Hayley Kiyoko is most well-known for her role in Disney’s 2011 Lemonade Mouth, a film about high schoolers forming a band in detention—a staple for 2000s kids. Since her Disney debut, she’s made a name for herself in the queer art space, peaking in popularity in the late 2010s. While she isn’t a household name, Kiyoko has a dedicated fan base in the queer community, and her Chicago fans filled the House of Blues on May 4.
Drums echoed through the house, gradually building in intensity with the cheers of the audience. Kiyoko skipped up to the microphone, immediately reaching into the crowd and jumping into her song “found my friends.” She was clad in loose fitting tropical-patterned pants with a matching jacket over a sparkly pink bandeau. With the opening words of “luna,” another upbeat pop track off her newest album PANORAMA, two dancers flanked Kiyoko. The dancers, one of whom sported a crop top with “Lesbian Jesus” scrawled in Sharpie, wore assless chaps over neon green bikinis. More than most live music, Kiyoko’s was an intricately planned performance. By design, the opening songs built in energy and popularity, peaking with “sugar at the bottom.” For the chorus, Kiyoko lifted her mic to the crowd, inviting them to shout the lines, “If I could give him some advice/ Just stay away, she’s fucking crazy.”
Riding the energy of the PANORAMA-centered opening, the crowd exploded with the first notes of an older fan favorite, “What I Need.” Kiyoko knows her audience, and she let the crowd take over for the chorus and—raising her hands in the sign for “louder”—she fed the energy. From the moment she stepped on stage, Kiyoko’s ease in front of an audience was obvious. She meshed perfectly with the dancers’ choreography, subtly smirking and raising her eyebrows when one of the dancers fell to the floor and popped through her open legs. She retains the Disney hyper-energy, the dancing skills, and the naturalness on stage.
Kiyoko turned her attention to the crowd. She smiled and remarked, “I always wanted to become a performer and have people screaming at me. One thing I didn’t know is that I was going to be a raging lesbian while doing it.” The crowd erupted in a mixture of laughter and cheers. Girls waved their pink-white-orange pride flags above their heads as the wistful opening notes of “Sleepover,” a fan-favorite from Kiyoko’s debut album Expectations, rang out. While “Sleepover” expresses the trope of the lesbian in love with her best friend, Kiyoko’s songs are by no means one-dimensional. Her work explores relationships and mental health in a way that is relatable to all audiences but with an emphasis on the lesbian experience, earning her the title of queer icon.
Her dancers reemerged and laid three pride flags on the ground. The crowd knew what was coming. “Girls Like Girls,” off her 2015 EP, is Kiyoko’s most popular and iconic song. Kiyoko and her dancers swung their flags to the beat, as did members of the audience, making for a spectacle of colors and rainbows. As the song faded, Kiyoko said, “Thank you for welcoming me into this community and making a space for me.” Kiyoko’s phenomenal stage presence made for a high-energy atmosphere that radiated around the venue, leaving the crowd feeling seen and satisfied.
