On April 30th, 2021, Hayley Kiyoko released her latest single, titled “Found My Friends.” The track serves as the follow-up to her 2020 EP “I’m Too Sensitive For This Shit”, a collection of songs that were released throughout 2019 before the final song was revealed in January.
Known for her hit songs “Curious” off of 2018’s debut full-length “Expectations” and “Girls Like Girls” off of the 2016 EP “This Side of Paradise”, Kiyoko has come a long way from her days opening for bigger bands and releasing small EPs. The Japanese-American singer is not only an incredibly talented singer and writer but also serves as a source of visible representation for young lesbian girls growing up in the 2020s.
In a 2016 interview with Elite Daily, Kiyoko said, “I think the reason I'm just continuing to tell my story is because I didn't really have that growing up. I never really had someone that I could 100 percent relate to. It was difficult, to never have that.” She’s been telling her own stories for close to a decade now, crafting songs and music videos about girls who fall in love with girls, truly being the change that she wishes to see in the world.
A misconception that I think is commonly had regarding the LGBTQIA+ community is that we make our sexuality our entire personality, or that because we aren’t heterosexual, we don’t feel the same emotions and have some of the same experiences as people who are straight. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and Hayley Kiyoko’s new song helps to prove that.
“Found My Friends” sees the 30-year-old singing about friendships that can save you in ways that you can’t save yourself, friends that “Help [you] come alive, sail across the sky, take [you] further.” The verses of this track are truly a love letter to the friends that end up becoming family, the friends that feel like home.
Lyrics like “Swimmin' deep in a pool filled with swirlin' thoughts / Come on, stay, be my company” drive this point home further, explaining to listeners that this isn’t just a friend, this is a lifeline. Even the opening lines of “Found my friends, I'm not dead, here we go again / What's the time? / How long has it been?” are sweet in their own way.
The song is filled with poppy production that complements Kiyoko’s vocals perfectly. Things slow down towards the end as she sings repeatedly on the bridge, “I just wanna dance with you tonight.”
The final line of the track, also found in the chorus, “I found my friends / Can't feel my hands”, truly sums up what this song is about. Just about everyone has friends that they can just let go and dance the night away with, people that make them forget about their problems, even if it’s only for one night; this song is dedicated to those friends.
In the past, Kiyoko may have felt like every song needed to be about her sexuality as a lesbian woman, whether it was fans on Tumblr calling her “Lesbian Jesus” and “Queen of the Gays” or simply the fact that she didn’t have that representation when she was starting to find herself as a young girl. I’m really happy to see that, while she’s comfortable discussing her sexuality and being that role model, she’s also able to make songs about loving your friends and having fun on a night out, just like everyone else can, regardless of their sexual or romantic preferences.
Sure to be the song of the summer, “Found My Friends” is available for listening on all streaming platforms. You can keep up with the artist by following her on Instagram @HayleyKiyoko, Twitter @HayleyKiyoko, and Facebook @HayleyKiyoko, and you can support her by picking something up from her merch store.
If you also can’t believe it’s been ten years since Hayley Kiyoko took Disney Channel by storm as fiery teenager Stella in “Lemonade Mouth”, tweet me with your favorite song from the movie @JENSESSlON (mine is “She’s So Gone”). For a review of the eventual second Hayley Kiyoko full-length album, whenever it’s released, be sure to follow the blog on Instagram @StrawberrySkiesBlog, Twitter @StrawbSkiesBlog, and Facebook @StrawberrySkiesBlog.