You may know Asher Angel for his roles in the Shazam! movies and the Disney Channel comedy Andi Mack. But he's also a talented musician. The 21-year-old plays guitar and piano, and his smooth pop R&B vocals recall vintage Justin Timberlake and Usher.
Although he released several singles in the wake of Andi Mack, he hasn't spent much time on music since 2020. That's changing. His latest single, "Flip The Switch" came out last week, and he's lining up more releases for later this year.
Watch Angel talk to Jordan Edwards and Demi Ramos about his success as an actor, favorite celebrity encounters, and his plan for expanding his music career.
Asher Angel | It's Real with Jordan and Demi
For more from Asher Angel, follow him on Instagram and TikTok.
I think I can speak for the collective when I say this week has felt long and arduous. I feel like I've used every last shred of energy saved up to even survive all the workweek, so needless to say, I'm exhausted. But, that's not stopping me from gearing up for another week of new music.
If you don't know by now, we have a weekly thing going here. I round up all of these new, glorious releases every Friday and you, dear reader, run to your streaming platform of choice and listen! It's a mutually beneficial relationship, one that I look forward to weekly.
This week is no different, we've got heavy hitters coming out with new music now that the summer is essentially over. The Disney Trinity is returning to music soon: Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and Miley Cyrus all have music coming within the next two weeks. It's almost like it's 2006 and I'm tuning into a Disney Channel Original Movie soon.
And then, even further on the horizon, we have Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS looming. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves here, it's only August 18! And while it may be my roommate's birthday, it's also a week full of new music.
Let's Get Listening!
Demi Lovato - "Confident (Rock Version)"
Demi Lovato has one of the strongest vocal ranges in the music industry- which makes her voice perfect for rock and roll music. She's able to hit all the notes that pierce your soul, added the heavy drumbeat and scathing electric guitar to give us the versions of her old pop songs that feel fresh. It's apart of her new REVAMPED album, coming September 15, which features rock versions of all our fave Demi songs.
We first saw the new rock era of Demi on her 2022 HOLY FVCK tour, and fans have been anxiously awaiting to hear Demi's new spin on old faves. Alongside her all female band, Demi Lovato reinstates herself as the queen of genre-blending sound, a true musical genius.
Khloe Rose - The In Between (album)
Khloe Rose is our feature artist of the week: someone who has the ability to sing, write, and play multiple instruments deserves their own segment...especially when that someone is 19-year-old Khloe Rose. She's created a flawless album with The In Between, which includes the title track about those in-between moments in relationships...where you can't quite figure out what's happening.
It's a refreshing feeling to have all of your emotions put into words, which is exactly what her music provides. It's therapeutic to listen to, and her music is insanely catchy. She's one to watch these days, if you're a fan of artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift- check out Khloe Rose.
Icona Pop - "Fall In Love"
Icona Pop makes music for those who are ready to let loose and have a good time. The duo has given us bangers like "I Love It (ft. Charli XCX)", "All Night", and "Desire" with Joel Corry, but now they're here with "Fall In Love." It's the perfect taste of their new album, out September 1, CLUB ROMANTECH. "Fall In Love" feels fun, lighthearted, ethereal in ways, and makes us feel all the emotions falling in love does. Icona Pop says,
"'Fall In Love’ is about that moment when you fall sooo hardfor someone it’s almost like hitting a wall; you get all dizzy and almost lose touch with the ground andcan’t focus on anything else. The track is kind of an experiment for us to play around with our poppierside; we wanted to play around with mixing up our lyrics, but approach the melody almost like you wouldwith a sample, except it’s just us singing."
Mantra of the Cosmos - "X (Wot You Sayin?)"
Mantra of the Cosmos is like if you assembled the Avengers of UK music and put them into a band. Consisting of successful musicians from iconic bands, this group knows what they're doing. I mean, when you put together Shaun Ryder (Happy Mondays, Black Grape), Zak Starkey (The Who, Oasis), Andy Bell (Oasis, Ride), Bez (Happy Mondays, Black Grape) and latest members, Brix Smith of The Fall, you know you're getting the best music.
Their latest single "X (Wot You Sayin?) is pure fun. A refreshing drumbeat and creative lyrics meld into harmonica runs to create a genre-blended single. Every single member of this band put a little of their magic into the song, which is prevalent when you're listening.
Surf Mesa - "First Time (ft. Stevie Appleton)"
Surf Mesa is making a name for himself quickly as a sought-after producer and someone who can make a banger track every single time. Ever since his essential debut with "ily (I love you baby)", the world has been enjoying Surf Mesa's ability to produce Beachy tracks that send you to the coast of California every time you press play. "First Time" with Stevie Appleton is classic Surf Mesa- chill, instilling within you some sort of wanderlust to be wherever the water is and the drinks are.
Following hit singles like "Manzanita," it's an exciting time to be a fan of Surf Mesa. He doesn't disappoint, giving you what you didn't know you needed.
Laura Marano has a lot going on. She released her latest single "Boundaries" on April 14, and she's been busy filming movies for Netflix. Last year, she starred in The Royal Treatment, and soon fans can see her in Choose Love, the streaming service's first interactive romantic comedy.
Known for her role as Ally on Disney Channel's Austin & Ally, she's released solo music for several years. Recently, she reformed her sound, pushing it into different, more mature directions. Eight years removed from Disney, she's moved comfortably into the adult phase of her career.
Watch Jordan Edwards interview Marano and stream "Boundaries" below.
Laura Marano | It's Real with Jordan and Demi
For more from Laura Marano, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
Sky Katz is evolving. Known to many as Tess on the Disney Channel show “Raven’s Home,” the actress and musician is ready for more grownup roles. This starts soon with the Netflix original series Surviving Summer, in which she plays a Brooklyn teenager sent to live in Australia.
Her music career is changing too. Though she started as a rapper, Katz’s latest single “Breakup Song” has more of a pop punk vibe.
In this interview, Jordan Edwards and Demi Ramos ask her about how she got to this point, and where she wants to go from here.
Disney+ is trickling its way into our daily dependence on streaming services.
This means we've unlocked a whole new world (Aladdin pun intended) of movies to watch half-attentively while we also scroll on our phones. You probably already know of all the classic Disney Originals that are at your disposal, but what about the Disney Channel Originals?
It's probably a given that big hits like
High School Musical, Zenon, and Camp Rock are now available for your adult self to stream and reminisce, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. Name a DCOM, and it's likely available on Disney+, including all the strange, ridiculous low-fliers you might've forgotten about. Here are just nine to kickstart your nostalgia trip.
1. Alley Cats Strike!
Anything goes in the Disney Channel universe, including a bowling match to settle a basketball championship tie between rival towns. Why are both towns so invested in high school bowling? Why do the teenage winners get to pick the name of a new school in the area? We don't know, but we're still chasing the high of that final scene.
2. Stepsister from Planet Weird
In this sci-fi comedy from 2000, a literal alien refugee is immediately welcomed into the popular crowd at her new high school on Earth, despite thinking her human form is "grotesque." Not to mention that the emperor of her home planet is defeated by hair dryers and wind blowers.
3. Can of Worms
On the other end of the spectrum of Disney Channel's alien fixation,
Can of Worms centers around Mike, who lives an entirely normal life besides believing he doesn't belong on Earth at all. After he accidentally sends a message to space, he's visited by an alien lawyer who deems Earth's living standards subpar. Strangely eerie 20 years later, isn't it?
4. The Thirteenth Year
Cody's birth mother is a mermaid who left him on a random boat when he was a baby. Now, as Cody approaches his teens, his merman features are beginning to present themselves, and he nearly gets accused for cheating during his swim meet. It's just fins, not steroids!
5. Luck of the Irish
There's little to take away from this film other than a white teenage boy finally embraces that he is both Irish and from Ohio, but leprechauns and river dancing will never not be amusing.
6. Motocrossed
Five years before Amanda Bynes posed as her own twin brother in
She's the Man, Disney Channel offered their own adaptation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. After Andi's brother gets injured, she decides to fill in for him in an all-male motocross tournament, chopping her hair off and all. The sexism is abundant, but—spoiler alert—Andi can totally take on the guys.
7. The Other Me
Poor Will. His grades are slipping, his dad is threatening to send him to military camp, and he just accidentally made a clone of himself who turns out to be way cooler and smarter than him, so they switch places. Kinda like the
Parent Trap, but sciencey.
8. You Wish!
The lesson this film attempts to impart is: don't wish away your little brother, because he might instead become a child TV star and make your life even more of a living hell than it was when you lived under the same roof.
9. Pixel Perfect
The perfect pop star doesn't exist, until, of course, you make a hologram of her. Loretta Modern might have been programmed to become an overnight sensation, but she just wants to be a regular human, damn it! She ends up being helpful in more ways than one, but like all modern technology, she can't last forever.
Maybe they didn't all make total sense, but there's a reason DCOMs became such an integral part of growing up in the 2000s. DCOM creators conceived some of the strangest, most fringe ideas, and served them to a market that didn't mind how nonsensical they were; pair that with Disney Channel's omnipresence in the typical middle-class American household, and these oddly lovable films serve as a timestamp for an era.
When I first realized I was bisexual, I didn't know any girls who liked girls in real life.
I grew up in a community that was supportive of gay rights in theory, but queerness still felt shrouded in discomfort and otherness.
Because of this, every morning of eighth grade I'd wake up, stumble out to the kitchen table, and wish it wasn't true. I wanted to erase these troublesome, fluttery feelings I had for the pretty girl I'd seen on the dance floor that summer. I wanted to wake up and be straight. I wanted to erase myself.
I wonder how much of a difference seeing a video like Hayley Kiyoko's "She" would've made in my life, had it come out at the time. "She" is a pristine pop song from one of the most prominent lesbian artists making music today, but it's also a reminder that even though gay rights have become accepted by the mainstream media, discovering your own queerness as a teen can be incredibly scary and isolating.
It can also be a source of power and inspiration. For the "She" video, Kiyoko dons a baby butch outfit, complete with a wig that resembles the short emo-kid haircut she had at the time. At first, she's awkward and uncomfortable, but eventually she finds the confidence to pick up a guitar, and soon enough she's a rock star jamming out as crowds scream her name.
"I actually got emotional putting on the wig," she told Teen Vogue. "It brought on a wave of feelings and reminded me of how insecure and hard I was on myself during that time. I felt a wave of pride as well knowing I overcame my fears and I was now celebrating that moment. All my insecurities are the reason why I became me."
The video will be relatable to anyone who's ever felt the pain of being stuck in the closet, either by their community or by their own internalized homophobia or both. "When I was younger, I hid so much of who I was, and secretly felt so different and alone," Kiyoko added. "But I was really inspired by artists like Tegan and Sara and Lance Bass; they made me feel like I could turn my dreams into a reality. Having representation is so important and means so much to the future generations."
Despite increasing levels of widespread protection and acceptance, LGBTQ+ kids still face many challenges. According to the Human Rights Coalition, 4 out of 10 American teens ages 13-17 feel they live in a community that does not accept queer people. LGBTQ+ kids still face high levels of violence, being twice as likely as others to be physically assaulted. The survey also found that although 9 out of 10 kids say they're out to their close friends, 92% said they've heard negative messages about queerness.
These messages can have deadly consequences. According to the Trevor Project, suicide rates are three times higher for LGBTQ+ youth. Things are even more difficult for transgender people, who receive less acceptance and support than cisgender people; according to the same study, 40% of transgender adults say they've attempted suicide.
Queer people of color experience unique challenges as well, facing high levels of poverty and intersecting challenges. For example, "disproportionate numbers of LGBT people of colour live in places that lack any explicit state-level protections for LGBT people," said Ineke Mushovic, director of the Movement Advancement Project. "This means that LGBT people of colour face a high risk of economic harm from anti-LGBT laws."
In spite of the accessibility of these statistics, it's easy to forget how harrowing the experience of growing up queer can be—particularly for kids in situations wherein homophobia is a reality and other issues like poverty are at play. Though 77% of the kids surveyed by the Human Rights Coalition say they know things will get better, that doesn't mean that queer and trans kids should have to suffer. And until every single kid can joyfully embrace who they are in a safe and loving home, the work isn't done.
To make this work happen, we need not only to promote surface-level love for queer people. We need to address the forces that lock queer (and non-white and non-able-bodied) people in loops of poverty, that permit conversion therapy, that codify employment and housing discrimination, and that prevent trans people from using their chosen bathrooms and accessing the health care they need.
Though these realities are painful, it doesn't all have to be about suffering. As Kiyoko said, visible and high-profile examples of queer joy and acceptance can be invaluable.
Personally, I've come a long way since the day I first came out to my Siberian husky, in private, because I was too scared to consider whispering the words to another human. For me, getting to know other bisexual girls helped me learn to accept myself—shout out to the girl from summer camp at age 14 who casually said "I'm bi" in a meeting and changed my life—and over the years, I learned to truly appreciate my sexual identity. Nowadays, when every other person I meet seems to be queer (I do live in New York), it's so easy to forget about those years of shame.
Hayley Kiyoko's video sent memories of that time flooding back. It reminded me that I made it out—and that there's still work to be done to make sure every kid can do the same.
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