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Meet Tayla Parx, the Dallas woman who helped write 'Thank U, Next' with Ariana Grande

Even though she's only 25, Tayla Parx has been making a name for herself for years. The Dallas native's family moved to Los Angeles when she was 12 at the urging of dancer, choreographer and actress Debbie Allen, who spotted a bright future for Parx after she attended one of her summer dance programs in Texas.

For half her life, Parx has landed supporting roles as an actress and as an in-demand songwriter for some of pop music's A-listers. Notably: She co-wrote two of the biggest radio-dominating hits of the past year, Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next" and "7 Rings."

We see you, Tayla Parx.
We see you, Tayla Parx.(Patrick T. Fallon)

But 2019 is shaping up to be the year Parx asserts herself as a star. After releasing a mixtape in 2017 and a handful of colorful, highly viewed videos in 2018, Parx's debut album, We Need to Talk, landed in April, giving audiences a more complete picture of who she is as a musician.

She says she strives for authenticity — to create songs she calls "Tayla made."

"When you listen to a Tayla Parx song, you're no longer just receiving pieces of me, but you are getting all of me," she says. "No limitations, no filtering."

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We expect to hear a lot more from Parx in the coming years.