"I was able to dance and feel liberated and free and totally be my queer self," Kiyoko says about recording the music video at a historic location for gay liberation
"I wrote this song during a challenging time when I realized, instead of being my own worst enemy, I could actually be my own best friend," she tells PEOPLE. "So, it was about discovering and nurturing this strong friendship with myself and embracing that, which was a very emotional discovery for myself and can tend to be challenging to realize that we can comfort ourselves."
RELATED: Hayley Kiyoko Says Her 20s 'Challenged Every Fiber of My Existence' as She Turns 30: a 'Restart'
Accompanying the track is its equally inspiring music video, which showcases Kiyoko finding herself through dance inside the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. For Kiyoko, filming the video was both emotional and "extremely challenging."
"We filmed on 16 millimeter, which was super exciting, but also another challenge since the lighting has to be perfect, the timing has to be perfect, the shot has to be perfect," she says. "But it was super exciting to take on that challenge."
"What was so emotional about shooting the music video is I hadn't shot a music video in forever and I hadn't performed; I hadn't danced. As I was shooting the music video and directing it and putting it all together, I felt like I was discovering and experiencing what I was experiencing when I wrote the song," she adds. "No matter what happened, if things go wrong or whatever we have to navigate, I will always have myself and I'll be able to comfort myself no matter what happens."
And filming the video was emotional for more than one reason. After recording the video, Kiyoko discovered that the hotel had been instrumental during the gay civil rights movement in the early 1970s, when activists interrupted a psychologist conference set to endorse electric shock therapy as a means to cure homosexuality.
"It's kind of crazy because I realized that after we shot. It's just so cool that I was able to be at that hotel and dance and feel liberated and free and totally be my queer self, knowing the history of that location," says Kiyoko.
Kiyoko looks forward to a year filled with surprises as she starts a new "cinematic and experimental" era that offers both "comfort and escape."
'Wizards of Waverly Place': Hayley Kiyoko Calls Character Stevie Gay
Selena Gomez and Hayley Kiyoko have both come a long way since their days on Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place . The two actors both went on to pursue careers in acting and singing after the Disney show . Kiyoko recently reacted to clips of her character Stevie Nichols on Wizards of Waverly Place and her response is priceless . She joked in a TikTok that Stevie was gay.
Kiyoko appeared in four episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place in 2010, portraying trouble-maker wizard Stevie. She met Gomez’s character Alex Russo while in detention. Early on, Alex was unaware that Stevie was also a wizard. The pair shared a connection over causing mayhem and their dark sense of humor.
A year after Kiyoko’s Wizards of Waverly Place role, she acted in the Disney Channel Original Movie, Lemonade Mouth . The actor also appeared in one episode of The Vampire Diaries in 2013. She had a recurring role as Gabi on The Fosters the following year.
Kiyoko put out her newest single, “Found My Friends,” on April 30. But before that, she joked that her Disney Channel character Stevie was gay in a TikTok.
For some Wizards of Waverly Place fans, they wanted to see Alex and Stevie end up together as a couple. They had a clear chemistry that was apparent to many, who dubbed the duo “Stalex.” Kiyoko posted a TikTok of herself watching clips of Stevie and Alex on the show on April 21.
Her video received plenty of love. It has more than 10 million views. More than three million people “liked” the clip and many responded favorably to the video.
Someone else stated: “No literally I don’t understand how anyone thought y’all were just besties.”
Billie Eilish, Willow, Hayley Kiyoko, and More: Best New Music Friday | Teen Vogue
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This week's Best New Music Friday roundup features hits from Billie Eilish, Willow, ITZY, Hayley Kiyoko, and so many more.
K-pop girl group ITZY just dropped their new album GUESS WHO , and with it lead single "In the morning." But one of our early favorites is the final track on the album, the bouncy, delightful "Tennis (0:0)." We love an extended tennis metaphor for budding romance, especially when ITZY flexes their vocal prowess.
Hayley Kiyoko's latest is a banging, dance-y number with a video that shows Hayley absolutely strutting around a theater, proving that dancing with yourself is sometimes all you need. Something about seeing Hayley thrive and dance makes us want to thrive and dance, too. "It's about discovering and nurturing a strong friendship with yourself," she said of the song in a statement. "This song resonates even more so now with everyone experiencing isolation in quarantine, when we still somehow find the resilience to connect with one another and find comfort in each other."
"How Do You Sleep," off rising singer-songwriter Kareen Lomax's debut EP Hard Feelings , feels like being underwater at a house party, music playing woozily from another room. The visual is all hypnotic moving statues, perfectly accompanying poetic lyrics about the end of a relationship. "A flower that never got to bloom," Kareen muses in her rich vocal tone. "Sunshine through an empty room."
In a match made in acoustic folk heaven, singer-songwriters Adam Melchor and Lennon Stella have teamed up for the lovely "Light Year." The video is a blurry spring dreamscape that Lennon and Adam float through, singing about pretenses and pedestals in perfect harmony. A soaring outro brings their voices together for a final climactic movie montage of a song.
Want more from Teen Vogue ? Check this out: Lennon Stella Talks New Album "Three. Two. One." and Embracing Space in Pop Music
Hayley Kiyoko Shares Epic Gay Kiss Montage Teasing New Song
The montage featured some of our favorite squeal-worthy moments from Kiyoko's music videos, including a series of sapphic kisses.
Lauren Jauregui, Hayley Kiyoko, Andrew Matarazzo & More – New Music Friday 4/30 | aly
This week, we are so excited to have new music from Lauren Jauregui , who just dropped her new song “Temporary” on Friday (April 30).
Lauren ‘s new song is part of a bigger picture, and is a part of Sound It Out , “a national campaign that uses music to help middle school kids and their caregivers have open, honest conversations about mental health.”
Hayley has also just released her new track “Found My Friends,” which is about “discovering and nurturing a strong friendship with yourself. This song resonates even more so now with everyone experiencing isolation in quarantine, when we still somehow find the resilience to connect with one another and find comfort in each other,” she said.
Andrew is back with his next single, “New York,” which is “about returning to a place that's entire identity is infused with a person from your past, and happier times.”
This week also brings new songs and music videos from Sofia Carson , Justin Bieber and DJ Khaled , and more.
Pride playlist: Songs to listen to by LQBTQ+ artists – Marquette Wire
Hayley Kiyoko is a singer/songwriter who is well known for her role in the Disney Channel original movie "Lemonade Mouth." Photo via Flickr
With Marquette University Student Government's pride week taking place this past week, below is a playlist featuring a few LGBTQ+ artists. Each artist briefly discussed also has a recommended song to add to your spring playlist. Though it is was pride week, Pride Month is during the month of June.
Hayley Kiyoko is a singer/songwriter who is well known for her role in the Disney Channel original movie "Lemonade Mouth." The single "I Wish" was released in 2019. The song talks about how Kiyoko seems to be in a relationship that she knows isn't working and wishes she could just find the perfect match. Some of the lyrics are "No, you don’t like that I do what I want like all the time/We butt heads ’cause you don’t pay me no attention/And you’re selfish with your affection (Oh)" and here it can be seen that Kiyoko is struggling with this relationship. This song is perfect to play while making breakfast in the morning.
Though there are many more LGBTQ+ artists, these are just a few on the list that you should go give a listen to. A few others include Clairo and Todrick Hall.
A timeline of LGBTQ+ influence in music – The Daily Aztec
Some of the featured artists include Hayley Kiyoko, Lady Gaga, Little Richard, Freddie Mercury and Janelle Monaé
There's a long-standing saying that goes "history is told by the victors." Usually, it's applied to entire nations and the regrettable atrocities they committed – events that stay uncovered because there's nobody left to challenge them. For this reason, many stories are never told. However, for the first time in modern history, oppressed populations have been able to openly express themselves and maintain a significant voice in current affairs.
As far as things have progressed, it goes without saying the removal of bias is still miles away from perfection. Also, it certainly doesn’t erase centuries of inexcusable actions or count as repentance. Human Rights Campaign predicts 2021 to be one of the most significantly damaging years for legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ people. Anti-trans sports bans have already been enacted in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, with more just waiting for a governor's signature. So to say things are perfect would be a gross denial that ignores the public malice appearing all around the nation.
As much of an influencer as Little Richard was, he also gathered influence from a lesser-known LGBTQ+ talent. Esquerita, born Eskew Reeder, was a black, homosexual pianist from the south. Little Richard has himself credited the talents of Esquerita as the main influence behind his dynamic, howling vocals and ferocious piano pounding.
Moving into the 1970s, representation continues to grow during the Me Decade. Superstar pianist Elton John announces he is bisexual in 1976. Disco phenoms Village People, named in reference to Manhattan's Greenwich Village and the large gay community residing there, reach peak popularity at the end of the decade. The group left an everlasting imprint on American culture with hit songs like "In The Navy" and "Go West". Their best work remains "Y.M.C.A.", an absolutely unmistakable song to any American. It is now part of the National Recording Registry in the U.S. Library of Congress.
Throughout the decade, fans began to see a clash with the traditional frontman look. Artists like Freddie Mercury, and David Bowie introduced an era of leading singers with more gender fluidity. They brought out elements of flair and flamboyance found in LGBTQ+ culture and applied it to music, which fans subsequently fell in love with.
With the 1980s came a new ingenious style: voguing. It gained mainstream attention in 1990 with Madonna's inspired " Vogue " music video and can trace its origins back to pageant competitions held during the Harlem Renaissance. Half a century later, these fashion spectacles evolved into underground dance battles. At its heart, voguing is performance art inspired by the acrobatic body movement of Egyptian hieroglyphs and displayed through a series of model poses used to sway judges and outshine opponents. Extravagance was the expectation and creativity had no limit.
Voguing was the defining piece of Harlem's late '80s ballroom scene among gay and trans-African-Americans and Latinos, with most roles performed by drag queens. Dancers competed as part of various factions or "Houses" and despite the fiery nature of their rivalries, the entire scene existed as a visionary world built by these surrogate families.
One of the period's more powerful displays of pride was "Same Love" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring lesbian spoken word artist Mary Lambert who steals the show on her powerful chorus. Their 2014 Grammy's performance of the ballad involved Queen Latifah officiating 33 marriages for same-sex and opposite-sex couples onstage. The next year, the monumental Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges ruled that same-sex marriage was a fundamental right, thereby eliminating straights-only marriage laws in the remaining 50 U.S. states.
New Music Releases April 30: DJ Khaled, Billie Eilish, Thomas Rhett and More | Entertainment
Happy New Music Friday ! It's every audiophile's favorite day of the week, and some of our favorite artists from all different genres have blessed us with new tunes.
After a hiatus filled with solo track speculation, Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett are back together for the second season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and released a sweet new duet about their characters' long-distance love. And Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist star Alex Newell joined The Four breakout sensation VINCINT on his dance floor-ready new track, "Higher."
Perennial hitmaker Julia Michaels finally blessed fans with her debut album, Willow Smith channeled her mom's rocker days with some help from Travis Barker , Twenty One Pilots shared a new single off their upcoming album, Scaled and Icy , and Trixie Mattel and Orville Peck teamed up to cover the Johnny Cash/June Carter Cash classic, "Jackson."
Plus, Hayley Kiyoko jump-started summer with a perfect anthem for partying with your friends, Anitta reimagined "The Girl From Ipanema" to pay tribute to her Brazilian birthplace, and, after breaking out with her debut single, "As a Child," Madeline the Person dropped her 4-track EP, Chapter 1: The Longing.
Check out some of our favorite new songs and albums of the week below -- plus, where you can stream them now!
A “super pink” moon will shine in the sky tonight & it doesn’t get more
Today, April 26, marks Lesbian Visibility Day (alternatively called Lesbian Day of Visibility) around the world.
The holiday — organized by the National Coalition for LGBT Health for the first time in 2008 — aims to celebrate, recognize, and raise the visibility of lesbians.
LGBTQ Nation podcast host Alex Berg marked the day with a tweet, saying, "I have to laud the amazing butch, femme, chapstick, non-binary, wherever-you-are-on-the-spectrum, all around wonderful lesbians who hold this bi+ gal up."
Out star Hayley Kiyoko said to her fellow lesbians, "I love you and I love being a lesbian so I had to share some good news."
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) also tweeted to mark the occasion. Companies like Netflix and Twitter, and organizations like onePULSE, Whitman-Walker, and the Victory Fund joined them.
Today and always, we celebrate our sisters and stand in solidarity with all women in our community. Happy #LesbianVisibilityDay ! pic.twitter.com/TgcKwaZUad
Today on #LesbianVisibilityDay , we honor @suselparedes , who was recently elected to the Congress of Peru. Susel is the first out lesbian to win a congressional election in Peru and she'll be its only out LGBTQ member when she takes her seat. pic.twitter.com/Jqwi4vN8TR
Best New Music April: Billie Eilish, Rina Sawayama | HYPEBAE
Just in time for the weekend, we’ve put together our favorite releases from the month below. Keep scrolling to listen to the tracks, and we guarantee you’ll be adding them to your playlist.
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