“My My My!” by Troye Sivan (Updated repost), Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Following Blue Neighbourhood, Troye Sivan released another collection of songs celebrating queer love in 2018. This time,  Bloom was less about love in the abstract and more about sex. Songs like the title track dealing with anal sex, the Apple Music edition of the album's opener "Seventeen" recalling how the singer lost his virginity to an older man on Grindr when he was seventeen, to a song about his boyfriend who "Tastes like Lucky Strikes" may take a few listens to understand the euphemisms.

SHINE ON, DIAMOND.  Bloom holds an 85% on Meta-Critic, meaning that most reviews were favorable. In America, though, Sivan's music mostly is confined to the LGBTQ+ community, and Bloom didn't make a splash in the mainstream pop market. But looking at the promotion, Sivan's team clearly had the young star's sights on conquering the charts. A track with Ariana Grande, a performance, albeit a polarizing performance, on Saturday Night Live, and a guest spot on Ellen weren't enough to raise the singer's pop stardom.  The first single from Sivan's sophomore LP, "My My My!" topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs. NPR and Pitchfork praised the album. The former said reviewing Sivan's "My My My!" video: "[i]t's not every day you see a young, skinny, queer kid get to be completely himself in a music video, and Sivan makes us want to dance along with him." His performance on SNL, though, divided viewers. It ranked as the ninth-worst performance, according to a video by WatchMojo.com.  Many wondered who the singer was and why they should care about a singer "trying to be Aaron Carter"? 

I DIE EVERY NIGHT WITH YOU. In Korea, though, you can easily hear Troye Sivan's music when you go shopping or go out to eat, and this is every single the singer puts out.  One of the questions that I've had in my own coming out journey is why are some LGBTQ+ figures so big in Korea? Korea is a country that neither criminalizes homosexuality nor grants rights  1)against discrimination 2) for civil unions, marriage, inheritance, or adoption 3) any specific protection under the law. Singers like Troye Sivan and Sam Smith became huge in Korea although only one Korean celebrity has publicly come out, which initially ruined his career. In America, maybe Troye Sivan's SNL performance is still too gay for the mainstream. The country has made progress in LGBTQ+ representation, but maybe homophobia is preventing Sivan from becoming a huge star, much in the way that if an A-list Hollywood actor were to come out (Tom Cruise, John Travolta) it is still speculated to be a career suicide. As with singers of the past who came out or were later found out not to be straight, it was easier for the listeners to accept that singer--after all celebrities aren't like us, right?--rather than recognize it and accept those around them who were not straight. I always hope that Troye Sivan, Sam Smith, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and so many other LGBTQ+ celebrities can be a point of discussion about accepting the community in one's own backyard.

Read “My My My!” by Troye Sivan on Genius.

Official Music Video:

Saturday Night Live Performance:

Ellen Degeneres Live Performance: