Hayley Kiyoko’s ‘Sleepover’ Is a Bittersweet Queer Girl Fantasy: Watch
"You want to be friends forever / I can think of something better..."
The tender heartbreak of falling in love with your best friend only to have it unrequited is something many can certainly relate to. In the video for "Sleepover," alt-pop artist Hayley Kiyoko takes that experience and projects it through the queer lens, creating a poignant piece of pro-LGBTQ art that explores the inimitable, precious ache of one girl falling in love with another who will never feel quite the same way.
Set against a hazy, humid electronic soundscape of drowsy mid-tempo beats and flickering guitar twinkles, "Sleepover" finds Kiyoko daydreaming about her friend during a slumber party with her. "Can I just be in my head with you," the singer-songwriter pleads, as she fantasizes about slow dancing together in her room, taking a romantic bath and making out—the latter body-positive scene which progressively allows the camera to scan lovingly over her would-be lover's stretchmarks.
"Even when you're next to me / It's not the way I'm picturing... / Sleeping here right next to me / But will you ever mess with me?" Kiyoko continues to lament, heartbroken yet ever hopeful, as so many of us have been before, as she grapples with her complicated feelings for her friend.
On Tumblr, the artist acknowledged the track's message of validation for LGBTQ persons struggling to wade through the complexities of romance and unrequited love in a largely hetero-normative society.
"I’ve never truly believed that sexuality defines who you are. I do believe, though, that sexuality helps shape and build who you become. How you act, what you pursue, who you surround yourself with. This music video for 'Sleepover' is not a concept or an idea for me. It is my life. It defines a part of who I am today," she wrote.
"I grew up a dreamer and found comfort through a safe haven in my head. It’s where I was able to find self-love and feel validated," Kiyoko continued. "This music video validates those feelings for me, even if in those moments the girl I fell for was unavailable. I made this video to help validate those fantasies. To create a space for the lovers, dreamers and seekers. Falling in love can be a bittersweet feeling, especially if you know it’ll never be reciprocated."
Indeed, it's a bittersweet, sweet fantasy, baby—and one we can all relate to.
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