Hayley Kiyoko Manifested Making Her Hit 'Girls Like Girls' into a Feature Film. Now It's Finally Happening (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Hayley Kiyoko.Photo:Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

Nine years afterHayley Kiyokohad the life-changing idea for her viral queer anthem “Girls Like Girls,” the romantic song-turned-book is becoming a feature film!

Speaking with PEOPLE in light of the exciting news, announced Dec. 4, the singer and actress is opening up about how she manifested the project coming to fruition after a “very long, emotional journey.”

“I think about a year or so after the music video had come out, I had dreamed of making it into a feature and started the very, very long journey of, ‘How do you make a movie happen? How does this even happen in Hollywood?’ I’ve very much learned why it takes so long to get representation out there,” Kiyoko, 33, tells PEOPLE exclusively.

There were moments along that journey where she “wanted to give up” but felt an “urge” to keep going for “everyone out there that deserves to have hopeful queer representation.”

“[I felt] like it’s my destiny to direct this song and to get this story out there. I was like, ‘If I give up, then who else is going to do this?’ And so that was what kept me going,” she says, adding, “This feels like a huge win for our community.”

When she got the news that the film was green-lit, she felt a deep sense of “relief.” Now, more than ever, she believes in the power of manifestation.

“For so long, I’ve told myself that this is something that I could do and that I could accomplish and achieve. There are a lot of times where I lost that belief. You start to lose hope after so many ‘no’s. So to finally get a ‘yes,’ it just felt like, ‘Ugh, I am not crazy. It’s going to be OK.’ And it felt like I got on top of a mountain and was able to breathe,” the “For the Girls” singer says.

Adding, “It’s funny. I had some fans be like, ‘Did you write’Greenlight’for this?'” And I was like, ‘Yeah, I wrote ‘Greenlight’ last year because I was so frustrated that the film wasn’t getting green-lit.’ I did it to manifest the green light."

Reflecting on the journey, Kiyoko says the process is “very different” for everyone — but the most important part was finding “the right producing partner.”

Hayley Kiyoko performs in Austin in May 2023.Rick Kern/Getty

Rick Kern/Getty

Looking forward, Kiyoko assures she’s going to “put my heart and soul and authenticity into this story and this film. I’m just so, so excited for the fans to see it.”

The song “Girls Like Girls” was first released in 2015 and recounted the first time Kiyoko fell in love.

“I fell in love with this girl in high school and it was a pivotal moment in my life,” Kiyokotold PEOPLEin 2023.

“I kind of built this grudge or felt like if someone is not willing to be with me right now in this moment and parade me around, then they don’t really love me. And I don’t think that that’s true,” said Kiyoko, who is now in a happy relationship withBacheloralumBecca Tilley. “I don’t think that that’s a fair statement to make. And I think that because of the experiences I had and because of the heartbreak that I had, I carried that with me.”

Since the initial release, she’s transformed the song into aNew York Timesbest-selling novel of the same name. She recently announced the title of hersecond novel,Where There’s Room for Us.

source: people.com