Kaya Jones Testimony: From R. Kelly, Pussycat Dolls, Backstreet Boys to Living for Bold Christ

Born in 1984 in Toronto, Canada, and raised in America, Kaya Jones’ story is one of brokenness, redemption, and bold transformation in Christ.

On Lecrae’s Deep End podcast, Kaya Jones revealed her testimony to the world wide web.

Of course, I grew up listening to the Pussycat Dolls and very vividly remember watching the “When I Grow Up” music video on MTV. It's hard to not navigate the early 2000s without hearing a Pussycat Dolls song playing on the radio. So naturally, I was curious to learn about Kaya Jones’ testimony.

Early Life and Family Struggles

With a Jamaican mother and Native American father, Kaya’s parents faced hardship as they navigated living in Canada after her mother found trouble finding citizenship in the United States (while being pregnant with Kaya). Despite her mother having Canadian citizenship, Kaya’s indigenous father faced oppression and severe mental health problems like depression. This would affect Kaya’s upbringing as a child as she would soon be raised in a single-parent household.

From facing molestation from an older teen cousin at the ages of two to four years old to losing her father, Kaya’s life had a rough start. Her mother wanted to harm the cousin for their actions but feared not being part of Kaya’s life. By the time Kaya was six, her older sister and her husband adopted her. Despite being a brother-in-law, she saw him as a father figure in her life.

The Beginning of a Music Career

Fast forwarding to the age of 12, Kaya went to an audition with some friends. Her looks caught the judges and they found interest in her, even though she wasn’t the one auditioning. She sang and eventually got the job. It was like an answered prayer to be a singer as she would pray for years to be on stage like Whitney Houston.

Eventually, she would sing alongside a Polish singer. Kaya said on The Deep End,

“And so I get that job, but that led me to be signed to R.Kelly. So R.Kelly is actually who discovered Kaya Jones.”

This was at the age of 12. Now she claims no bad things happened while being around the infamous singer, but he was like a drill sergeant to her. While R. Kelly was being very hard and strict on her, Kaya got into smoking.

“And he was very, very serious. So then I picked up smoking because it was the only thing the guys in the room would allow me to go outside and do to take a break [wasn’t allowed to have prolonged bathroom breaks to cry at]… So that’s how that demon came into my life was, ‘Well I can smoke cigarettes to get a breather.’ I was 12, 13, 14. And then I became a scotch drinker at that age because if I drank that, I was more like a boy and less like a girl. And they saw me more as a friend or like a little sister. So I always dressed jeans and a t-shirt like I’m not available. So maybe I radiated that. [Probably] Why I was never prayed upon.”

Meanwhile, spiritually, Kaya was navigating being in a family tree that was half Jewish and half Christian. It was like picking a side. Which religion would she follow? She was team Jesus, but in Judaism, Jesus was not recognized as the Messiah.

The Industry Rollercoaster

After Aaliyah's death and 9/11, Kaya's music life was at a standstill. No one would buy her out as R. Kelly placed her career on the shelf. After hearing advice from the late Prince (from a late-night talk show), Kaya was able to convince R. Kelly to let her go from her contract if another label would sign her under a different name.

After R. Kelly, Kaya and her mother faced homelessness for six months. She auditioned during that time until she met Howard Huberman (founder of Guns and Roses, Poison). She auditioned for Capitol and got signed. However, she got signed for a punk rock group. That lasted for another six months until she later auditioned for the Pussycat Dolls.

From 5000 women to the top three, Kaya, Melody, and Nicole Scherzinger were added to the group. The whole time her dream was to be like the Spice Girls or Destiny’s Child. At that moment, she knew she made it—signed to Interscope (Universal Music Group), and the whole label was backing the Pussycat Dolls’ debut.

Pussycat Dolls Testimony

“You’re singing about sex. You look like sex… At first it was cool, but then it was like ‘oh this is weird.’”

She was getting attention from high-profile celebrities, but when it was time to go home, these high-profile celebrities ended up being her escort home because her ride was nowhere to be found. Then people would expect something (like sexual acts) from her. This was a rather foreign concept in comparison to her time signed with R. Kelly.

“And you know the three girls that sang in the Pussycat Dolls… We were a team, but there were only three recording artists in that group.”

The dynamics of the group were ultra different. Some were singers first, others dancers first. They leaned on each other but at the same time, some members wanted more screen time or even a solo album. Kaya saw that it was going to take some action to get further in her career… but knew she wasn’t willing to do anything for a check.

During this time, she was still actively living in sin—from dating that led to forced abortion while making very sexual, secular music. Though she knew she couldn’t sleep with executives.

“Those men can literally make or break whether or not you sing,” Kaya Jones said.

She knew from a young age (from being signed with R.Kelly) not to sleep with executives to advance her career.

“The same girl that saw that there was a demon in her father. I could see them [in industry professionals] and they knew I could see them […] their spirit understood my spirit because I had already been chosen. I just didn’t know that yet.”

By the age of 19, she had two abortions, cold in spirit, and dated her self-esteem (which was low), as if she was for sale.

“And so, if you’re for sale, then you can be bought. And my price was my career. Not money or clout but better in music.”

During her time in the Pussycat Dolls, she was told what to eat and would get weighed in. Her image was always being picked at, and it affected her view of herself.

“MGM Garden in Las Vegas, which is 25,000 in auditorium, going out to 33 million people on VH1 and MTV. And I was told before I walked out, mind you, I’m in a tiny little skirt, tiny little shirt, and I was still bleeding from losing my child the day before… And there was these two little girls in the front row. (And) one was like three or four and the other is seven or eight. The little one said, ‘Mama, she’s a pussycat doll.’ And that was a check in my spirit like you can’t do this. You really can’t do this cuz you’re losing your baby and you’re selling this to kids. And she doesn’t see what I am going through. She doesn’t know anything. She doesn't know anything (like) that one has bulimia, that one is doing cocaine, I’m aborting my children. I mean, we’re pretty disgusting.”

It was all an illusion. From kids wanting to be like her while the owner of the Pussycat Dolls was calling her fat. She knew then that she wanted to get out of the group.

That’s when God encountered her with prophetic instruction. The Holy Spirit started to guide her in what she needed to do as she navigated a scary career path.

A New Life in Christ

By this time she also met Nick Carter from Backstreet Boys (her boyfriend while in the Pussycat Dolls). That created friction with the label because Nick was not signed to Universal. She thought Nick was someone on her side despite later finding out that he too was a dangerous individual (being accused of rape by multiple women).

From being paid $500 a week, number one girl group in the world, she never saw a dime in royalties. After the first album, Kaya left the group (refusing to demo for the second album) because of what she saw and experienced. It was also that time that the Lord gave her a revelation that if she stayed in the group she would die.

“I think what the Lord was doing was preparing me for when he was ready to transform me.”

Demons couldn’t hide themselves.

“We (the Pussycat Dolls) feel as though we’re being like a cash cow used and abused, told what to do, what to say… to the point where there’s nothing organic.”

No one believed her that the industry was demonic. Even her knowledge of Diddy was silent.

Kaya Jones's solo career after Pussycat dolls before transitioning into Christian contempoary.

Fast fowarding, she was at the Route 91 festival and the Holy Spirit told her she was not safe—one hour before the mass shooting in 2017. That’s when she found out that many people were praying for her.

Despite work drying up after confessing Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior on camera, Kaya experienced God’s hand over her life. She eventually found a career in music once again and won herself her first Grammy as a Christian artist alongside Jason Crabb in "Let it Be Love".

Ready to grow more in her faith, she also ran to the church but even some of the broken people in the church hurt her. From not being fed spiritually by a popular pastor, Kaya enrolled into Bible college to learn more about Christ.

From being taken advantage of as a child to being stuck deep in the music industry, Kaya Jones became bold for Jesus—continuing her healing while guiding others on the right path spiritually.

Looking for a Similar Testimony?

If you enjoyed reading Kaya Jones’ powerful journey from fame to faith, check out The Archives of BFF — a Christian Contemporary book series explores the life of a pop co-ed music group. From a teen act to adults superstars, their testimony is worth checking out.