Known for singing lead on hit songs like “Touch the Sky” and “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail),” Taya Smith’s incredible vocal has graced our ears from the top of the charts more than once. While we might hear someone’s voice over the radio again and again, there is much more to their story that we might not know about. With the success of TAYA’s recent hit, “For All My Life,” we are looking at TAYA’s worship journey, from her early days as a member of UNITED to the release of her solo album today.
Listen to TAYA’s “For All My Life”
Growing up in Wales Australia, and often singing at her local church for some time, Taya Smith began to truly get recognized for her worship talent after switching churches and becoming part of the group UNITED. The band had officially formed in 1998, singing their own original songs and also putting their own unique spin on popular songs that spoke to them. In 2003, they began calling themselves UNITED after a successful performance at a summer camp.
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After encouragement by listeners to record their own album, UNITED began recording their first EP and eventually their debut album, “Everyday”. This album saw great success throughout the nation, with both the EP “One” and their “Everyday” album reaching gold status, with Taya Smith joining the band in 2013 after her relocation to Sydney. The band continued releasing albums each year, but Taya Smith would become a breakout star in 2013, with her vocal on the famous song “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)”. This song held the top spot on the Christian music charts for 61 non-consecutive weeks between 2014 and 2016. Taya’s performance on “Oceans” and the following album’s “Touch the Sky” made UNITED and Taya Smith into household names among many Christian music listeners.
During her time as a part of UNITED, Taya began a relationship with Ben Gaukrodger after the two met at church. In 2017, the two got engaged and wed the following year in a ceremony officiated by a fellow member of UNITED. Now, Taya Gaukrodger, professionally known as TAYA, the artist recently released her debut solo album, the self-titled “TAYA,” and has not stated any intentions of leaving UNITED for her own career as of yet. TAYA expresses her gratitude to her listeners, and prays that her music will be guided by God both in and apart from UNITED.
TAYA describes the intention of her worship, declaring that it is all for God, no matter the result. “Even if God was the only person who would eventually hear the songs, that's worth it because He's so worthy. There's no such thing as wasteful worship because God's praised the whole way through.” Stay tuned to Air1 to hear TAYA’s latest hits, and follow her musical journey!
