2011–2016: Austin & Ally and radio
In 2011, Marano began playing Ally Dawson on the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally . [14] [15] In 2013, Marano recorded four solo songs and one duet with Ross Lynch for the soundtrack album Austin & Ally: Turn It Up . [16] "Me and You" debuted within the U.S. Billboard Kid Digital Songs chart at number thirteen before rising to the sixth spot, spending eleven weeks on the chart. [17] "Redial" debuted at number nineteen before peaking at number eighteen, spending four weeks on the chart. [17] Also in 2013, Marano recorded a duet with her Austin & Ally co-star Ross Lynch entitled "I Love Christmas" for Disney Channel's third holiday compilation album, Holidays Unwrapped . [18] On November 25, 2013, the song was released as a promotional single. [18] On December 14, "I Love Christmas" debuted within the U.S. Billboard Holiday Digital Songs chart peaking at number fifty. [19]
In 2014, Marano voiced Rachel in four episodes of Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja . She also appeared as Hammu in Fish Hooks and as Fangs in Liv and Maddie . Also in 2014, she appeared in a music video produced for British pop-rock group The Vamps and American singer Demi Lovato called "Somebody to You". [20] In March 2015, Marano stated that she had signed a record deal with Universal's Big Machine Records. [21] In the same year, Marano starred in Disney Channel's Original Movie, Bad Hair Day . The film was first released on February 6, 2015, on Disney Channel and had its premiere broadcast in the US on February 13. [22] [23] She also starred as the young version of Amy in A Sort of Homecoming , which tells the story of a girl who returns to her home town in Louisiana from her career in New York City. [24] On January 10, 2016, Austin and Ally ended after four seasons. [25]
On January 13, 2016, Marano debuted her own radio talk show on Radio Disney entitled For the Record with Laura Marano. The weekly one-hour show chronicled Marano's journey as she launched her music career, featuring interviews with a guest star in each episode. The show also provided listeners tips on how one can pursue a career in music. [26] The show featured various guest stars including Nick Jonas, Ariana Grande, Meghan Trainor, OneRepublic, Troye Sivan and Zendaya. The first episode of the show, which aired January 12, 2016, guest starred her co-stars of Austin & Ally.
2016–present: Films and music
On March 11, 2016, Marano released her debut single called "Boombox". The music video for the single released on April 4, 2016, and accumulated over 6 million views in a week. The video currently holds over 60 million views. It guest stars actor and comedian Ken Jeong, along with his daughter Zooey, and was directed by Cole Walliser. On April 30, 2016, Marano performed the single at the 2016 Radio Disney Music Awards, which aired on Disney Channel on May 1. Marano also performed the song on Today as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month on May 31, 2016. Marano released her second single, "La La", on August 25, 2016. [27] At the end of 2016, Big Machine Records made the decision to drop all of their pop artists, except for Taylor Swift. [28] On May 18, 2017, it was announced that Marano had signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2017. [29] In 2018, they parted ways, because the people who had signed her left Warner Bros. [30]
On October 1, 2018, Marano announced in a Q&A video posted on her YouTube channel that she would be releasing new music as an independent artist. She named her own label Flip Phone Records, as Marano is known for still using a flip phone. [31] On October 5, 2018, she released the single "Me" . [32] In January 2019, she released the single "Let Me Cry" along with its music video. In February 2019, Marano performed at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles and released the single "F.E.O.U.". On March 8, 2019, she released her debut EP, Me, featuring two unheard tracks and a new remix to "F.E.O.U.". [33]
On April 12, 2019, Marano released "A Little Closer", as part of the soundtrack of the Netflix original movie "The Perfect Date", which also sees Marano playing the role of Celia. In June 2019, the Lie To Me music video came out, followed by the F.E.O.U. music video in October of the same year. On November 22, 2019, Marano released both "Me and the Mistletoe" featuring Kurt Hugo Schneider, her first original Christmas single, and the soundtrack of "A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish", which Marano stars in the movie.
On April 10, 2020, Marano released the single "When You Wake Up", followed by "Can't Hold On Forever" in May of the same year. In June 2020, Marano released the remixes to these past two singles, respectively featuring Mark Diamond and PLTO. In August 2020, the singer released a new single, titled "Honest With You", and during the same month, it was announced that her sophomore EP, titled You, would be coming out in fall of the same year, aiming for an October release. On September 18, 2020, the singer released a fourth single, "Can't Help Myself", along with the announcement of the release date of the EP, "YOU". [34] [35] On September 21, the singer announced her first virtual tour, The YOU Tour, which would take place during the month of October, with four unique live-stream shows every week, from October 3 to 24, with each concert being unique and with a different formulation. [36] On January 22, 2021, the singer released the acoustic version of the single Something To Believe In, whereas the music video was released on February 19, 2021. [37] [38] On March 12, the remix of the single was released in collaboration with DJ AFSHEEN. [39] On April 16, the remix of the single, Honest With You, with the Malaysian singer Alextbh, was released. [40] On May 21, the remix of Can't Help Myself was released, featuring Jean Deaux and produced by Poe Leos and on the same day, the deluxe version of the EP, YOU, was announced.
On September 24, 2021, the singer released the single I Wanna Know What It's Like. [41] On December 31, 2021, the single Dance With You was released, featuring the electronic duo Grey, whereas on January 20, 2022, the single "Worst Kind of Hurt", with singer-songwriter Wrabel was released. Both songs are part of the soundtrack of the Netflix rom-com, The Royal Treatment , in which Marano also stars, released in January 2022. In February, a live performance of Worst Kind Of Hurt featuring Wrabel was released on Marano's YouTube channel, whereas the music video for Dance With You was released in March. [42] [43] Moreover, Marano and Michael Trewartha from Grey performed the song on The Kelly Clarkson Show during the same month. [44] In March 2022, the singer announced her first national concert tour, The Us Tour, set for summer 2022 and counting of 22 dates across the United States. [45] On tour Marano performed several tracks on piano and with her band, which consisted of Mark Diamond on guitar and Ross Hodgkinson on drums. [46]
Later that month, it was announced that Marano was to lead Netflix's interactive rom-com, Choose Love . [47]
On July 31, 2023, Marano announced I May Be An Actress, but I Can't Fake How I Feel, her debut studio album which was released on September 15, 2023. It was widely well-received and, by some critics, noted as one of the most underrated albums of 2023. [48]
