Katelyn Tarver (born November 2, 1989) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She has independently released four EP's since 2011, most notably ''Tired Eyes'' in 2017."Katelyn Tarver Takes On 'Labels' In Empowering New Song: Premiere"
''Billboard''. Retrieved on June 19, 2021. She is also known for her recurring roles as

Jo Taylor This a list of Character (arts), fictional characters in the television series, ''Big Time Rush''. The article deals with main, recurring, minor character and notable guest stars. Main characters Kendall Knight Kendall Knight (Kendall Schmid ...

on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

series ''

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013 and is currently available in Paramount+. It focuses on the Hollywood misa ...

'', Natalie on the ABC series '' No Ordinary Family'', Jesse in HBO series ''

Ballers ''Ballers'' is an American sports comedy drama television series created by Stephen Levinson and starring Dwayne Johnson as Spencer Strasmore, a retired NFL player who must navigate his new career of choice as the financial manager of other NF ...

'' and Mercedes on ABC Family ''

The Secret Life of the American Teenager ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' (often shortened to ''Secret Life'') is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It aired on ABC Family from July 1, 2008 to June 3, 2013. The series received mixed to som ...

''."Q&A: Katelyn Tarver on her mental health, trying new recipes during quarantine"
April 27, 2020. Retrieved on June 19, 2021. She co-wrote " Crazy Stupid Love" for the British singer Cheryl which peaked at #1 on

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 2014.

Career

Music

In 2003, Tarver took part in the reality television program '' American Juniors'', where she was one of the ''Top 10'' finalists, before being eliminated from the competition on August 12, 2003. On June 14, 2011, Tarver independently released her debut EP, ''A Little More Free'', produced by Matt Grabe.nylon,
"Katelyn Tarver Serenaded Us At #Playlisted"
''Nylon''. Retrieved on June 19, 2021. She was Honor Society's opening act on their June–July 2011 "Wherever You Are" tour. Tarver also toured alongside the bands

The Cab The Cab is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Their debut album, ''Whisper War'', was released on April 29, 2008. They have been called "The Band You Need to Know 2008" by '' Alternative Press'' magazine. They were also featured in t ...

and Parachute during the summer of 2012. In 2014, Tarver co-wrote

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstar ...

's 2014 single " Crazy Stupid Love". Two more singles, "Weekend Millionaires" and "Nobody Like You" were released on the streaming platform

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

in 2015. "Weekend Millionaires" was re-released on iTunes,

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

, and other digital retailers on July 28, 2016. Another new track, "What Do We Know Now", was released in October, followed shortly by the BURNS-produced "Hate To Tell You" the following month. In 2015, Tarver was featured on the Lost Kings track "You", which was released by

Spinnin' Records Spinnin' Records is a Dutch electronic music record label founded in 1999 by Eelko van Kooten and Roger de Graaf. In September 2017, Warner Music Group acquired Spinnin' Records for over $100 million. Background Van Kooten is the son of former ...

as a single off their EP ''The Bad''. In 2016, Tarver released a cover of

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...

's song "Planez". Tarver's second EP, ''Tired Eyes'', was released on March 10, 2017.Garafano, Lauren
"11 Side-By-Sides Of The "Big Time Rush" Cast Then Vs. Now"
''BuzzFeed''. Retrieved on June 19, 2021. The song, "You Don't Know" from the ''Tired Eyes'', went viral on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

and amassed over 50 million views by the mid-2021. In 2018, Tarver released her third EP, ''Kool Aid''. The EP received positive reviews from multiple music review websites including '' Clash''. In 2019, Tarver released five singles as well as her fourth EP, ''Kool Aid: Sugar Free (Acoustic)''. In 2020, she released nine singles including "Feel Bad". The music video of "Feel Bad" was directed by Se Oh and premiered on March 26, 2020, with ''Billboard''. Later that year, Tarver co-wrote Jake Scott's song "Like No One Does".choover@wacotrib.com, CARL HOOVER
"Songwriters Jake Scott and Katelyn Tarver meet new audience at Common Grounds"
''WacoTrib.com''. Retrieved on June 19, 2021. The single was released on April 7, 2020. In 2021, Tarver collaborated with Will Anderson and launched a side-project called REAVES. The debut EP, The First EP, of the band was released on June 4, 2021. Tarver was the winning songwriter on the Old Dominion episode of '' Songland'', with her song "Young" being featured in a Jeep commercial, in which Tarver also starred.

Acting

On January 29, 2010, she made her acting debut on ''

'' as Jo Taylor, a girl the boys admire. Her debut episode was "Big Time Love Song" which aired on February 5, 2010. She developed feelings for Kendall Knight (

Kendall Schmidt Kendall Francis Schmidt (born November 2, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, music producer, and actor. He played Kendall Knight in ''Big Time Rush'', and is a current member of the boyband with the same name, and has had small rol ...

) and they started dating. But the world tour changed everything: Jo became a television star and Kendall became a pop star. On "Big Time Break-Up" which aired on June 25, 2011, she landed a role in a movie in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

which would keep her and Kendall apart for 3 years. She returned in season 3's episode "Big Time Surprise", which aired on September 22, 2012. From 2010 to 2011, Tarver appeared as Natalie Poston in 5 episodes of the ABC series '' No Ordinary Family''. In 2012, she appeared as Mercedes in ABC Family's series, ''

''. In 2018, Tarver appeared as Jesse in 8 episodes of HBO series, ''

''. She was cast as Cydney Walker in the

ABC Signature ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

television pilot, ''None of the Above'', in 2021.