Was making music always a goal for you?

"Yes. Making music is always something I’ve wanted to do. I actually got started with it around the same time I started acting. Now is just obviously the first time anyone’s hearing it. But yeah, it’s really kind of crazy how it has all come together. I signed with Republic Records less than a year ago, released my first single within six months, and now have an EP coming out, which is insane."

When you say you started around the same time acting, were you pursuing it as a career then?

"It was definitely more of a side project [early on]. I recorded a couple of covers to see how I felt in the studio, behind the microphone. That’s when I got started, but my movies were taking up most of the time."

Are these songs autobiographical in a way?

"They really, truly are... The songs on Haiz are definitely very personal and mean a lot to me for very different reasons. That’s one of the most terrifying, yet exciting parts about releasing this. It is me and my voice and my take on things. It will be interesting to see how people respond."

Where does a song like “Hell Nos and Headphones,” which is about leaving a party, come from?

"With ‘Hell Nos and Headphones,’ that song actually got started when I went into the studio with Justin [Tranter] and Julia [Michaels]. I was talking to them about an experience I had where I found myself in a situation that I was completely uncomfortable in, and worked up the courage to leave and not feel like I had to conform to a certain behavior to be cool or be something that I’m not. I think there are times, often, where I am walking around in the world trying to figure out where I belong, and something that’s so important is noticing that it's okay not to feel like you have to do or say anything to do or be anything that you’re not. That's basically what 'Hell Nos and Headphones' is to me, is just saying, 'No, I'm going to walk away and I'm going to stick with what I love and stick with what I know, and in this case, it's make music.'"