Aidan Gallagher Shares “Dream,” a New Glimpse at His Debut Album
Aidan Gallagher has spent most of his career being recognized for someone else's story. As Number Five, the sharp-tongued time traveler in Netflix's The Umbrella Academy, he became one of the defining young faces of the streaming era. IMDb ranked him #2 on its Top 10 Breakout Stars of 2020 and #7 on its Top 10 Stars of that year. With "Dream," Gallagher is telling a story that belongs entirely to him.
The track is a solo effort in the fullest sense. Aidan Gallagher is credited as composer, lyricist and musician, and he produced it himself, which is consistent with how he has always approached music. His self-produced catalog has passed 76 million streams, a figure that points to a real audience rather than curiosity from television fans.
"Dream" follows his previous single "Without You" and marks a noticeable shift toward darker, more cinematic territory. Gallagher sees it as the song that best represents where he is now as an artist.
"DREAM reveals an entire world in a more mature soundscape. On a sound design level, you'll find certain things feel subconscious and other things feel more realized. I like that the song is completely unexpected. From start to finish. I intentionally, wanted those dynamics to slowly introduce to people the new perimeter of aesthetics that I've grown into over all this time."
That positioning matters, because "Dream" arrives as a preview of his first full-length album, expected later in 2026.
For longtime followers, the album has been a long time coming. Aidan Gallagher's music career began gaining momentum around 2019, when he reached #22 on the Bandsintown Emerging Artist chart. He was then selected for the 2020 Big Break Accelerator Program showcase, which made him the youngest musician ever chosen to perform at SXSW. The pandemic canceled both the festival and his planned 2020 tour, but his singles still earned recognition from competitions including Unsigned Only, the International Songwriting Competition and the Independent Music Awards.
His profile outside music is equally unusual. Before The Umbrella Academy, he rose to fame on Nickelodeon's Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, and in 2018 Variety's Power of Young Hollywood list named him among the top actors under 25. He is also the youngest Goodwill Ambassador ever named within the UN system through the UN Environment Programme, and he regularly uses his platform to raise awareness about ocean conservation and endangered species.
"Dream" shows that the music is not a side project. It is a carefully built, patient piece of work, and it suggests that the debut album will be an artistic statement rather than a celebrity crossover.
My Chemical Romance launch makeup range inspired by ‘Danger Days’ era
My Chemical Romance have launched a new makeup range inspired by their 2010 album, ‘Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys’.
- READ MORE: My Chemical Romance live in Los Angeles: A triumphant, cathartic return
US cosmetic company Hipdot took to social media on Thursday (July 8) to announce that it has teamed up with My Chemical Romance to release a second makeup range with the band.
The new line, which fans can pre-order starting July 22, features various MCR-inspired products, including an eye shadow palette, eyeliner duo, eye primer and a four-piece lip gloss set.
Each item is embossed with the spider that appears on the ‘Danger Days’ cover. The Hipdot collection is vegan and cruelty-free.
MCR fans we heard you loud and clear!
We’re doing things differently this time around to assure FANS get a chance to reserve their Limited Edition #HIPDOTxMCR 2 Collectors Set. All Collectors Sets will be made to order, just for you!
Pre-Orders will begin July 22-29 pic.twitter.com/iwubResJr6— HipDot (@HipDotCosmetics) July 8, 2021
This is the second makeup collection My Chemical Romance has put out with HipDot. The first was inspired by the band’s ‘Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge’ era. It featured a double-ended liquid eyeliner and a nine-colour ‘Revenge’ eyeshadow palette.
“We’re doing things differently this time around to assure FANS get a chance to reserve their Limited Edition #HIPDOTxMCR 2 Collectors Set,” HipDot said in a statement about its latest MCR collaboration. “All Collectors Sets will be Made to order just for you!”
Pre-orders start July 22 – July 29, and will be available to ship to: USA, Australia, Canada, UK, Germany, Ireland & Netherlands. You can pre-order the collection here.
Last month, My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way teased in an interview that he’s working on new music.
Speaking to The Umbrella Academy’s Aidan R Gallagher, Way also opened up about the recording process behind the band’s seminal 2006 album ‘The Black Parade’ and his experiences of working on the record.
Meanwhile, former My Chemical Romance drummer Bob Bryar sold a drum kit earlier this month that he used during some of the band’s most important chapters.
The custom-made kit was used during the band’s performance at the MTV VMAs in 2005, as well as recording sessions for ‘The Black Parade’.