With Taylor Swift Cosign, Troye Sivan Goes 'Wild'
What happens when one of the biggest pop stars in the world tweets about how much she loves your new album? It blows up.
That's what happened to Troye Sivan, an Australian musician and well known YouTuber, when Taylor Swift told her 63.5 million Twitter followers about how much she loved his new EP, "Wild."
Swift's glowing endorsement unsurprisingly gave the singer a huge boost, and his record debuted at no. 1 in Australia and cracked the top five in both the U.S. and U.K. But more importantly, it gave the openly gay singer an even bigger platform.
Though Sivan, 20, has appeared in films, TV and theater, most of his fans probably know him from his video blogs on YouTube. Over the last seven years or so, Sivan has earned nearly 4 million subscribers and has become friends with other out YouTube stars like Tyler Oakley. One of his most popular videos was made in 2013, when he came out to his fans as gay -- the emotional 8-minute clip earned more than 5,830,000 views.
Since becoming an e-star, Sivan's music has gotten him noticed. In 2014, he released a pop EP under the moniker TRYXE that found success on the charts. The same year, Time magazine named the young performer one of the "25 Most Influential Teens of 2014."
Sivan followed up his record with "Wild" this month -- a six-track EP that's angsty as it is emotional, backed with indie pop production. Despite the thumbs up from Swift (Sam Smith also lauded the record), at first glance "Wild" comes off as not very interesting or groundbreaking. Though Sivan's voice is strong, unique and bold, the six glistening pop songs on the record don't offer much else besides a few decent hooks.
But there is one caviat to this: I'm listening to "Wild" through a 28-year-old man's ears. Thanks to his YouTube career, Sivan has a large audience (he's got nearly 3 million followers on Twitter) of mostly young girls and gay teens. Had I come across "Wild" when I was 15, a vital time for creating music tastes, Sivan's music would have impacted me a lot different. Listening to "Wild" through the lens of a teen is a much different experience, resulting in a positive understanding as why Sivan's music resonates with a specific, market-dominating, audience.
The most successful song on the EP is the title track, which was co-written and produced by Alex Hope. "Wild" features a children's choir that supports Sivan's vocals as he sings the chorus. Funky guitar riffs, distant clanking drums, and looped sound effects are peppered throughout the track, giving it a slight indie edge compared to Top 40 bangers. Sivan's voice is relaxed and masculine but still commands, and his vocals are probably the biggest selling point of the EP for listeners who can legally drink. For those still in their formative years, Sivan's tortured lyrics about finding love will surely hit home.
Sivan released the EP alongside a music video for the title track. It's the first of three videos that is part of what he calls his "Blue Neighborhood" trilogy -- the title comes from a lyric in "Wild." The trilogy following two young boys who start off as childhood friends but their relationship blossoms into a romantic connection. Sivan said the music videos are "very close to my heart."
"Bite" is a delicate song about lust and male attraction. Though it's lyrics are somewhat provocative, the track doesn't get past sounding like a song Lorde decided to nix off her album. "Fools" is one of the better tracks on "Wild," as Sivan does his best to channel Sam Smith -- it's a booming, yet another deeply personal and emotional, mid-tempo cut with trap production balanced out with warm glowing synths.
Though only six songs, "Wild" features two collaborations. On the indie-pop triumph "Ease," Sivan enlists New Zealand electro duo Broods. It's a pleasant song but doesn't have the highs like "Wild" or "Fools." The EP's closing cut, "DKLA," features Australian rapper and Tkay Maidza. It's the one song on the EP that doesn't fit, feeling like a tacked on closer to an otherwise decent effort.
It's unclear what Sivan's next step move in the music game. So far, releasing EPs and singles has worked well for him -- as it should. As the music industry becomes more and more fractured, albums selling less and now, thanks to streaming services, MP3s selling less, the idea of creating small collections of music, or just focusing on releasing smashing singles, seems like the right idea for the next wave of pop stars.
With marriage equality now the law of the land, Sivan makes for an interesting pop star -- though he's not quite ready yet. His sound is well crafted but there isn't much there to separate himself from other artists. Sure, he's a sleekly stylized package of fashion and cuteness but he lacks a spark that say, Sam Smith, or other queer artists before him (Boy George) had. But at only 20, he has more than enough time to find his way and with a Taylor Swift stamp of approval, he's on the right track.