.@HayleyKiyoko on her debut album "Expectations" and being a queer pop star: "It's important for people to lead by example." https://t.co/JGA9eU8FyKpic.twitter.com/pVBueEmhKG
— billboard (@billboard) March 9, 2018
- She's openly gay and half-Japanese and has embraced her outsider status
- "I think it’s just important for people to lead by example...I think [queer artists are] what’s giving people encouragement to really be more comfortable with themselves," says Kiyoko. "That’s how life is. If you see two girls falling in love and normalizing that, then [people] can go, 'I can fall in love, too. I can be that person. I can look like that. I can get a girl that looks like that.' If they see that, then they can believe it. It’s just how we are."
- Always knew she was gay but was "really intimidated by the stigma and stereotype of the label" until being in a relationship gave her the confidence to come out
- Her breakthrough came when writing 'Girls Like Girls' and switching to female pronouns. "That was the moment where I was like, 'Holy shit, I don’t have a choice. This is something that I have to do because no one else is doing it,'" she says."It forced me to step into my own as an artist. And this is something I’ve always wanted to do -- be loud and sing about sexy girls."
- The album has production from Jono Dorr and Cecil Bernardy (The Neighbourhood) and features Kehlani on the song, 'What I Need'
- Expectations is out March 30 and is available for pre-order
Lesbian Jesus tyfyt. #20gayteen
