Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan
KA Hi, Troye Sivan.
TS Hey, what's up?
KA Have you ever lied in an interview?
TS Yes, definitely.
KA Like what?
TS Well, I mean, sometimes people ask invasive questions. And so, I don't normally lie, but I definitely dodge some questions. And I have lied in the past. When I was first starting to date Jacob (Bixenman) I didn't want everybody to know.
KA What’s one of the reasons you wanted to keep that private?
TS I think, in general, I'm a pretty private person. I feel comfortable in privacy. But, at the same time I'm young and figuring stuff out. When you start dating someone it’s so new you hardly know each other. And then, all of a sudden, if it's like everyone's business it puts a lot of pressure on the relationship and can make things kind of weird. And so, I just wanted to let things figure themselves out naturally.
Troye Sivan c/o Kevin Abstract
Debuting in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200, Troye Sivan’s sophomore album, Bloom, announces the Australian talent’s maturation into full blown pop star. Led by anthem “My, My, My” and Ariana Grande-assisted collaboration “Dance To This” the album tells a synth-pop coming of age story, touching on topics of sexual exploration and personal freedom. Ahead of the singer’s Bloom tour kick-off, HYPEBEAST brought together Sivan and rapper Kevin Abstract. Below, the young talents discuss collaborations, masculinity and coping with fame.
KA Yeah. That makes sense. Would you ever consider rapping?
TS No (laughs). I don't feel like I could pull it off at all. I would rather do a song with you and let you handle that part.
KA That'd be cool, or I sing and then you rap. Just like to do something different.
TS That would be weird but fun.
KA What's inspiring you right now, like at this very moment? It could be anything.
TS I'm really inspired by how fluid the music industry has become. Even though I kind of came from online and came up in a sort of new way, I feel like I've handled my releases pretty traditionally. I'm kind of excited to, once this album is out, just be like “fuck it!”
I'm going to put out whatever I want to put out, whatever's inspiring to me, whenever it's inspiring to me and kind of go back to basics a little bit in that way and not care as much about release structures and stuff.
KA That's awesome. Do you read reviews?
AHLEM sunglasses, Gosha Rubchinskiy adidas tracksuit,
Know Wave socks, Dior Homme sneakers (c/o The Webster)
Versace jacket, Versace shirt, MISBHV pants
Below: Vetements T-shirt (c/o The Webster), Raf Simons pants
KA Do you think Bloom is better than Blue Neighborhood?
TS Yeah, I do. I feel like the songwriting is better. I feel like the production is better. The lyrics are better. I feel like there's more perspective. You know? Like I really, really pushed myself as a writer this time around. The thing that was most exciting to me was getting into the studio and just messing around and I don't think I had the confidence to do that last time.
When I first started going into the studio, it was like I hardly knew my voice. By the time I came into the second album, I knew who I wanted to work with, I felt like I knew who I was a lot more. I knew how my voice worked. Just kind of letting myself explore. That was something that I think personally paid off. I felt really fulfilled and excited about the music that I was making.
KA Do you ever think about giving up?
TS Yeah. I don't think about giving up entirely. I will forever make music. Even if I just make music by myself in my bedroom, I will make music, and music's always going to be a part of my life. I can say that without a doubt in my mind. Sometimes everything around music can get stressful or exhausting or can really make you doubt yourself, and that's an unpleasant feeling.
KA Yeah. What's the hardest part about what you do?
TS Being away from my family and my friends in Australia. I think that because of all of the distractions of work and travel and stuff like that, I think the fact that I never really gave myself time to accept the fact that I had moved to a new country and to a new city that I didn't really know that many people in.
KA Right.
TS The reason why I asked you what success looks like to you is because I've had to ask myself that question so many times. If I kind of take myself out of my body for a little bit and look at the crazy opportunities that I've had and all the shit that's going on for me right now, I would be so, so, so stoked. But, when you live here, and you're in the music industry 24/7, it's easy for people to get into your head and make you think that you want things that you don't actually want.
KA Yeah.
TS And so I have to kind of keep myself humble and keep reminding myself why I do what I do and keep reminding myself what success actually is to me. In my definition of success, in my head, I feel like I have it. You know, I feel like I've got there, which is so crazy and so sick. You know, it's hard sometimes when I get lost in the thoughts a little bit, and I feel like I end up wanting more than I have or comparing myself other people or whatever it is.
KS Well, with that being said… how famous do you want to become?
TS That's a good question. I legit am so happy with my level of fame right now. I feel like I get to do whatever I want to do. I can totally still go to the shops. Maybe it’s not the wisest thing to go walk outside a high school at 3:00 p.m. when school gets out. But then, at the same time, I get to like do crazy shit like perform with Taylor Swift or something like that.
KA Growing up, I've always wanted to be one of the most famous people on the Earth, and I don't really know why. It may stem back to me being this insecure person who wanted attention. So, I kind of wanted to be known for my work or something. And I feel like I don't really want that anymore. I kind of want to just be left alone, make my stuff and put it out.
TS Yeah. I wanted that when I was a kid too. I literally wanted to be like Michael Jackson or something like that.
KA When was the last time you cried?
TS I don't really cry that often. I just had my best friends from Australia visit me, and, when they left, I cried.
KA Did you ever have a crush on an athlete when you were younger? Like in school or something?
TS At school, definitely. There was a boy in my year who I had a bit of a crush on, and he used to play sports. But, at the same time, I also think that masculine men scared me a lot growing up. So I tried to not let myself get involved at all with any of that.
KA That's interesting. Why do you think masculine men scared you?
TS Just because I knew that I wasn't one of them. I didn't fully understand it. I don't know, growing up it was weird, because I didn't think it was okay to hang out with girls all the time and I didn’t want to be considered one of the girls.
But, at the same time, my school was really small and the value that people placed on you was how good you were at sport or how smart you were in academia. And so, I was none of those things. I wasn't dumb, but I wasn't, you know, top of the class either. And then, sport, I never even tried. I just didn't really know who to connect with kind of thing. And so I ended up befriending the girls in my year and just never really had that kind of boyish camaraderie with the rest of the boys in my year.
KA Yeah. That makes sense. Last question. If you retired today, what would you do tomorrow?
TS If I retired I would get on a plane and go home to Australia. I would like find an internship doing graphic design or I would just go chill with my family for a couple weeks while I figure shit out.
KA Awesome. Thanks for letting me do this long-ass interview. I appreciate it.
TS No thank you. Have fun on tour. I'll speak to you soon.
Know Wave sweater (c/o The Webster), Balenciaga pants
TS I try to only read good ones which is so shitty. But if something's really good, somebody would send it to me, and then I'll read it if they send it to me. But I don't go Googling myself or anything like that.
KA Have you ever read a mean comment or something and then it has somehow affected a decision that you've made artistically or a creative decision?
TS I'm sure it's affected me but I don't let it like affect my process at all. I'll kind of go ahead and do it anyway, but that doesn't mean that it's easy. I'll definitely have that comment in my head when I'm doing something and it'll kind of bum me out for a second, and maybe I'll try and think of a way to just push myself to make something better or push myself to make that comment not be true.
KA Have you ever been to Hawaii?
TS I have, yeah. I went a few years ago to Honolulu.
KA Right. That's where I went when I felt like giving up. I guess that's why I asked that question.
TS Wait. Why did you feel like giving up?
KA I think it had a lot to do with public perception and people just wanting you to be a certain version of yourself all the time and then you feeling like you can't live up to that. So, I just got scared, I guess, and I just wanted to be away from everything. I was able to just focus on the things that matter and get back to the root of why I'm an artist and why I do things, and it was nice.
TS Yeah. Can I ask you a question?
KA Yeah. Sure.
TS What does success look like to you?
KA I'd like to walk this fine line of experimental and pop when I'm making music, and I try to bring all these different type of things that inspired and influenced me when I was growing up together to make one thing that makes people feel something. I kind of just want to uplift as many people as possible and speak to as many people as possible with my music, and I want to normalize a lot of things that weren't normal where I grew up. I want to be as weird as I am. And, hopefully, that makes it easier for people to fit in. If that makes sense?
TS Totally.
Creative Director: Enrique Menendez
Photographer: Quil Lemons
