JayDon McCrary[1] (born July 18, 2007), known mononymously as JayDon (formerly as JD McCrary) is an American singer-songwriter and dancer. He starred in The Lion King (2019) as the voice of young Simba, played Kenny Payne in The Paynes, and also appeared in the 2019 film Little.[2] In 2025, he signed with Usher and L.A. Reid's record label Mega, as a joint venture with Gamma.
McCrary began his acting career in 2015 at age 8 on K.C. Undercover, where he appeared on two episodes.[3] In December 2016, he made a guest appearance on Childish Gambino's song "Terrified".[4] He then had live performances on Little Big Shots singing The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back",[5] The Ellen Show singing "Who's Lovin' You",[6] and the 60th Annual Grammy Awards to support Childish Gambino's "Terrified".[7] In December 2017, he sang the national anthem before a Los Angeles Clippers game after a viral singing display a few weeks prior.[8] In 2017, he later appeared on I'm Dying Up Here and Teachers as minor roles.
On January 14, 2018, he released his first official single called "Inviting All of You".[9] On August 13, 2018, it was announced that JD McCrary became the youngest artist to sign with Disney Music Group's Hollywood Records, as he released the music video to his second single "My Name" on August 28.[10][11] On January 24, 2019, he released the first single after signing to the label called "Keep in Touch."[12] He stars in The Paynes on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
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 film The Lion King.[13][14][15] McCrary said that "Donald Glover [who voices adult Simba] is so talented that [I] 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."[16] Also that year, McCrary portrayed a young Michael Jackson 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 and Bryan-Michael Cox.[17]
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.[18] 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.[19][20] 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.[21]
In an interview with Vibe, McCrary cited Michael Jackson as his biggest influence, as well as Chris Brown, Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, Omarion, Bobby Brown, Usher (whom he his currently signed to and mentored by) and Mario.[22][23]
| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| Shine |
|
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| "Inviting All of You" | 2018 |
| "My Name" | |
| "Keep in Touch" | 2019 |
| "Winter Wonderland" | |
| "Where Do I Belong" | |
| "Closer to Christmas" | |
| "Stuck With You" (with Coco Quinn) |
2020 |
| "Tell Me Why" | |
| "Walking on Air" | |
| "Don't Go" | 2022 |
| "Reminiscin" (featuring J.Dizzle) | |
| "Calendar" | 2023 |
| "Trip" | 2024 |
| "Ah! Ah!" (featuring 310babii) | |
| "Lullaby" (featuring Paradise) |
2025 |
| "I'll Be Good" |
| Title | Other artist(s) | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Terrified" | Childish Gambino | 2016 | "Awaken, My Love!" |
| "Cautionary Tales" | Jon Bellion | 2018 | Glory Sound Prep |
| "This Neverland" | G Tom Mac | A Lost Boys Story: The Musical (Original Score) | |
| "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" | Shahadi Wright Joseph, John Oliver | 2019 | The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
| "Hakuna Matata" | Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, Donald Glover |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Little | Isaac | |
| The Lion King | Young Simba (voice) | Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor | |
| 2022 | 13 | Brett | |
| 2023 | Wish | Singing Animal |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Blunt Talk | Singing kid | Episode: "A Beaver That's Lost Its Mind" |
| 2015–16 | K.C. Undercover | Young Ernie Cooper | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Teachers | Ayo | Episode: "Brokebitch Mountain" |
| Little Big Shots | Himself | Episode: "Memory Lane" | |
| I'm Dying Up Here | Adam's brother | Episode: "The Unbelievable Power of Believing" | |
| 2018 | The Paynes | Kenny Payne | |
| 2019 | American Soul | Young Michael Jackson | Episode: "68 BC" |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
