Empire actress Serayah signs record deal

Empire star Serayah has signed a contract with Columbia Records.

The actress, who portrays Tiana Brown on the popular record business drama, is not the only Empire star to land a record deal - Jussie Smollett, who plays Jamal Lyon, has also signed with Columbia Records and is working on his debut album, and Serayah's onscreen love interest, Bryshere Y. Gray, has also landed a deal with the company.

Meanwhile, Serayah has revealed her character is based on Beyonce.

"The main people that they really wanted us (Bryshere Y. Gray and I) to portray, especially onstage, was Jay Z and Beyonce," she tells breakfast show Today. "So (our season one song) Keep it Moving was like our Jay and Beyonce inspired moment..."

The 20-year-old, who started writing gospel music at the age of nine, enjoys playing Tiana, but she insists her own music will sound different to the tunes her TV character sings on the show.

"My sound is just more personal to my personality," she continues. "How I describe it is like songs that I would sing and what I would sing about, Tiana wouldn't (sic). So it's just separate for character reasons."

"(I sing about) love, personal situations, my past, things like that," she adds. "So it's more personal to me, I think that's the difference. I love to perform like Tiana does, I love pop music, so there's not going to be a big, huge change, but I think my fans are going to grow closer to me."