Evolution of Hayley Kiyoko from Disney Channel star to groundbreaking LGBT icon Fri 27 May 2022 16:00 Amber Peake
Sophia Edwards While Hayley Kiyoko has become known as an icon across the LGBT+ community, many may remember her start on the Disney Channel.
Disney fans from back in the day will know the star for featuring in the cast of the 2011 hit film Lemonade Mouth.
This year marks 11 years since the movie’s release, and during that time, Kiyoko, as well as acting, has also made her mark in the world of music.
A look at Hayley Kiyoko’s Disney Channel days
More than a decade ago, Hayley Kiyoko was just starting out in her career in the entertainment business as part of the Disney Channel.
Kiyoko made her debut in 2010 when she starred in four episodes of Wizards Of Waverly Place.
The following year she featured in the now-classic TV movie Lemonade Mouth, which followed five high schoolers who formed a band after meeting in detention.
2011 also saw Kiyoko feature in an episode of fellow Disney series Zeke And Luther.
However, before appearing on the Disney Channel, the star first featured on Nickolodeon in the show Unfabulous, which also starred Emma Roberts.
Hayley Kiyoko also had an early start in music
Before making a name for herself in the music industry, Hayley Kiyoko started out in the now-disbanded girl group The Stunners.
She joined the band at age 16 after fellow artist and producer Vitamin C approached her in 2007. The group split in 2011 after four years having only released a few singles.
Kiyoko went on to pursue a solo music career and, in 2013 released her first EP, A Belle to Remember.
Kiyoko’s breakthrough single Girls Like Girls changed everything
In 2015 Hayley Kiyoko’s music career took to new heights following the release of her hit single Girls Like Girls.
The music video, which included a raw portrayal of a relationship between two girls, soon went viral and currently has over 146 million views on YouTube seven years on.
The song is also currently the singer’s third most-streamed song on Spotify. Billboard even listed the track to be one of its songs that defined the 2010s.
Kiyoko went on to release her debut album, Expectations, three years later in 2018. She has since released a number of singles, which have previously been described to have echoed her LGBTQ advocacy.
Kiyoko’s latest single, For The Girls, dropped last week. Its music video sees the singer host an all-female Bachelorette and, a week on, already has almost a million views on YouTube.
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