JayDon McCrary (born July 18, 2007), known mononymously as JayDon (formerly as JD McCrary) is an American singer, actor, and dancer. He starred in ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'' (2019) as the voice of young Simba, played Kenny Payne in '' The Paynes'', and also appeared in the 2019 film '' Little''. In 2025, he signed with Usher and L.A. Reid's record label Mega, as a joint venture with

Gamma Gamma (; uppercase , lowercase ; ) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter normally repr ...

Career

2015–2019: Career beginnings and acting

McCrary began his acting career in 2015 at age 8 on '' K.C. Undercover'', where he appeared on two episodes. In December 2016, he made a guest appearance on Childish Gambino's song "Terrified". He then had live performances on '' Little Big Shots'' singing

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

's " I Want You Back", '' The Ellen Show'' singing " Who's Lovin' You", and the 60th Annual Grammy Awards to support Childish Gambino's "Terrified". In December 2017, he sang the national anthem before a

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

game after a viral singing display a few weeks prior. In 2017, he later appeared on '' I'm Dying Up Here'' and ''

Teachers A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

'' as minor roles. On January 14, 2018 he released his first official single called "Inviting All of You". On August 13, 2018, it was announced that JD McCrary became the youngest artist to sign with

Disney Music Group Disney Music Group (DMG) is the music recording and publishing arm of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. It is located at the studio's headquarters in Burbank, California. The div ...

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...

, as he released the music video to his second single "My Name" on August 28. On January 24, 2019, he released the first single after signing to the label called "Keep in Touch." He stars in '' The Paynes'' on the

Oprah Winfrey Network The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN, also known as the OWN Network) is an American multinational basic cable television network which launched on January 1, 2011, effectively replacing the Discovery Health Channel, which one month later merged with ...

. 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 The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

film ''

''. McCrary said that "

Donald Glover Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his musical stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. While he studied at New York University and after working in Derrick ...

ho voices adult Simbais so talented that 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." Also that year, McCrary portrayed a young

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

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 Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

and Bryan-Michael Cox. he is also appearing as the New School Co-Captain and the Musical Guest on the hit comedy show Wild' n Out.

2024–present: Musical career

In 2024, McCrary rebranded his musical stage name to his birth-name, JayDon. On November 8, 2024, he released his first single under his new stage name, "Ah! Ah!" featuring 310babii. In 2025, it was announced that he officially signed with Usher and L.A. Reid's record label Mega in partnership with Larry Jackson's

gamma Gamma (; uppercase , lowercase ; ) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter normally repr ...

. In 2025, he released his two singles, "Lullaby" and "I'll Be Good". The latter of which received a music video on April 24, 2025.

Artistry

In an interview with '' Vibe'', McCrary cited

as his biggest influence, as well as

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, Bruno Mars,

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

Omarion Omari Ishmael Grandberry (born November 12, 1984), better known by his stage name Omarion, is an American R&B singer, dancer and actor. He rose to prominence as lead vocalist of the boy band B2K, which was formed in 1998 and managed by record e ...

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

, Usher (whom he his currently signed to and mentored by) and

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Guest appearances

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCrary, JD 2007 births Living people 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American singers Male actors from Los Angeles African-American male child actors 21st-century African-American male actors American child singers American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Hollywood Records artists People from Granada Hills, Los Angeles