Look What You’ve Done.”
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Tasha Layton’s journey to becoming the Christian artist we know today is anything but a straight line. Before her name became familiar to Christian-music listeners, Tasha was a South Carolina native who made it to Hollywood through American Idol and eventually spent about four years as a backup vocalist for Katy Perry. Living in Los Angeles and touring the world with Perry exposed her to enormous stages and an entirely different side of the music industry. Looking back, Tasha has described that period as something she once thought was a detour from her calling, but later came to see as preparation for what God had ahead for her.
One experience during those years particularly changed her perspective. While on a break from touring, Tasha spent a summer doing mission work in Kenya and South Africa. Returning to Los Angeles afterward, she found herself struggling with the contrast between the communities she had just served and what she experienced in Hollywood. After more than four years with Perry, she sensed that it was time for a new chapter. She stepped away from the tour and eventually took time for personal healing, including a season at a counseling facility in Colorado. Tasha has said that this period helped her confront longstanding insecurities about whether she was good enough as a singer or songwriter and gave her a renewed confidence in following God’s call.
When Tasha eventually relocated to Nashville, however, she wasn’t actually planning to become a recording artist. Her original ambition was to write Christian books. She had spent years around music, had studied at seminary and had experience as a worship leader, but the idea of stepping back into the spotlight wasn’t particularly appealing after her years with Katy Perry. Nashville nevertheless opened another door. She began teaching at the National Praise and Worship Institute at Trevecca Nazarene University and started writing songs with Nashville songwriters.
Then came another important part of the story: Keith Everette Smith. Tasha met the GRAMMY- and Dove Award-winning musician and producer after moving to Nashville, and the two eventually married. Their relationship became an important part of Tasha’s musical journey as they began writing and making music together. Tasha has explained that she initially had little desire to become an artist again, but Keith encouraged her to consider that perhaps God was calling her back to music—and that this time it could be done differently. That collaboration ultimately led toward the recording of her debut material and her signing with BEC Recordings.
That decision turned out to be transformative. Tasha’s breakthrough came with “Into the Sea (It’s Gonna Be OK)” in 2020, followed by “Look What You’ve Done,” which became one of her signature songs. Her 2022 debut full-length album How Far produced back-to-back No. 1 Christian hits with “Look What You’ve Done” and the title track, while “Into the Sea” had already established her as a significant new voice in Christian music. She also made her Grand Ole Opry debut in 2022 and subsequently expanded her ministry through worship music, books, speaking and touring.
And the story certainly hasn’t ended there. Tasha has continued releasing music, including the Life in Me project in 2025, and 2026 has brought another burst of new material, including “There Is a God,” “Whispers,” and her July release Meet Me in the Valley (I Surrender All). Her current work continues to combine the pop and worship influences that have shaped her musical journey with a very personal message of faith.
Perhaps that’s what makes Tasha Layton such an appropriate FishWorship Artist of the Week. Her story isn’t simply about going from one successful music career to another. It’s about a woman who had already experienced the biggest stages in popular music, stepped away from the spotlight, moved to Nashville intending to write books, discovered a new songwriting community, met the man who would become her husband and musical partner, and eventually found herself standing onstage again—this time singing songs about the God she had been trying to follow all along. “Look What You’ve Done” makes considerably more sense when you know the journey behind it.
Want to hear more from Tasha Layton? Visit her artist page on FishWorship and explore more of her music, story, and ministry.
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