Hayley Kiyoko released her new album, Expectations on March 30 and it didn’t disappoint.
If you’re not familiar with Hayley Kiyoko’s music, you might have seen her in the Disney Channel original movie, Lemonade Mouth or the 2015 film, Jem and the Holograms. Other than being a singer, songwriter and actor, Kiyoko is also a director and has directed all of her music videos thus far.
Something you should also know about Hayley Kiyoko is that she’s proudly part of the LGBTQIA+ community and expresses those feelings through her music. Because of her pride in her sexuality, fans call her the “Lesbian Jesus.”
Before she dropped Expectations, Kiyoko released two EPs; the first one called This Side of Paradise, featuring songs such as “Girls Like Girls” and “Cliffs Edge,” and the second EP called, Citrine, featuring songs “Gravel to Tempo” and “Ease My Mind.”
On Twitter, Kiyoko tweeted her 428,000 followers to promise her that they will listen to the album from beginning to end in order. She said that it’s how the album is meant to be heard. As a fan who has done just that, I agree. When each song ends, it transitions right into the next. If you listen carefully, you can hear birds chirping at the beginning and end of each song.
Kehlani, a singer who is also part of the LGBTQIA+ community, features on the album’s third track, called, “What I Need.” The two pop artists have been friends for a whole, so when fans discovered that the two would be collaborating, they couldn’t be more excited.
The album is the type to have playing in the background of a small house party. “Expectations” and “Curious” are songs that anyone can dance to, while “Sleepover” is the type to listen to while relaxing. Every song on the album is different because each has its own message about Kiyoko’s life experiences. For example, in “Gatekeeper” and “Mercy,” Kiyoko talks about the time she suffered a concussion. On her official website, Kiyoko revealed that she wrote the two songs when she was in a large amount of pain.
On naming the album, Expectations, Kiyoko made the following statement to Harper’s Bazaar:
“I have high expectations for myself, so therefore I hate them. But then also, I have such high expectations that I’m constantly being disappointed by other people, and myself. And so it’s this battle of balancing your expectations really. We’re all just trying to get through everyday lives. And we’re just so hard on ourselves. So, how do you balance that?”
Since Kiyoko was in New York City the weekend her album dropped, Spotify sponsored a billboard in Times Square advertising her new album to millions of people in the city. Kiyoko recorded her reaction seeing the advertisement for the first time and posted it to her Instagram. Needless to say, she was pretty excited.
Hayley Kiyoko will be making a stop in Philadelphia on her own headlining tour on June 14, 2018 at the Theater of Living Arts. She is also opening for Panic! At The Disco at the Wells Fargo Center on July 27, 2018.
To find out more information about Hayley Kiyoko or to order tickets for her upcoming tour, visit the singer’s official website.
Do you have a favorite song off Expectations?