Hayley Kiyoko

Hayley Kiyoko is a multi-talented American actress, pop singer/songwriter, and LGBT advocate. Emerging in the 2000s as part of the pop group the Stunners, she soon branched out into television and film acting. Her solo debut, A Belle to Remember, arrived in 2013 and, from there, she slowly advanced to her eventual full-length debut, 2018′s Expectations. In addition to becoming an alt-pop star, she also embraced her role as a gay rights advocate, raising awareness and supporting various causes.
The daughter of actor/comedian Jamie Alcroft and Japanese-Canadian figure skater Sarah Kawahara, Kiyoko began acting in commercials and taking drum lessons while still in her single digits. After high school graduation, she focused on her music and acting career, with notable roles as Stella Yamada in the popular Disney Channel film Lemonade Mouth, and as Velma Dinkley in a pair of live-action Scooby-Doo films.
In 2007, she joined the pop girl group the Stunners, releasing an EP and a handful of popular singles including “Bubblegum” and “We Got It.” In 2013, she issued her first solo EP, A Belle to Remember, which included the single “Rich Youth.” Arriving in 2015, the This Side of Paradise EP proved to be Kiyoko’s breakthrough, with the evocative electro-pop single “Girls Like Girls” and its accompanying video eventually garnering over 70 million YouTube views. A year later, Kiyoko unleashed her major-label debut EP, Citrine, which included the airy pop confections “Pretty Girl” and “Palace.” Her debut full-length album, Expectations, arrived in 2018, featuring the singles “Sleepover,” “Feelings,” and “Curious.” It landed at number 12 on the Billboard 200. A stand-alone single, “I Wish I Knew,” followed in July 2019. With co-signs from Panic! At the Disco and Taylor Swift, she continued her rise in the alternative pop world, releasing I'm Too Sensitive for This Shit in 2019 and supporting it with a national tour. ~ James Christopher Monger