August 31 is a very special day for Troye Sivan fans. It's the day that his second studio album, "Bloom," is released. It's the day that fans have been waiting for since he premiered the video for the first single in January. It's the day fans get to sink their teeth into the entire body of work for the first time. Sivan has been teasing the album since the start of the year. To date, five singles have been released along with three music videos. But this is also an important day for the gay community and pop music in general. It's a day that is significant to our representation in mainstream pop culture.
From the very start, gay men have had a love affair with female entertainers. From Judy Garland to Madonna to Lady Gaga, our kinship with these women is deep-rooted. It's mainly because they're the most accessible mainstream artists singing to male subjects. It's also connected to the camp and flamboyance, but it wouldn't have any merit without the quality of the work. Women rule the pop music landscape in 2018. It's a fact Sivan is keenly aware of. His partnerships with both Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande this year are proof of that. They're also beneficial for both him and the women he's aligning himself with.
This also brings a new urge to light. With all the progress our community has made in recent years, the need for an artist like Sivan is stronger than ever. We've seen a spike in gay men who can be singers, actors, even Olympians, and be openly gay. The problem, however, comes when you are direct and expressive about it. Controversy erupted when Adam Lambert kissed a man on stage at the American Music Awards in 2009. People were shocked when Michael Sam kissed his boyfriend on live television. You could say you were gay, but you weren't allowed to show it.
From the looks of the album's first video, "My My My!," it looks like Sivan is ready to break down that barrier once and for all. Dancing in a dark, industrial bathhouse-esque atmosphere, he's surrounded by shirtless men. One of which, Brody Blomquist, is a gay porn star. The song itself, about an intense sexual relationship, makes its intention undeniably clear. In the video for the title track, Sivan appears in several androgynous, gender-bending looks. He looks like the love child of Madonna and Annie Lennox. With these two bold first steps, Sivan has reintroduced himself to his audience. Not only as a boundary-pushing performer, but an artist to be taken seriously.
Sivan got here by making smart moves along the way. Instead of auditioning for Australia's "The X Factor," he took advantage of the YouTube platform. He began by uploading videos of himself singing covers and moved along to making vlogs. This helped him develop a devoted legion of fans. The fact that he developed this audience on his own is key. If record executives tried to pressure Sivan into expressing himself in a more ambiguous way, he would've had the upper hand. After all, he was the one in a position to say what his fans wanted, not a corporation. This set the tone for the songs and videos on his coming-of-age debut, "Blue Neighbourhood."
On "Bloom," however, Sivan paints the portrait of a man who has not only come of age, but is relishing in it. Even when Sivan gets sad and introspective on "The Good Side," he's aware of his fulfillment. "Animal," "Postcard," and "Lucky Strike" are all gorgeous love songs with sensual lyrics. Musically, the album feels like a throwback. On the title track, the chorus has a classic New Jack Swing beat. It sounds like something Teddy Riley would've produced for Michael Jackson's "Dangerous" album. The album's first track, "Seventeen," talks about an experience Sivan had meeting an older man on Grindr while he was underage. This song had no choice but to be the album's opener. It shows Sivan reflecting on his past with confidence and assertiveness. The rest of the album takes you on the journey of the man who came out of that experience stronger and smarter.
Sivan's use of gender-specific pronouns on Bloom is also significant. On the tracks "Bloom," "Animal," "Seventeen," and "Lucky Strike," he's clearly singing to men. The song "Bloom" even made headlines when the lyrics were interpreted as a bottoming anthem. Ten years ago, this kind of lyrical content in an album by an openly gay mainstream artist seemed far away.
Sivan is appealing to a large portion of the gay community who want something more than a female artist they can live vicariously through. They want someone who is more like them. They want to hear this kind of music told through the voice of a fellow gay man. They want visibility in the mainstream. They want representation. And Troye Sivan is giving his fans just that.