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Former Detroit Youth Choir member launches solo career

DETROITThey found fame together on the stage of “America’s Got Talent” and the Detroit Youth Choir continues to grow, landing a TV show and its own space to practice and record.

Now a former member is taking off with a solo career.

Jayla Forest was a standout for the Detroit Youth Choir. She helped the DYC snag runner-up in 2019 on “America’s Got Talent.”

READ: Detroit Youth Choir takes 2nd place in ‘America’s Got Talent’ finals

“I realized when we were traveling world like I’m this is what I want to do,” Forest said. “This is exactly what I want to do.”

After 4 years with the DYC, Forest left the choir early last year.

“I just really had to wire down and decide that it’s time to focus on myself,” Forest said. “I’m a senior in high school and I want to pursue my solo career.”

She’s just days away from becoming a North Farmington High School graduate with plans to further her career at Columbia College of Chicago, but she’s already made moves in the music industry.

Her first single, “Jesus,” was released in April and it reached the top 200 gospel songs on iTunes, hitting 134.

“I was always kind of fearful of what people would think about our music, if they wouldn’t like it or if they would like it,” Forest said. “So to see people actually liking it, it was just so amazing. I’m so happy.”

She said she couldn’t have done any of it without the guidance of Detroit Youth Choir Anthony White and the help of her parents.

“We definitely are proud parents,” said Latrese Forest. “She keeps us busy.”

Her dad refers to himself as Jayla’s Uber driver. With her busy schedule, she’s often performing all over Metro Detroit and now spending plenty of time in the recording studio.

“The studio time is a grind, but it’s a fun grind because to see the joy in your kid’s life, when you can help make that happen for them, whatever they dream is a joy for us and it takes away all the tiredness,” Juan Forest said.

Related: New docu-series to highlight Detroit Youth Choir’s rise to fame


About the Authors
Kim DeGiulio headshot

You can watch Kim on the morning newscast weekdays from 4:30 to 7 a.m., and frequently doing reports on the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts.

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Dane is a producer and media enthusiast. He previously worked freelance video production and writing jobs in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts. Dane graduated from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.

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