Hayley Kiyoko just wants to keep going. On Wednesday, the singer released “Greenlight,” her first single since dropping her album Panorama.
The song’s lyrics — co-written with Jesse St. John — detail Kiyoko choosing to pursue whatever she wants and not allowing anyone to stop her from it. She debuted the song while on her successful Panorama tour.
“I’ve spent a lot of time and energy trying to prove my worth to people but have realized that if a situation in life is stopping you from moving forward or making you feel trapped, it’s okay to pivot in a new direction,” Kiyoko said. “Once I embraced that mindset, so many new doors opened.“
“‘Greenlight’ is about making an active decision to put your energy into the things that are working,” she added. “Of course there will be roadblocks along the way, but we become our best selves when we surround ourselves with people who challenge us in a healthy way, encourage us to keep digging deeper and support our overall journey.”
Kiyoko had been promoting the single over the last few days, but accidentally teased it releasing on Friday instead of Wednesday. “When you find out you gave your fans the wrong date for your new song,” Kiyoko captioned a silly TikTok.
Kiyoko is set to perform “Greenlight” at iHeartMedia’s Can’t Cancel Pride 2023 event later this year. The next few weeks are set to feature big moments for Kiyoko, who’s set to release her debut novel, Girls Like Girls, based on her beloved single, on May 30.
The openly Lesbian singer spoke to Rolling Stone last summer about releasing her LP Panorama, featuring songs like “Luna,” “Deep in the Woods,” and “Well,” and how the project felt like a “more refined version of myself.”
“I felt like I was catching up with my authentic self [on my debut album],” she told Rolling Stone earlier this summer. “I feel like it happens a lot with queer people. Once you come out, it’s like catching up with time. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can share who I love! I wanna tell this story! I wanna tell that story.’”