It has been quite a long time since Laura Marano sadly said goodbye to her Austin & Ally days, and she has been up to a lot since the Disney Channel fan-favorite show wrapped for good in 2016. From music to movies to radio hosting, the star has been busy. However, she feels like she doesn’t have much to show for all the projects she’s done since then. In an interview Laura posted to her YouTube channel, she gave fans a 16-minute life update, where she detailed her career journey.

“It [was] November of 2017, and I’ve recorded a bunch of music. I’ve recorded an album for my first label. I’ve recorded a second album of new music – and I’ve filmed two movies. And I haven’t shown anyone anything… It was so frustrating,” Laura explained in her video. “I’m acting and singing – and yet, I feel like I haven’t shown anything with either job.”

So where has she been these days? We’re rounding up everything the Disney channel alum has been up to.

She worked on new music.

While Laura has recorded tons of new music, she wasn’t able to release it all due to her record label situation. You see, Laura was first signed with Big Machine Records, but things weren’t working out. So she then decided to sign with Warner Brothers. But while she was creating music, she was also working on two movies – Saving Zoë and The War With Grandpa. Laura ultimately felt like even though she was working super hard on both acting and singing, neither were paying off the way she had hoped. Although, we must say – she did have two total jams – “La La” and “Boombox.”

Laura explained in her YouTube Q&A, “While I was filming [The War With Grandpa], people at Warner Brothers started not working there anymore. And so the same people who signed me weren’t part of the company anymore,” Laura explained. “I really do feel like everything happens for a reason, but I always wonder like if I didn’t have those two movies and went straight into recording, what difference would it have been?”

The star went on to explain that for years, she felt like she was making empty promises to her fans – and so, they decided to go independent. What does that mean for Laura and her fans? New music… ASAP.

“Our next step is just releasing. I’m excited, but I’m scared. It’s definitely even more raw doing it by yourself,” she said. “The last time I released something was 2016. The music’s definitely different than what [fans] have heard.”

So there you have it – Laura is starting fresh. And although it’s been two years, she’s super excited to start releasing new music!

She has starred in movies.

Laura Marano hasn’t lost the acting bug since Austin & Ally wrapped. She has starred in four different films since then – Lady Bird, I’ll Be Next Door for Christmas, Saving Zoë (along with her sister Vanessa Marano that she produced along with V and their mom), and The War With Grandpa – in which she stars alongside Robert De Niro.

She became a Radio Disney host.

From Louis Tomlinson to her Austin & Ally cast members, Laura interviewed such amazing guests on her radio show “For The Record.”

She reunited with her Austin & Ally fam.

Although the Austin & Ally cast had dabbled with the idea of a movie in the past, the Austin & Ally days are behind them now. Even though we’re always going to be hoping for a reboot of some kind in the future, the stars have really thrived individually since the curtains closed on their series.

Even though the show may be over, the cast will always be tight. Earlier this year, Laura joined Calum Worthy and Ross Lynch at a screening of a global warming and climate change documentary called An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power.

“We’re prettttty cute, but we’d be much cuter with @rainydaychatter (Texas is so lucky it gets to have her right now) ❤️ on another note, thank you @calumworthy for letting me come to the @aninconvenienttruth screening….it was so incredibly educational and moving #beinconvenient #climatechangeisreal,” Laura captioned the photo she posted from the Austin & Ally reunion.

Although Raini Rodriguez wasn’t in attendance at this particular event, she and Laura have hung out since their series wrapped as well – like at the 2016 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, for example. So presh!

raini rodriguez calum worthy laura marano

She released her own custom fragrance line.

Yep, that’s right! She launched her own perfume! Her three scents are called “Love You,” “Hug You,” and “Kiss You.”

She chopped her hair off.

The decision wasn’t easy for her, but her short ‘do suits her quite perfectly, if you ask us. Sometimes you just need to switch it up, right?

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Overthinking, overfeeling

A post shared by Laura (@lauramarano) on

She helped launch a Disney-themed clothing line.

Laura collaborated with the clothing line Love Tribe for their Disney Princess Collection, and every piece is seriously every Disney-lover’s dream.

“The clothes are fun, bold, and have an empowering message. I like to say that Love Tribe is the brand of clothing Disney princesses would wear if the stories took place today,” she spilled in an interview.

Honestly, what hasn’t Laura been up to?!

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