This October, singer-songwriter Troye Sivan released the album Something To Give Each Other. This 10 track album shocked many of Sivan’s fans as he had not released an album since his 2018 release, Bloom. After coming out with this album as well as Blue Neighborhood in 2015, Sivan was able to attract quite a large following due to his heavy YouTube presence and the dreamy vibe of his songs. Before the release of his new album, Sivan released a single in July titled “Rush”. The song embodied a fun, carefree life and the exhilaration of love and lust. Because of this, as well as his hiatus from the spotlight, fans along with those who had never even heard of him felt drawn to this song, many even feeling that it was the only song of this style that has been released in the past few years. Holding onto a very specific sound in his previous albums, Sivan was able to continue this through his falsetto voice and inspiration from synth pop and EDM music. He also adds a more upbeat energy seemingly inspired by 90s European club music and 2000’s maximalist pop, embodying his experiences from the past three years after a long term relationship, and his sexual and romantic endeavors since. He has described this time as “joyous and full of a lot of love in many different forms,” and he looks back on this time in his life as something positive and empowering. This is reflected in this single as well as the album that followed. With “Rush” being released before the drop of his new album, Sivan was able to create a rise in his popularity and grab the attention of the world, forcing his fans to patiently wait three more months for Something To Give Each Other. The day this album released, October 13th, Sivan was met with over eight million streams on Spotify across the world. With his first album’s hopeful tone, his second’s much more vulnerable lyricism– talking about his experiences as a young gay man– five years later, this new album shows us Sivan’s older perspective of the freedom and fun of romance and sexuality.

The third track on his album titled, “One Of Your Girls,” is very representative of the entirety of this album. With his soft breathy vocals layered with background humming, juxtaposed by the lyrics telling a story of wanting someone who doesn’t want you back and doing everything you can to get their attention, Sivan was able to create a feeling of desperation through an upbeat song. To add to the power of this song, he released a music video with actor and singer Ross Lynch, and as well as himself and many other men. As we get into the chorus of the song, we see Sivan come out in stunning drag, transforming him into a combination of pop icons, whilst alongside Lynch as “one of his girls.” As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, Sivan has been able to use his platform to act as a role model for gay youth and possibly even help them to find their identity.

After the release of his most recent album this year, Sivan was able to put his name back on the map, even getting recognition from Rolling Stone AU/NZ as the cover star for their September issue. Looking forward, I hope to see more from Sivan as he brings back life to this style of music and culture.

Something To Give Each Other Album Cover [Image Credit: Troye Sivan]