Hayley Kiyoko is an example of having more than one trade in the entertainment industry. She is a singer, songwriter, and actress. She has inspired the LGBTQ community to speak out and share her experiences with the world. If you would like to get to know her more, here are some facts and background about why we love her so much!
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Her parents worked in the entertainment industry
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Coming from a background in entertainment, Hayley’s mother, Sarah Kawahara, was a figure skater and choreographer from Canada with Japanese ancestry. Her father, Jamie Alcroft, was an actor and comedian from Ohio, with an ancestry from Europe. She also has two siblings, Alysse and Thatcher.
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She was talented and a leader from a young age
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She started acting in national commercials for companies: GM Onstar, Slim Jim, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. At five years old, she was in a national print ad for KnowledgeWare. Nickelodeon spotted her at the Culver City Ice Rink where she was featured and narrated a short piece about children in sports called, “I’m Hayley, a Skater. At the age of six, she wanted to play the drums where she wrote drum charts and sold them at a local music store by age eleven. She created and choreographed “The Agoura High Step Team.” It was a school club and the team placed 3rd at a Nationals competition in 2005. IHayley started a garage band Hede, in November 2007 they released five songs on Myspace and a music video for “Warehouse.” Splitting in 2009 when everyone graduated, she was accepted into the Clive Davis School of Recorded Music at NYU, but declined.
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She has appeared in five movies and three television shows
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As an actress, Hayley Kiyoko She starred in her first role on the television show, Unfabulous. She appeared in Scooby-Doo!, Lemonade Mouth, Blue Lagoon: The Awakening, Jem and the Holograms, and XOXO. Along with appearing in three television shows including The Foster, CSI: Cyber, and Five Points.
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She was a founding member in The Stunners in 2007
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The group ended in 2007, but before then The Stunners supported Justin Bieber’s My World Tour. The Stunners were an all-girl group of Allie Gonino, Tinashe, Kelsey Sanders, and Marisol Esparza. After six months, they signed with Columbia Records and released a single, “Bubblegum” with a video. They contributed to the cover of a song in the iCarly soundtrack, “Let’s Hear It for the Boy.” The group left Columbia Records to sign a production deal with Lionsgate Entertainment, where they shot a music video for “We Got It.” The Stunners were signed to Universal Republic Records in 2010 and released the single, “Dancin’ Around the Truth” featuring New Boyz. They made a music video for the song, but there was no full album due to the ground breaking up in 2011.
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She had three solo expanded plays
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Then she had three solo expanded plays which were A Belle To Remember, This Side of Paradise, and Citrine. The Side of Paradise was released on February 3, 2015 and Citrine was released on September 30, 2016. Citrine was inspired by citrine pieces and crystal she used on her forehead. She had a concussion at 25 and was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and depression.
- She directs her own music videos
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Her single, “Girls Like Girls,” was released on June 24, 2015 and she co-directed the music video. After the success of it, she had full director authority for her music video, “Cliff’s Edge.” It was released in 2015, in 2016 “Gravel to Tempo” music video was released. Leading into her next music video for the song “One Bad Night” on October 11, 2016. The single “Sleepover” was released on March 2, 2017, afterwards “Feelings” was released on October 9, 2017. “Curious” was released on January 11, 2018 where she directed it with James Larese. She directed “What I Need,” featuring Kehlani and it was released on May 31, 2018. She chose the cast for her videos, acted in some of them, and had her visions come alive.
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Her Expectations album had reached the Top 20 of the charts in Canada, Australia, and the United States
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Her Expectations album was released on March 30, 2018, where she promoted her album on Jimmy Kimmel Live! by performing “Curious.” Three singles from that album that were popular included “Sleepover,” “Feelings,” and “Curious.”
- One of her singles became a comic book
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Another one of her famous singles, “Gravel to Tempo,” was created into a comic book. The comic book was sold during the Expectations tour.
- She has her own unique sense of fashion
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All over social media and photos taken of her, Hayley Kiyoko has an amazing fashion sense. She wears whatever she feels like, it is a mix of vintage, casual, and street style.
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Her nickname is: “Lesbian Jesus”
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Hayley Kiyoko is known as “Lesbian Jesus” by her fans, for her advocacy in the LGBTQ community. She identifies as a lesbian and knew she was attracted to girls at six years old. While she was growing up she had struggles with feelings, where she feared rejection and judgement if she came out. Giving her the mission of inspiring confidence in young people dealing with the same struggles. Her music videos give visuals about her experiences growing up and as a way for her to speak out. The Side of Paradise was focused on her struggles with expressing herself and not the mask she wore. “Gravel to Tempo” talks about her crushes on girls. She was inspired by Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” and knew she wanted to be a pop singer. Her goal is to make lesbian relationships a normal thing in society and in the music industry. Another one of her songs, “Mercy/Gatekeeper,” discusses depression and her experience with it after her concussion. Not only does her music focus on being a lesbian, but all of the LGBTQ community. “One Bad Night” shows violence against transgender women and she had the “Celebrate” campaign with MeUndies. Raising money by selling underwear with some of it going to Los Angeles LGBT Center. During her Expectations Tour, seventy-eight bras were thrown on stage and donated to I Support The Girls, its about homeless LGBT youth. She has spoken up about other artists music and its depiction on same-sex attraction, along with winnning Push Artist of the Year at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards. Dedicating the award to queer women of color and she marched in the 2019 World Pride Parade in NYC.
Hayley Kiyoko is still coming out with new music and ideas, keeping up with her social media, and leaving her audience always wanting more. In July 2019, Hayley Kiyoko released the single, “I Wish,” and her album, I’m Too Sensitive For This Shit, on January 14, 2020.
*All information is referenced from a variety of websites*