Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Teyana Taylor

From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Teyana Taylor made an impact.

Teyana Taylor is a multifaceted American entertainer recognized as a singer, songwriter, actress, model, dancer, choreographer, and director. Her early career highlights include choreographing Beyoncé's 'Ring the Alarm' video and signing with Star Trak Entertainment. She appeared on 'My Super Sweet 16' before releasing her debut single, 'Google Me.' Taylor garnered more recognition for her contributions to Kanye West's 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.' Later, she joined West's GOOD Music/Def Jam Recordings after leaving Star Trak/Interscope.

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Full Timeline Career & Achievements

September 2006: Choreographed "Ring the Alarm" video

In September 2006, 15-year-old Teyana Taylor was credited as the choreographer for Beyoncé's music video for the song "Ring the Alarm".

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January 2007: Signed with Star Trak Entertainment

In January 2007, Teyana Taylor was offered a recording contract with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment label, through Interscope Records.

February 2008: Released debut single "Google Me"

In February 2008, Teyana Taylor released her debut single, "Google Me", as the lead single from her debut mixtape, From a Planet Called Harlem.

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August 2010: Acted in Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming

In August 2010, Teyana Taylor expanded her career into acting, appearing in the sequel to Stomp the Yard, Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming.

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October 2010: Appeared on House of Glam

In October 2010, Teyana Taylor appeared on the debut episode of House of Glam on Oxygen.

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December 17, 2010: Released "Christmas In Harlem"

On December 17, 2010, Teyana Taylor contributed to GOOD Music's GOOD Friday track, "Christmas In Harlem", which was released to the iTunes Store as a shortened version and featured Cyhi the Prynce and Kanye West.

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2010: Featured on Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

In 2010, Teyana Taylor contributed vocals to Kanye West's album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, specifically on the tracks "Dark Fantasy" and "Hell of a Life". She created the intro and chorus for "Dark Fantasy".

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April 22, 2011: Appeared in Madea's Big Happy Family

On April 22, 2011, Teyana Taylor, along with Bow Wow, appeared in Tyler Perry's play-turned-film Madea's Big Happy Family.

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January 2012: Released from Interscope and Star Trak contracts

In January 2012, Teyana Taylor was released from her contracts with Interscope and Star Trak, allowing her to pursue independence in the music industry.

February 25, 2012: Released "D.U.I."

On February 25, 2012, Teyana Taylor released "D.U.I." featuring Jadakiss & Fabolous, which was part of her second mixtape, The Misunderstanding of Teyana Taylor.

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June 14, 2012: Signed with GOOD Music and Island Def Jam

On June 14, 2012, Teyana Taylor signed a joint-venture deal with Kanye West's GOOD Music through Island-Def Jam, marking a new phase in her career.

September 18, 2012: Appeared on GOOD Music's Cruel Summer

On September 18, 2012, Teyana Taylor appeared on GOOD Music's compilation album Cruel Summer. She contributed to the tracks "To the World", "Sin City", and "Bliss".

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2013: Signed Deal with Adidas

In 2013, Teyana Taylor signed a deal with Adidas to design and release two pairs of sneakers. The first pair released were the Harlem GLC's which hit stores February 16 the same year.

July 27, 2014: Announced debut album VII

On July 27, 2014, Teyana Taylor announced via Twitter that her debut studio album would be titled VII and that it would be released on November 4 through Def Jam and GOOD Music.

July 29, 2015: Judge on America's Best Dance Crew

On July 29, 2015, Teyana Taylor was set to be a judge on the eighth season of America's Best Dance Crew on MTV.

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June 17, 2016: Released "Freak On"

On June 17, 2016, Teyana Taylor released her single "Freak On", featuring Chris Brown and produced by DJ Mustard. It samples "Freak Like Me" by Adina Howard.

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August 28, 2016: Featured in Kanye West's "Fade" music video

On August 28, 2016, at the MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West debuted the music video for his song "Fade", which featured Teyana Taylor performing a dance routine.

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March 2017: Launched "Fade 2 Fit" Workout Program

In March 2017, Teyana Taylor launched her "Fade 2 Fit" Workout Program, a ninety-day workout inspired by her appearance in Kanye West's "Fade" music video.

June 22, 2018: Released album K.T.S.E.

On June 22, 2018, Teyana Taylor released her album K.T.S.E., which stands for "keep that same energy," as part of G.O.O.D. Music's seven-song album rollout.

November 2019: Released "Morning" with Kehlani

In November 2019, Teyana Taylor released a collaboration single, "Morning", with fellow R&B singer Kehlani.

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December 6, 2019: Released single "We Got Love"

On December 6, 2019, Teyana Taylor released the single "We Got Love".

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May 7, 2020: Announced album The Album

On May 7, 2020, Teyana Taylor announced that her third studio album is titled The Album and would be released sometime in June 2020.

June 2020: Released The Album

In June 2020, Teyana Taylor released her third studio album, The Album, featuring appearances by Erykah Badu, Kehlani, Lauryn Hill, Future, Rick Ross, Quavo, and Missy Elliott. It was released on June 19.

December 4, 2020: Seemingly Announced Retirement

On December 4, 2020, Teyana Taylor seemingly announced her retirement from making music via her Instagram page, expressing frustration with her record label's lack of support, later clarified.

2022: Winner of The Masked Singer

In 2022, Teyana Taylor competed as "Firefly" on season seven of The Masked Singer and was declared the winner during the finals. At 31 years old, she became the youngest winner in the show's history at that time.

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