For Troye Sivan, putting it all out there is very much second nature. He released his video on YouTube in 2013 and has continued to share pieces of himself through music and performance for a decade. Sivan began his career online by posting videos on YouTube along with other popular creators in the early 2010s, but soon abandoned a purely social media career to pursue music and acting. He released two albums Blue area in 2015 and Blossom in 2018 and has appeared in films and TV shows such as 2018. Boy erased and a 2022 movie Three months.
Sivan recently played Xander in the controversial HBO series. Idol, which also stars Lily-Rose Depp and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye. As the show comes to an end (and there won’t be a second season), he’s turned his attention to music and returned to social media. On TikTok, where he has more than three million followers, he’s not afraid to share the story of an awkward date or talk about his crush on K-pop star Hyunjin of Stray Kids. (They later worked together on a remix of his single “Rush,” which has remained popular on TikTok since July.)
Sivan’s new album. Something to give each other, is no different: his first full-length project in five years, the album is coherent, sensual and sincere. It was originally supposed to be a breakup album following Sivan’s breakup with his long-term boyfriend. Something to give each other instead, it became more of a “collection of experiences,” he said. Fashion in July.
@troyesivan some urgent choreo 🙂 @Niana Guerrero
♬ Rush – Troye Sivan
Over 10 tracks, Sivan takes listeners through the peaks and valleys of his emotions over the past few years. The passionate, sweaty highs of lead single “Rush” immerse the listener in a celebration of strange joy, while the sublime pop track “What’s the Time Where You Are” is loaded with powerful bass, layered with Sivan’s sweet, silky vocals. The dark, sobering passages “Still Got It” and “Can’t Go Back Baby” flatten the story. On standout track “One of Your Girls,” Sivan pines for a man who doesn’t give him the attention he wants, so he’s willing to be whatever the man needs to get him to see Sivan. A music video was shot for the song, which once again shocked fans with Sivan dressing up in a suit (he looked amazing) and starring with shirtless heartthrob Ross Lynch.
Ahead of the album’s release on Friday, Sivan spoke with TIME about focusing on his personal experiences when creating Something to give each otherwhy he’s doing well on TikTok and wants to learn to dance.
How would you describe the sound Something to give each other?
It’s quite eclectic. I wrote it over a long period of time, and the only criterion was that each song should reflect the sincere feelings that I felt. They all feel like me with me.
People became familiar with you through your debut video in 2013, and your audience saw you grow online from a shy, timid boy to a loud and proud weirdo. What parts of growing up were easy and what parts were hard?
People might be surprised if they met me in real life – I’ll still run to the bathroom if they start playing my song at a party because I’m embarrassed. I’m just more confident at work. I feel comfortable wearing something extravagant for an art video, on the red carpet or whatever. I really enjoyed becoming more confident as a performer.
The internet aspect of your career is so intertwined with your musical journey: you were promoting your first EP TRXYE and the last two albums on Tumblr and this reflects how you currently use TikTok to promote your music. Has your background influenced the way you create content today?
Oh, 1000%. People say that musicians now have to be content creators, and I think that sucks for a lot of people. Personally, I feel very comfortable there. I don’t have to go and shake hands with a radio station anywhere, but I can stay home and do TikToks? FINE! I really like TikTok as a platform. There weren’t many things that worked very well in his childhood, and none of them seemed genuine to me. But then, as it has grown and changed, that’s really all you want. For me it’s a really interesting way of expressing myself.
The two lead singles, “Rush” and “Got Me Started,” made waves on social media this summer, especially thanks to videos of you doing more choreography than what you did in live shows. When did the transition to more dancing happen and what made you want to do it more?
I always wanted to dance, but I never thought I could. For some reason, I had a lot of fun this time. I stopped caring so much about what other people thought. When rehearsals for the “Rush” video started, I walked in and said, “I need you to know it’s okay to laugh at me when I do this.” I’ve never done this in my life. First. I am constantly studying choreo, and in a week we are filming a video.
I liked the way it was. I enjoyed the rehearsal process. It was so exciting to find something that again, no matter how good I was at it or not, I knew that at 28 I had discovered something new that I really enjoyed doing. Then I got a little cocky and said, “Let’s amp it up a little bit for ‘Got Me Started,’” and that was even more fun.
You often work with Leland (singer Brett Leland McLaughlin), who co-wrote many of your songs. What makes a great employee?
He and I are best friends, but there is something about a creative relationship that can be compared to very deep love or friendship. We’ve worked together for so long that we can communicate through glances, or I can send him a link to something and I feel like he can get into my brain and figure it out.
You guys made magic together on your last two albums, so I wasn’t surprised to see him listed on this one. But I was surprised to see music producer E.G. Cook, known for his avant-garde aesthetic, in the song “How to Stay With You.” How did it happen?
I try to be cooperative without any preconceived ideas or expectations of what I want from the person. He’s just great. When we finally got into the studio together, I was also surprised by what we did together.
After you started working on YouTube, you kind of stopped being a creator. How do you remember that time?
It’s almost like my high school experience. I made my first video when I was 12 and then kept doing it until I was 18 or 19. We were probably the second wave of YouTubers and we all went to VidCons, traveled the world, did meet and greets. I met all these wonderful friends and it was a really special time. The decision to switch to music was never a conscious one because music has been in my life since the day I was born and it felt very genuine to me. I remember that time fondly, perhaps with some embarrassment, the same way you would feel looking at a photo of yourself when you were 15.