How Rising Artist Izzy Escobar Landed Synchs on ‘Hacks’ and ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’: ‘I’m Still Trying To Wrap My Head Around It’

When Izzy Escobar was just four years old, she started playing classical violin and studying the Suzuki Method of learning music. “My mom was definitely a proponent of learning an instrument,” she says. “On the other hand, my dad is from Cuba and was a DJ. I would sit with him at the dining room table and we would go over his setlists for the night…Top 40 hits, Cuban music, jazz.”

Escobar believes that upbringing ultimately inspired her own sound, a blend of classical and modern elements that result in her blues-inspired pop. She counts Celine Dion and Whitney Houston among her favorites (“I love powerhouse vocalists”) and says pursuing a career in music always felt natural: “Music immediately gave me this grounding sense of belonging… so I ran with that and never looked back.”

Yet, growing up in a small town in Massachusetts, Escobar admits that signing a record deal felt a bit “like a lottery system” — especially given her lack of industry connections. She decided to study theater at The University of California, Los Angeles to help network and immerse herself into the music business, working through school at Angeles Academy of Music and earning a full-time role after graduation. 

At the same time, she was self-funding her music and taking advice from friends who had landed label jobs. “I was posting three times a day and it was so cringey,” she recalls. “Nothing was picking up, and I got really down on myself.” Her last straw was when a student didn’t show up for their music lesson: “I literally had a breakdown.” She took to the piano, where she often improvises her songwriting, and decided to record and post the emotional release. “I woke up the next day and had gotten 13 million views on that video,” she recalls. “My whole inbox was about what I had been trying to get people to hear for so long.” (She later signed to independent label, publisher and management firm Artist House.)

Fast forward to this April, when things crystallized for Escobar with two major back-to-back synchs: She contributed an original song both to the final season of acclaimed TV comedy Hacks and to the highly anticipated film sequel Devil Wears Prada 2. 

For Hacks, she recalls being connected with Diane Warren to work on “something…but I didn’t fully know what yet.” Escobar had just a few hours to cut her vocals for what became the sassy and sultry kiss-off, “Hate to Be the One,” before catching a flight out of L.A. For Devil, music supervisor Julia Michels personally requested that Escobar write a song for the sequel after hearing her track “Sunny in London” (off her 2025 EP of the same name), saying it was similar to “the sonic landscape” for the film. 

After her original submission didn’t ultimately fit the scene, she wrote a new song, “Evergreen Avenue,” in a day — and secured her place on the soundtrack. After watching the film at its New York premiere, Escobar was assured the song she landed on was “the perfect choice… it’s this beautiful moment of love and connection and it’s a New York City love song, is how I like to call it.”

Now, as she finishes her upcoming album, she’s dreaming of more opportunities in film and TV — whether it’s writing music or acting herself. As her latest experiences have taught her, “you don’t have to choose one path.”

Below, Escobar reveals more on how her Hacks and Devil synchs came to be.

For Hacks, “Hate to Be the One” was written for the show with Diane Warren. How did you get involved?

I had met Diane a few months prior. Her Realsongs Studio was right down the street from where I lived in L.A. when I was going through all this stuff, and I would walk past it literally every day to get a coffee. I would look up at it and I would just [be like], “I really hope one day I can work with her.” I have always admired her. 

She and I got put into contact. I went to her studio. And she has this insane ability where she sits you down and she can just understand which one of her songs you’ll resonate with. I had a concert that night at Hotel Cafe and I was leaving the next day at 3:00 PM. So after my concert, I went home and I remember holding the lyrics of “Hate to Be the One” and I fell asleep with my AirPods in. I woke up the next morning, went to the studio and cut it. 

It wasn’t until later on that we got a call from her and the director and the team of Hacks saying, “This is actually the song for the final scene [in an episode this season].” I was freaking out, because I was just excited to sing a Diane Warren song. And then to hear that it’s a part of this cultural moment – and Hacks is just comedic gold – it was so exciting for me. 

Did you and Diane discuss continuing the relationship, or did anything else come out of these sessions? 

Diane and I text every day now. Which is such a crazy thing to say. She is a genius. 

For The Devil Wears Prada 2, was your song also written specifically for the film or was it something you had already had? 

This is such a crazy story that I am still trying to wrap my head around. I was out on a walk in New York, by the park. It was dusk, and all of a sudden I get a call from my manager and she’s like, “I have the craziest news for you.” She told me that the music supervisor, Julia Michels, heard my song “Sunny in London” and said it’s like the sonic landscape of Devil Wears Prada 2 and wants me to write a song for the movie. I thought I was being pranked… It ended up being real. 

All they told me was that Julia liked “Sunny in London,” but they couldn’t use it because it was a preexisting track — and it was about London. So they wanted me to write something new. I didn’t have any direction. I went ahead and wrote this song and sonically made the landscape similar to “Sunny in London,” big string beds. I did a whole orchestration, beautiful intro with cellos, violas, violins, all of that. And they were like, “We really love the track.” 

A month later, it’s maybe 48 hours before they have to lock picture — and I get a phone call saying, “Hey, we put the song in the scene again and it’s not working.” I’m in L.A., I’m not with my team in New York where I produce. At that moment I was like, “Give me 24 hours.” I had written this song in my notes with a friend of mine, Mira, and I had it in mind because it’s a New York City love song. And I originally came to New York because I moved for a guy – I also got a record deal. But after the breakup, I met my current boyfriend who’s the love of my life and I always tell him, “you make New York feel like a brand new city.” Because in my experience, when you meet someone new, everything changes around you. And that was the line that definitely hooked me into writing this whole song, which is, “I walk these streets like a tattoo in my mind. I’ve traced the corners about a hundred times, but sidewalks feel a little different when you’re with me. You make New York feel like a brand new city.” 

I got in an Uber and went to The Village recording studios in L.A., hopped on Zoom with Gregg Wattenberg, who produced the track, and we cut the vocals over Zoom. Sent it back to New York, and I got the call from Julia and [director] David Frankel being like, “This is exactly what we needed.” 

Prior to the premiere, had you seen the scene your music is in?

No. I had no idea. I think Devil Wears Prada has a lot of themes of love, whether it be friendships or relationships, or loving yourself. So I just went in with that.

[At the premiere] Sienna [Spiro] was seated with me. And when I tell you… they bring out Lady Gaga and I freak out. I literally started to cry. And then the 20th Century Fox intro starts. I’m in my seat and my heart is beating out of my chest. 

When you think of major TV or film synch moments, is there an example you’ve seen of how it has changed an artist’s career? 

The one that comes to mind, ironically, for me is KT [Tunstall’s], “Suddenly I See” from Devil Wears Prada one. Like that whole first soundtrack of Devil Wears Prada… I feel like it actually put so many artists on the map. 

What kind of outcoming do you hope these synchs have on your career?

One of the reasons I love Lady Gaga is because of the trajectory she’s had with her career. I myself act and want to be in film and TV, not only as a songwriter. And I have dreams and ambitions to write for Broadway. All of this is just showing me the dreams you have in your head can produce a huge effect.