Troye Sivan aims for broad pop stardom by getting personal.
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(Sivan insists the title track is just about flowers.)
I discovered Amy Winehouse when I was 14.
I remember listening to her lyrics.
It really shaped my view of songwriting.
Putting that first feels like a statement of intent.
Why did you decide to write about that?
It made me uncomfortable, though I dont regret those experiences.
I decided that it was better to have this slightly uncomfortable conversation.
I thinkits better to get it out in the open.
I, as a 23-year-old, still feel like Im totally going through that all the time.
I dont know if that journey ever ends.
I went back and watched thecoming-out videoyou posted on YouTube.
You did that before you signed a record deal, which meant youd never not be out.
I was a lot younger.
I feel like the music was maybe a little bit less mature, a little bit less explicit.
After that album, which I was so proud of, I went away.
I went through a breakup and had a couple of months just relaxing.
I met my current boyfriend and went to a lot of parties.
How am I going to talkabout that?
I did not anticipate writing that song.
Me and Leland, my best friend, we write together all the time.
We were like, How can we turn this around and make this fun for ourselves?
We started having a laugh and writing this song that I never thought would see the light of day.
Theres a real sense of humor on it too.Im writing with some of my best friends.
We are, like, dying laughing in the studio half the time.
Were all pop nerds who love messing around and trying things.
The bridge onDance to Thiscomes to mind, where I do this weird mumbly, talky thing.
You want young queer people to see themselves in your music.
Did you see yourself in any pop culture when youwere growing up?Honestly, not really.
I remember the few times that I saw a gay character on TV.
I saw an episode ofQueer As Folkonce, when I was younger, in the middle of the night.
That really shook me.
I wish Id had more people like me to look up to.
Who were your own role models in pop music?The thing is that its such uncharted territory.
I dont feel like any one new queer artist has absolutely taken over the world.
We dont have a queer Rihanna yet.
We dont have a queer Beyonce.
The current visibility that we have is from years of hard work from our elders in the community.
When I see a Kevin Abstract music video, thats inspiring to me.
When I see Ryan Beattys new music video, thats inspiring to me.
I didnt know any gay people growing up.
I had to look to the internet for any sort of community or strength or anything like that.
Do you struggle with keeping certain things private?Its a balance that Im still trying to find.
I really value privacy.
People who follow me online, they know who my boyfriend is.
They know who my family are.
They know who my best friends are.
But the ins and outs of those relationships are mine.
I keep them that way.
That makes me feel safe and secure.
I havent auditioned for anything in a really long time.
We taped an audition.
I felt like I was 15 years old again.
Thankfully, Joel Edgerton, who directed the movie, really loved it.
We hopped on a FaceTime call a week later and he told me that I got the part.
Joel Edgerton is Australian.
So is Nicole Kidman.
It seems like everybody in the movie, except for Lucas Hedges, is Australian.
In between takes, everyone would be talking in their full Aussie accent.
But I have so much faith in Joel.
He was working so closely with Garrard Conley, who wrote the book.
He was on set all the time.
Is Nicole Kidmans wig as fantastic in person as it looks in the movies trailer?Completely.
When she walked onto the set, she has this crazy aura about her.
Shes so tall and so beautiful and so talented and smart.
I still havent seen the movie.
Im seeing it in a couple of weeks at Toronto.Apparently, her performance is incredible.
Bloomis out on Capitol Records today.
