Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft[1] (Japanese: ヘイリー・キヨコ, Hepburn: Heirī Kiyoko Arcroft; born April 3, 1991), known professionally as Hayley Kiyoko, is an American actress, singer-songwriter, musician, and dancer. She is best known for playing Velma Dinkley in Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins and Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, as well as Stella Yamada in the Disney Channel film Lemonade Mouth. She recently released her debut solo EP.
Early life
Kiyoko Alcroft was born on April 3, 1991, in Los Angeles, California, to Jamie Alcroft and Sarah Kawahara. She is of Japanese, English, and Scottish ancestry.[2] She began acting at a young age, appearing in national commercials for companies such as GM Onstar, Slim Jim and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.[3]
Insisting on drum lessons at 6, she was writing drum charts for new releases and selling them in a local music store by age 11.[4]
She was president of her Middle School and High School freshman class
and in her sophomore year she was appointed Commissioner of
Entertainment then Commissioner of Pep Rallies in her Junior year and
was elected as school VP in her Senior year.
She created and choreographed "The Agoura High Step Team"
that has now been faculty approved as a school club under her
direction. The team placed 3rd at a nationals competition in 2005.[5] Upon graduation, she was accepted into Clive Davis
School of Recorded Music at(([New Jersey Universety))but initially
deferred until eventually declining due to career opportunities.[6][7]
Acting career
Kiyoko was "discovered' at age five when she, for moral support, went
with her friend to a photo shoot. The director asked her to step in
front of the camera and she ended up in a national print ad for KnowledgeWare. Nickelodeon
spotted her at the Culver City Ice Rink and she ended up featured in
and narrating a short piece about children in sports called, "I'm
Hayley, a Skater".[4]
Kiyoko continued to hone her skills in middle school plays,[8] and in 7th grade she, after seeing Eurasian girls like herself act in J. C. Penney commercials, asked for an agent.[7]
She got her commercial agent and booked her first audition, claiming
acting was always just something she did on the side to make money for
college and music equipment.[9]
After graduating highschool in 2009, Kiyoko booked her first big movie, starring as Velma Dinkley in Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins.[8] A role she almost did not audition for due to her image.[7] The TV movie premiered on September 13, 2009 and was a huge success bringing in 6.1 million viewers,[10] making it the most-watched program in Cartoon Network’s history.[7]
She returned for the same role in the sequel, Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster which premiered on October 16, 2010 and later released on DVD March 1, 2011. The sequel drew 3.4 million viewers.[11]
Kiyoko also guest starred in four episodes of Disney's 'Wizards Of Waverly Place', which first aired between March and May 2010. She played the short lived, yet popular role of Stevie Nichols, an evil wizard.
After returning from Justin Bieber's "My World Tour", Kiyoko immediately began work on the Disney Channel movie "Lemonade Mouth."[8]
She stars as rebellious teenager Stella Yamada. Her vocals appear on
the movies soundtrack, which was released on April 12, 2011.
The film premiered on April 15, 2011 and was watched by 5.7 million viewers,[12] with DVR viewing included, its total was 7.1 million viewers.[13]
She took part in promotional events prior to and after the release of the film, which included performances on Good Morning America, The View, Day Break, and So Random!
Kiyoko guest starred in one episode of Disney XD's Zeke and Luther titled, "Skater Girl Island" which aired May 23, 2011. She plays a skater named 'Suzi Vandelintzer'.
The highly anticipated sequel to Lemonade Mouth
was cancelled prior to pre-production. All actors, including Kiyoko,
were on board for the project but Disney released a statement through
the films co-stars saying "They felt the movie had completed its story
within the first film." [14]
In February 2012, Kiyoko filmed Blue Lagoon: The Awakening, a Lifetime
TV movie which is a remake of the several theatrical versions of the
same name. She played the small role of 'Helen'. All scenes featuring
'Helen' were filmed in Los Angeles while a majority of the film was filmed in Puerto Rico.[15] It premiered on June 16, 2012.[16]
Musical endeavors
2007-Present: Hede
Formed in November 2007 and named after her grandfather,[5]
Kiyoko performed as the lead singer and songwriter for Hede. Despite
not knowing each other beforehand, the band members became very close
and experienced local success.
Their five-song self-titled album was released on Myspace in 2008[17] which was sold directly by the band members themselves.
A music video for "Warehouse" was later released in 2009.[18]
The band did perform locally on several occasions, and even won a battle of the bands competition.[5][19]
2007–2011: The Stunners
In 2007, Kiyoko was approached by former pop-star Vitamin C to join an all-girl singing and dancing group. She joined Allie Gonino, Tinashe, Kelsey Sanders (later replaced by Lauren Hudson in 2009) and Marisol Esparza to form the Stunners. Six months after forming, the group signed with Columbia Records and released a single titled "Bubblegum" to iTunes along with the official video for the single and as contributed a song to the iCarly soundtrack.[20] The single and video were later removed from iTunes.
In 2009, the group left Columbia Records[21]
and signed a production deal with Lionsgate Entertainment, who also
produced a scripted television show pilot based on the group, which was
ordered by MTV.[21][22]
In October of that year, the girls released a 5-song EP and shot a
music video for their promo single "We Got It" which was released on
February 22, 2010.[21]
They released a holiday single in December 2009, produced by Desmond Child, and written by the five members of the group,[23]
titled "Santa Bring My Soldier Home" and encouraged donations the USO
for soldiers overseas, not with their families for the holidays.[24] The group performed the song on The Today Show[25] as well as The Wendy Williams Show.[21][24] After meeting with various labels interested in the group, they signed to Universal Republic Records[21]
in 2010 and released their first single "Dancin' Around the Truth"
which featured the New Boyz to iTunes as well as Top 40 radio stations.[26] The music video premiered June 2, just before the group was announced as an opening act on Justin Bieber's My World Tour.[27]
They finished their run after twenty dates on the tour and returned
to LA to record new songs with producers and writers such as Toby Gad, The Cataracs, Dave Broome,[28] Livvi Franc,[29] Sheppard Soloman, Jimmy Harry and Tony Kanal of No Doubt fame.[30]
They shot a fourth music video in the desert of California in November
for their new song "Spin The Bottle" which premiered on December 31,
2010. A full album along with an official second single titled "Heart
Stops Beating", written by Tinashe and Allie and produced by Orange Factory Music was planned,[31] but cancelled when the group split in 2011.[21][32][33]
2012–Present: Solo EP
Kiyoko uploaded a live studio mix of "Hunting Man" to her YouTube
channel on January 23, a solo song which is written by herself and also
features her on bass.[34]
On October 15, 2012, Kiyoko launched a fan-funded music project. Fans were able to pledge on a copy of her debut EP, along with other items for funding.[35][36] The project was fully funded on December 12, 2012.
The EP, titled A Belle to Remember, was released on March 12, 2013.[37]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins | Velma Dinkley | TV film; main role |
| 2010 | Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster | Velma Dinkley | TV film; main role |
| 2011 | Lemonade Mouth | Stella Yamada | TV film (Disney Channel Original Movie); main role |
| 2012 | Blue Lagoon: The Awakening | Helen | TV film; supporting role |
| 2012 | Adrift | Jess | Short film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Unfabulous | Rapping/Dancing Girl | Episode: "The Song" |
| 2007 | All Grown Up! | Singing Kimi Finster | Episode: "Separate But Equal" |
| 2010 | Wizards of Waverly Place | Stevie Nichols | Episodes: "Detention Election" "Eat to the Beat" "Third Wheel" "The Good, the Bad, and the Alex" |
| 2011 | Zeke and Luther | Suzi Vandelintzer | Episode: "Skater Girl Island" |
| 2011 | So Random! | Herself | Episode: "Bridgit Mendler, Adam Hicks and Hayley Kiyoko" |
| 2013 | The Vampire Diaries | Megan | Episode: "I Know What You Did Last Summer" |
Discography
See also: The Stunners
EPs
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| A Belle to Remember[38] |
|
Singles
- As main artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | ||||
| "Rockstar" | 2011 | — | non-album single | |
| "A Belle To Remember" | 2013 | — | A Belle to Remember | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
- As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [40] |
US Heat. [41] |
|||
| "Breakthrough" (among the Cast of Lemonade Mouth) |
2011 | 88 | 11 | Lemonade Mouth |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
Personal life
Kiyoko's favorite places to shop include, Neiman Marcus, Zara, Diesel, and LF.[disambiguation needed][9]
Her hobbies include hiking, ice skating, teaching dance, and taking karate.[42] She performed as an ice skater in the 2007 film Blades of Glory and in the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, both of which were choreographed by her mother.[42]
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