Troye Sivan Poses For ‘GQ;’ Hints At Inspiration Behind “Bloom”

Mike Nied | June 19, 2018 3:17 pm

Troye Sivan has been keeping busy lately. Last week the 23-year-old rolled out the latest single off his forthcoming LP, Bloom. Uniting with Ariana Grande on the atmospheric slow-burner “Dance To This,” the duo are poised to tackle the Billboard Hot 100. Things are getting serious as the release of his sophomore LP looms. Today (June 19), he graces the latest edition of GQ. Posing for a chic shoot with Jason Kim, he delivered a series of effortlessly fashionable looks. It is another gorgeous photoshoot for the crooner who covered Billboard, Dazed and a slew of other publications this spring.

In the accompanying interview with Brennan Carley, Troye opened up about working on the album. Described as “bold, gay, and filled with bangers,” it is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated of the year. In particular, he shared some additional insight into the creative process behind the LP’s title track. A sensual bop, many speculate the anthem is an ode to bottoming. However, thus far Troye has remained mum about the specific inspiration. Although he has cheekily said the single was “about flowers,” he got a bit more real while talking about what went on behind the scenes while writing it.

“It’s about a human experience that I think is really beautiful,” he explained. “Of course, it’s cheeky and kind of dirty, but at the core of it, it’s a love song. We tried to make sure that it felt tender and sweet. Like, ‘Hold my hand if I get scared now’ and lyrics like that…yeah, it’s a love song.” Going one step further, he opened up about why it may be a difficult song to discuss in interviews. “The only reason I haven’t spoken about the specifics of it is purely because sex is embarrassing. My parents listen to my music. My parents read every single interview I ever do, I’m not speaking on it for personal reasons. But I’m more than down for people to do the math and figure out what it’s about, which they’ve all done.”

The hitmaker also spoke about his experience onset for the video shoot. “I thought that I was really far along in the coming-out process, and then two weeks ago I was shooting this video,” he said. “We mood-boarded this concept. It was like Leigh Bowery–inspired, Paris Is Burning–inspired. The entire concept is ‘looks.’ I got to set and we start, and I had to ask myself the question: ‘Does this feel genuine to me? Does this feel real to me? Does this feel fun to me? Do I want to do this?’” Faced with the question, he came to a realization. “[I was like,] Okay, why stop yourself? Who are you stopping yourself for? It was just so weird to have that moment at 22. I feel like I’m like super publicly gay, but that self-doubt, that’s part of the journey for me. It’s about pushing through that.”

The interview also discussed Troye’s recent attendance at a brunch that was meant to discuss homophobia in the music industry. However, a photo from the event sparked a backlash as it predominantly featured white men. Recognizing the problem, he opened up about the misstep. “I spoke to some of the organizers. Everyone was invited. There were definitely people of color invited, definitely women invited. People were traveling. People couldn’t make it. Seeing that photo, I’m like, ‘Fuck, I get it.’ I would be pissed off, too,” he admitted. Scroll through a gallery of the shoot up top and check out the full feature here!

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