Praise be and hallelujah, Lesbian Jesus herself has finally graced us with new music! That’s right, Hayley Kiyoko has released her newest single, “Found My Friends,” and a self-directed music video for the song.
There’s one good thing that came out of quarantine, and that’s really awesome music. “Found My Friends” is no exception. Kiyoko explains:
“‘Found My Friends’ is a song I wrote during a challenging time when I realized instead of being my own worst enemy, I could actually be my own best friend. It’s about discovering and nurturing a strong friendship with yourself. This song resonates even more so now with everyone experiencing isolation in quarantine, when we still somehow find the resilience to connect with one another and find comfort in each other.”
Here at Beyond the Stage, we are all about self-empowerment, which is definitely one reason we will be adding this song to our summer playlists. Here’s three other things we love about the new track:
1. The video for “Found My Friends” was shot on 16mm film at LA’s historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel.
From the gorgeous architecture, lush carpets and lavish paintings to Kiyoko’s flawless orange twin set, this video is serving LOOKS. The 16mm film casts a cloudy, dreamlike filter over the video that pairs elegantly with the relaxed synthy vibes of the song, a look Kiyoko worked hard to full off.
“Color is always a huge inspiration and so it was truly a dream come true to have the opportunity to shoot this video entirely on film,” Kiyoko says, “Shooting on film captures color differently than digital but can be a very challenging process because the lighting has to be perfect, the number of takes is limited, and you can’t see the true outcome until you are in the editing room. I am so grateful for our crew who worked hard to pull it all off, especially while still following all the CDC COVID protocol to keep everyone safe on set.”
Everything about this video is aesthetically pleasing, and seems to gives a nod to the Tumblr era Hayley Kiyoko came up in.
2. The new video features incredible choreography and embodies the challenging journey of finding friendship within yourself.
The entire video focuses on Kiyoko alone. She captivates the camera (and us) for three and a half minutes performing choreography that flows seamlessly with the fixtures in the hotel and seems to live and breathe within the space.
3. It’s Hayley Kiyoko’s first new song in over a year.
This is the first new music we’ve seen from Kiyoko since last year, when she released her collection of songs, I’M TOO SENSITIVE FOR THIS SHIT. Named one of “The 21st Century’s Most Influential Women Musicians” by NPR, and touting 780 million global streams, over 2.1 million YouTube subscribers and over 730 million lifetime YouTube views, it’s safe to say Kiyoko’s fans are definitely ready and eager to see what’s next for the singer in her newest era, starting with the “Found My Friends” video.
“The video concept for ‘Found My Friends’ was to capture a moment of being fully present in the moment and working through a feeling. Whether it’s excitement, joy, or fear – it’s about taking control and owning it…” she says, “I hope when people watch ‘Found My Friends’ they share the same feelings of liberation that I felt when shooting it.”
Check out the new video here:
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