The Hollywood Reporter’s latest “Person of Interest” already has a hit series on Netflix. But now the 25-year-old actress is reaching for a higher note with her first single, “The Grey.”

You may know Madison Bailey as the free-spirited Kiara on Outer Banks, but the 25-year-old actress possesses another skill set you haven’t yet seen onscreen.

Growing up, her true passion was creating and writing music. But then she “kind of fell into acting” as a teenager, landed a recurring role in the DC superhero drama Black Lightning, then skyrocketed to fame with a starring role in Netflix’s hit series Outer Banks, which released part one of its fourth season on Oct. 10. She also has her movie, Time Cut, dropping on Oct. 30.

Now, five years after Outer Banks first premiered, Bailey is returning to her first love, sharing her voice with the world. She released her first single, “The Grey,” last month, a song she describes as being about “your true self and living life as free and without the world’s limitations as possible.”

Below, Bailey gets candid about navigating the spotlight after the success of Outer Banks, why it’s important for her to be “unapologetically me and unapologetically queer,” and where she hopes to take her passion for music and acting in the future.

What made you want to be an actor initially?

I realized that it could be something that I could love forever after visiting my first acting class. When you’re 15 and you’re a teenager, everything is embarrassing at that age. And I remember sitting in this room, like a class of eight people and they were doing an airplane scene. So they’re just sitting in this room pretending they’re on a plane. And I was like, this is a little silly, but there’s not a single person here that’s embarrassed. I’m more embarrassed watching it. And I was like, if I could be even half as comfortable as these people, like that for me was what I think drew me to it. It was just like a group of people just shamelessly expressing themselves.

How did your earlier acting projects, such as playing Wendy Hernandez on the DC superhero drama Black Lightning, prepare you for the success and time commitment of Outer Banks?

I don’t think anything could have prepared me for Outer Banks. Now, Outer Banks has been half of my acting career, which is so crazy. I’ve been on the show for five years. Nothing could have prepared me for the craziness. I think a lot of people in acting will tell you that the best experience and best preparation is just doing it and just being there. And it was my first time as a series regular, so it was my first time doing it and really creating a family out of a cast and crew.

Madison Bailey (left) and Carlacia Grant in ‘Outer Banks’ season 4. Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Jumping over to music, what has it been like entering a new creative space with your first single, “The Grey”?

It’s been incredible. For me, it’s less of jumping to it and more of revisiting this lifelong dream before acting was even in my mind. Music is honestly the passion that raised me. I saw myself as a storyteller and for the majority of my life, music is how I wanted to tell my stories and to express myself and getting the opportunity in between projects and all of the craziness to make it happen, it’s a dream come true to even be making the music, let alone sharing it with the world, which is crazy and something I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to do.

What do you hope your fans and listeners overall take away from the song?

I think this first single is a good representation of what the rest of my music will be and what my message as an artist is, which is being your true self and living life as free and without the world’s limitations as possible. And I think “The Grey” encapsulates that perfectly. The whole message is about living in a gray area and accepting that and how it’s not just the in-between, but like if you’re in the in-between, you’re free.

What’s your ultimate goal with your music and how far would you like to take it?

As far as it as it takes me, honestly. This is such an air sign answer (Laughs). I’m like, wherever the wind takes me. But I really do believe in timing and this is the timing for that. And I will make music for as long as I can really. It’s so new and I’m very much learning right now. I’m in my sponge era and I can’t wait to grow with this. If you asked me 10 years ago how long I’d be acting like I couldn’t answer that, and it’s the same. I don’t know if I have an answer for that, but hopefully a long, long time.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome to get to where you are now?