It was a good night for Troye Sivan fans in New York City Tuesday night. The pop sensation brought his "Bloom Tour" to Radio City Music Hall for a sold out show. With stellar sets by opening acts Leland (a frequent collaborator and friend of Sivan's) and Kim Petras, fans eagerly awaited Sivan to grace the stage.
The show opened with "Seventeen," the first song on "Bloom," written about Sivan's prior experience with an older man. The extended intro featuring the background harmonies enhanced the song to pack a solid punch live. The song has the kind of anthemic feel that works perfectly for a live performance. Sivan introduced himself by walking in front of a curtain only to run behind it mid-song. The curtain soon fell away to reveal Sivan and his full band. This set the tone perfectly for the simple, yet powerful ways Sivan worked his stage presence.
After shining through two bangers, "Bloom" and "Plum," Sivan took some time to chat with the audience. However, it soon became clear this would be more than a quick moment to catch his breath. After taking in the sold-out New York crowd, Sivan suggested he invite an audience member to share the moment with him. He called out a specific seat belonging to a fan named Judah. Judah mentioned his boyfriend Daniel was in the audience, prompting him to get invited on stage as well.
"I'd love to tell you that this was all just a happy accident," Sivan said. "But don't you have something to say?"
It was at that moment that Judah got down on one knee and proposed to Daniel to deafening cheers. Daniel accepted his proposal, giving a happy ending to a very romantic moment. After the happy couple left the stage, Sivan said that he and Judah corresponded through email and set the whole thing up.
Another highlight was when Sivan premiered his new song, "Revelation." The song will be featured in the upcoming film, "Boy Erased." The film stars Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe, who play parents to a young man played by Lucas Hedges. Hedges' character is sent to a gay conversion therapy camp where Sivan plays one of the other members. Sivan told the crowd he co-wrote the song for a specific moment in the film. No explanation will be given to avoid potential spoilers.
The song hasn't been released in full yet. Fans only got to previously hear snippets of it in the film's trailer. Sivan's performance of the song was the biggest surprise of the night. He even mentioned that he wasn't sure if he was allowed to sing it live yet. If there's one thing the performance proved, it's that Sivan wrote a beautiful song. A Best Original Song nominee at next year's Academy Awards wouldn't be surprising.
The surprises kept coming when Charli XCX joined Sivan on stage to sing their new single, "1999." The track is a pure bop reminiscing about the good old days. With references to Britney Spears and "JTT," the song and its hook were so infectious, the crowd was definitely feeling it. It also didn't hurt that Charli and Sivan had an unspeakable level of comfort and chemistry together. It was like him and Ariana Grande, but amplified. Sivan surely knows how to pick his collaborators.
But the main fuel to this stellar show was Sivan himself. Sivan has brilliant light tricks and costume changes, but his show is simple. It's just him and his band. They're an incredibly talented small group of musicians, which even include violinists. Sivan can keep up with them, too. This is particularly impressive when you match that with his charisma on stage. His ability to work a crowd is one that most of today's top artists don't have without a huge theatrical spectacle around them.
There are no backup dancers in Sivan's show. He doesn't need them. He shows that feeling the music in the moment can require more energy than memorizing a choreographed routine. Not to mention that his singing voice is on point. If he keeps this up, Sivan has a very bright career ahead of him. At Radio City Music Hall, Troye Sivan showed that he isn't just a pop singer. He's an entertainer. And a pretty damn good one at that.
