Hayley Kiyoko

About

Also known as: Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft

Hayley Kiyoko has built a devoted following by making queer pop music that feels genuinely personal rather than performative. Her 2015 single "Girls Like Girls" was the moment things clicked, a candid, heartfelt track that resonated far beyond its initial release and set the tone for everything that followed. She kept that momentum going with a run of sharp electropop singles including "Sleepover" and "Curious" before her debut album Expectations landed in 2018, cracking the top 20 in the US, Canada, and Australia. Kiyoko blends synth pop and contemporary R&B with a cool, confessional sensibility, and her collaboration with Kehlani on "What I Need" showed she could hold her own alongside bigger names. She has also pushed into other creative territory, writing a novel called Girls Like Girls in 2023 that debuted at number one on the New York Times Young Adult Hardcover bestsellers list, and contributing to a comic book based on her song "Gravel to Tempo".