Adrian Lyles is stepping into his main character moment—and we are so here for it.
After captivating audiences on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, the multi-talented singer-songwriter is proving he’s so much more than a Disney breakout. At just 20 years old, Adrian is kicking off a bold new era in music, unveiling his debut EP, Horizons: Dawn, out now via Hollywood Records. It’s raw, it’s real, it’s soul-searching alt-pop—and it’s just the beginning of a multi-part journey that’s destined to make waves through the rest of 2025.
“This whole summer I feel like I’ve just been approving things for the past couple of weeks,’ I’m very excited,” Adrian tells Celeb Secrets with a grin over Zoom. “I feel like this summer we’ll finally be able to put stuff out that we’ve been working for a year and a half, so it feels good to finally be at that place.”
The first EP in Adrian’s Horizons trilogy, Dawn is all about love—in its many complicated, beautiful, messy forms. Whether it’s infatuation, heartbreak, or learning to speak your truth in a relationship, Adrian lays it all bare. But don’t expect a bunch of cliché love songs.
“I wanted to take a really realistic approach,” Adrian explains. “The stuff that people don’t always want to talk about—like those conversations where you just want things to work. It’s about navigating life and these emotional moments that aren’t glamorized but are very real.”
Backed by GRAMMY®-winning producer Oak Felder (who’s worked with literally everyone from Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino, Alessia Cara, and Demi Lovato), Adrian’s voice soars with confidence, maturity, and a fresh sense of self. Each track feels personal—because it is.
There’s one song Adrian holds especially close: “Truce,” the emotional centerpiece of Dawn.
“It flowed out so easily,” he says. “It’s about that hard conversation—where things are bad, but you still care about each other deeply. Everyone’s been in that place, and that song comes from a very real place.”
His voice, both on the track and in person, balances tenderness with conviction. There’s no posturing here—just truth.
And the vulnerability doesn’t stop there. In “It Isn’t Over Until You Die,” Adrian delivers what he calls a personal mantra: “I swear I feel it coming and I’m running for my life. We’re not gonna live forever, but I’m not ready to die.”
“That to me is kind of like a mantra that I’ve been living in right now,” he admits. “It’s so live-in-the-moment. I try to write messages I need to hear.”
Adrian’s music doesn’t fit neatly in one box—and that’s exactly the point.
From Tyler, the Creator and Dominic Fike to Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, Adrian draws from a wide spectrum of inspiration. The result? Genre-fluid alt-pop that’s uniquely him.
“I always want my songs to fall into whatever category they feel like they should belong in,” he explains. “It all comes from me, so the through-line is already there.”
Even with such an eclectic style, Adrian isn’t just making cool music—he’s building a universe. Think of Horizons: Dawn as Act I in a cinematic trilogy, complete with interconnected music videos, emotional arcs, and yes, Easter eggs galore.
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One of the wildest moments in making Dawn came during a music video shoot. The plan? Rent a forklift, simulate a dramatic fall, and blow minds. The reality? Major safety concerns.
“We couldn’t do the forklift idea, and our trampoline backup didn’t work either,” Adrian laughs. “So on the day, I just trashed the studio. Kicked stuff, smashed stuff. No one knew it was happening except the director and the person filming. Everyone’s reactions were real—and that chaos matched the song perfectly.”
The result is a video full of raw energy and real-life reactions—pure Adrian.
Fans who met Adrian as Jet on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will see a whole new side of him in Dawn—one that’s bold, honest, and uncompromising.
“Working on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series was such an experience. I’ve always been doing music, but I have not always been doing acting,” Adrian reveals. “I kind of fell into this beautiful space of really talented artists and just got to be around them and learn. What you see in [High School Musical] was a character that was just such a blessing to be able to play and be apart of.”
The four singles he’s released before were all part of that artistic search—finding his voice, sound, and message. But Dawn? It’s the first time it all clicks.
“With these EPs, we’ve definitely found what it is right now,” he says. “And I think that’s going to be real evident and apparent.”
Horizons is far from over. The next two EPs—Dusk and Midnight—are already locked, loaded, and (according to Adrian) even better.
“My favorite songs are actually on EP two and three,” he teases. “The whole concept is about choices and how much weight they hold in your life. We’ve been really careful to make sure that everything matters somewhere else, so I think there are really great songs on them, but the way that it goes topically and directionally behind more inward focused and then on the fourth one, we break it.”
“I don’t want to give too much away, but I’m super excited about where it goes because they all feel like sonically the same and just topically tackling different things. I can’t wait to see how people tie in the first one to the second or third, because we made sure we did that. I love Easter eggs, and they’re everywhere,” he continues.
He’s keeping the rest under wraps for now, but promises big things on the horizon.
“Keep a very close eye on what we’re doing on socials for the next couple of months,” he says with a wink. “New music is gonna be coming out. We’re not taking breaks, we’re not giving anything time to breathe. We’re getting the story out as best as possible.”
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Whether you’re deep in your feels or dancing alone in your room at 2 a.m., Adrian’s music will meet you there. He’s a storyteller, a heartbreaker, a scene-stealer—and he’s laying the groundwork for a career that’s going to matter.
“I hope people to see the vision,” he tells us. “And I want them to think, ‘I can only imagine what he’s going to put out five or ten years from now.’ Just follow along.”
So go listen to Horizons: Dawn. Watch the videos. Learn the lyrics. Fall in love. Adrian Lyles is here—and this is only the Dawn.
For more on Adrian’s music, make sure to watch our full interview below… and don’t forget to let us know if you’re loving the EP (and your fav track off it) by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecrets.
LISTEN TO “HORIZONS: DAWN” HERE:
Interview quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity.
