This Mellow Version of Hayley Kiyoko's 'What I Need' Is What We Need

Just because 20gayteen was the official year of Lesbian Jesus aka Hayley Kiyoko doesn’t mean we won’t continue celebrating her queer pop icon status anytime soon. Certainly not when she continues to give us excellent music.

Earlier this week, Kiyoko took to the Honda Stage to record a new, softer version of her single “What I Need,” a song officially released as a collaboration with Kehlani.

It’s not new music, technically, but it almost feels like it. While the original “What I Need” is an upbeat jam, like most of Kiyoko’s music, this piano-driven version brings the tone down to a more gentle and heartfelt place. And it really showcases our girl’s steady, dulcet vocals.

Though Hayley’s still coming off the success of her recent tour and first full-length album, she’s still been making news. An article about her in Rolling Stone that came out on the same day as the video sees her talking about the challenges of being a queer artist in the pop world.

“I think it was always a fear of mine to not [be] successful in mainstream pop because I didn’t necessarily attract the male gaze — nor want to,” she said. “But when I released the ‘Girls Like Girls’ video, it was really eye-opening because people could just respect my music and listen to it, and support me without me feeling like I’m selling sex.”

Her goals for the future also came up in the feature, as she listed hearing her songs on “mainstream radio” as an important dream of hers.

Kiyoko also stated that her “dream was to have screaming girls around and be successful and popular.”

“But I thought, ‘I’m a girl, and I don’t know if that’ll ever happen.’”

Lol. Mission accomplished, Hayley.