Zachary Jaydon Bio

Zachary Jaydon (born November 13, 1979) is an American Singer/Songwriter/Musician/Producer/Actor. He has appeared on stage, film and television as an actor, written and produced music with and for such artists/acts as Craig David, Close To Home, Will Champlin, Ryan Cabrera, Karl Wolf and Justin Timberlake. To date, Jaydon's compositions and lyrics have been featured on over 30 Million albums Worldwide.

Zachary Jaydon was born in San Diego, California at the Balboa Naval Hospital on November 13, 1979 and is the oldest of 9 children. He made his film-debut at the age of 2 as the youngest of the children in the 1983 made for television movie, The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story. The film starred Angela Lansbury, Lee Remick and Polly Holliday, and received rave reviews from fans and critics alike, and was nominated for two 1984 Golden Globe Awards.

Formal vocal training started at the age of 5, and acting classes began soon thereafter. Jaydon spent his childhood appearing in various television shows and movie roles, both major and minor. He also took up playing the piano. He spent his mid-late teens pursuing acting, mostly in commercials, and began pursuing his interest of writing music on a more full-time level.

Jaydon was featured in all 7 seasons of The Disney Channels 'The Mickey Mouse Club' (MMC) alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Keri Russell & Ryan Gosling. The hit show ran from 1989 until 1995 and was nominated or multiple television awards.

In 1997, he teamed up with Jeremy Jerla, Christian House, Aaron Notarious & Steven Peterson to form the Christian Alt-Rock Band Sacred Advocate as the Keyboardist and one of the singers for the band. Not long after, Aaron Howard was added to the mix & the group spent two years touring & preparing to record a full-length album. A two song, Limited Edition EP was released in early 1999, and immediately sold-out. Sacred Advocate disbanded shortly after the second pressing was shipped. Both pressings of the album featured artwork hand-drawn by childhood friend, and then unknown author, Christopher Paolini.

The late 1990s were full of Television appearances on hit shows like 'Walker Texas Ranger,' a recurring role on 'Malibu Shores' with former Mickey Mouse Club alumni Keri Russel and Tony Lucca. He also appeared in Robert Redford's 'The Horse Whisperer' which was nominated for numerous awards including an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award. After graduating from Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida, Jaydon also used the mid to late 1990s to obtain a BFA from NYU's "Tisch School of the Arts," graduating Magna Cum Laude. Jaydon's entire education was paid for by academic and acting/vocal scholarships.

In 1999 he teamed up with Mickey Mouse Club alumni, Justin Timberlake penning the now, RIAA Platinum® Certified song "Be There." The song was performed by *NSYNC and featured as part of a fast food promotion that sold over a million copies at the restaurant alone. The songs only public performance was a part of a medley featured at the Walt Disney's 'Very Merry Christmas Parade' in 2001; a float in which Jaydon also rode and performed on.

In 2001, Jaydon received his first RIAA Multi-Platinum® Album Award for his work on Craig David's "Key To My Heart". The song was released on David's Debut Album, "Born To Do It" as well as the international releases of the same name. "Born To Do It" peaked at 11 on the Billboard 200 and at 12 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and sold more than 7 Million units Worldwide earning Multi-Platinum status in more than 20 Countries. "Key To My Heart" was also featured on the award-winning Warner Brothers Animated Feature "Osmosis Jones", and was included in the soundtrack release for the film. In 2003, Jaydon Co-wrote "Work Of Angels" which was featured on Ian Maxian's Debut Solo Album. The song was written along with Greg Watton, Kenny Smith, & four Time 1, American Music Award Nominated & Billboard Award Winning Songwriter Eddie Galan. As of August, 2007 Jaydon continues his work with Watton on a number of projects.

In 2002, Jaydon was accepted into the NARAS. (The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc.) The Recording Academy is internationally famous for the Grammy Awards. As a voting member of the NARAS, Jaydon and his fellow voters are given the privilege of submitting records for nomination consideration, and once the nominations are finalized, voting members decide whom they think the Grammy in each category should go to.

2004 gave Jaydon his second Multi-Platinum® Award for his work on Ryan Cabrera's International Debut Album, "Take It All Away". "Take It All Away" peaked at 8 on the Billboard 200[21] and featured 2 RIAA Certified Gold® Singles. Cabrera's follow-up album "You Stand Watching" (Bonus Disc Edition) featured Jaydon again co-writing the bonus disc track, "How It Feels (Acoustic Version)". The full studio version was featured as a B-Side on the International DJ Promo of "Take It All Away." Jaydon made two appearances with Cabrera on MTV's "Total Request Live" (TRL) playing keyboards in the backing band during the "Take It All Away" Promotional Tour. Cabrera's sophomore album, You Stand Watching, released in 2005, peaked at 24 on the Billboard 200 and awarded Jaydon his fourth RIAA Multi-Platinum® Album Award for songwriting/producing in less than 4 years. In 2002, Jaydon was also accepted into the NARAS. (The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc.) The Recording Academy is internationally famous for the Grammy Awards. As a voting member of the NARAS, Jaydon and his fellow voters are given the privilege of submitting records for nomination consideration, and once the nominations are finalized, voting members decide whom they think the Grammy in each category should go to.

In 2006 Jaydon completed a year long, world-tour with singer/songwriter/producer/actor Ben Bledsoe. The tour included stops in Germany, France, England & the USA to promote Bledsoe's solo Debut "An Insomniac's Guide To A Lonely Heart", and played to audiences totaling more than half-a-million.

In July 2007, Jaydon filmed an episode of "Kyle XY," a show that he is self-admittedly obsessed with. His guest-starring role was his first acting gig in nearly 2 years. When asked what the most frustrating part of the filming was, he responded by saying "...and the producers don't tell you anything about the context of the episode. Everything to do with the plot is kept under super tight wraps, so even when you are shooting an episode, you have no idea what's actually going on." The show aired on ABC Family on January 14th, 2008.

Jaydon is currently (April, 2008) working heavily with National Rock Act, Close To Home. He co-produced and co-executive produced their Sophomore release, "Standby," as well as contributing keyboards and vocals. He also contributed to the record as a songwriter on the song "Seattle Skies." The song was written as a tribute to fallen Close To Home bassist Bradly Grant Thomas Andress, who died from cancer at the age of 20. He resides in Los Angeles, California and continues his work as a songwriter/producer full-time.

Jaydon currently (June, 2008) holds 16 RIAA Gold®, Platinum® & Multi-Platinum® awards for his contributions as a Songwriter/Producer or for work in Marketing/Promotions. He has also been awarded Platinum & Multi-Platinum awards in over 20 additional countries for his work as a Songwriter/Producer.