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

• Hayley Kiyoko is turning her breakout hit "Girls Like Girls" into a major motion picture

• The singer and actress opens up to PEOPLE about the news, which comes nine years after the viral song and video initially came out

• "[I felt] like it's my destiny to direct this song and to get this story out there," says Kiyoko
  

Nine years after Hayley Kiyoko had 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."

Related: Hayley Kiyoko on Creating a Safe Space for LGBTQ+ Youth with New Book Inspired by Her Journey (Exclusive)

"[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 okay.' 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."

"There was a lot of trial and error trying to find people who can not only see the vision but also be able to get it made and financed too," she says of the film, which landed at Focus Features with Marc Platt and Katie McNicol as producers. The film was co-written by Kiyoko and Stefanie Scott, who starred in the original music video, which holds over 157 million views.

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.

Related: Hayley Kiyoko on Navigating Her Identity and Sharing the 'Love' She Has for Becca Tilley with the World

"I fell in love with this girl in high school and it was a pivotal moment in my life," Kiyoko told PEOPLE in 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 with Bachelor alum Becca 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 a New York Times best-selling novel of the same name. She recently announced the title of her second novel, Where There's Room for Us.

"I'm so excited to share with everyone. It comes out in November next year," Kiyoko says of her upcoming novel, which was inspired by her meet cute with Tilley. "Imagine Pride and Prejudice meets Little Women set in a queer Victorian hyper reality."

Read the original article on People