“Wild” by Troye Sivan, Tuesday, February 28, 2023

In 2015, Troye Sivan released Wild, an EP of six songs. Three of those songs would be released on Sivan's debut full-length, Blue Neighbourhoods, while the other three would be included on the deluxe edition of the album. Wild was Sivan's second EP signed on a major label, though the then-teenager had been singing, writing his own songs, and producing his own music since he was 12 years old. As a YouTube generation musician, Sivan had grown followers on the platform, his viewers watching his journey discovering his sexuality. Sivan came out in 2013 just before his career took off.

LEAVE THESE BLUE NEIGHBORHOODS. The eponymous lead single from Wild alludes to the upcoming album with the line "blue neighbourhoods," which Sivan has discussed to mean the mundane life in suburbia. In Sivan's case, the city of Perth, Australia is where the singer was raised. Perth is a major city in Australia, with over 2 million people, yet the city is separated from the other major cities by the Outback. 
Sivan also discussed being raised Orthodox Jewish in the relatively small city, which along with his sexual orientation was an isolating factor for the singer. However, despite the isolation, Sivan sings about love. The singer intentionally set out to create a love song for queer youth. He told The Advocate: "I feel like gay relationships are sexualized in the media and I just wanted to show a romantic, adorable, puppy love situation between two little boys because that’s something we never ever see." Sivan's sophomore record, Bloom, would get more sexual, the titular track talking about anal sex. And  Wild and Blue Neighbourhoods bear an Explicit label. Still, Wild is youthful and pure.

KISSING UP ON FENCES AND UP ON WALLS. "Wild" is the first part of a trilogy of music videos depicting a gay love story between two teenage boys, with "Fools" and "Talk You Down" following the storyline. But the song "Wild" itself isn't obviously queer. Sivan even did a remixed version of the track with Alessia Cara, adding an illusion of straight love. The original version was massively popular in Korea, and even when Korean found out the sexual identity of the singer, they didn't seem to care. The song speaks beautifully about young love, a universal feeling for teenagers and young people regardless of their sexual orientation. It's the feeling of longing to see someone you love, waiting for the weekend to come when there's nothing but time to spend together. In America, though, "Wild" and Sivan were only popular among the LGBTQ community. Sivan's highest charting single also comes from Blue Neighbourhoods, "Youth." So, on a Tuesday concluding my "love month," we can await the weekend. Spring is just around the corner, or Fall if you're in Perth, Australia. 
 

lyric video:
Blue Neighbourhoods pt. 1 version:

Blue Neighbourhoods director's cut (complete): 




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