“I have a great management team and great label, and I haven’t had this conversation with anyone else in fear because I hate it, hate it, hate it when pop stars sound bitter or blame any sort of lack of success on anything other than for themselves. I don’t want to come across like I’m saying that at all, but this just feels like a safe space where we can have an open conversation.
Part of me wonders sometimes if I would be more commercially successful if I wasn’t gay or not as “in your face gay”. I think we’re in a really interesting time in music right now where we are seeing more and more queer artists pop up, but we don’t have a queer Taylor Swift, we don’t have a queer Rihanna, or a queer Beyoncé.
It’s not there yet I don’t think, though it feels very exciting to be where we are, I still feel like there’s a really tall mountain to climb. Sometimes it can be frustrating because I’m giving my all and not having some humongous radio smash all over the world.
100% could just be on the music, maybe the music just isn’t good enough, maybe the world is obsessed with hip-hop right now and I’m making the furthest thing from hip-hop. It could be a myriad other things, but a part of me wonders sometimes, is the world actually ready right now for what I’m trying to be?”— Troye Sivan speaking on Will Young’s Homo Sapiens podcast.
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Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Vince
Then you’d be just another Clay Aiken.
sfhairy
No darling, being gay isn’t holding you back, it’s that whiny music you put out.
boysttous
whiny? clearly you’re just an example of the typical gay many who judges someone before giving them a chance. you’ve clearly not listened to his album.
Prax07
Might be more popular if he didn’t look like a woodland nymph.
Donston
Yes, attaching yourself to “gay” and letting the world know that you have same-sex romantic/sexual/relationship passions or preferences are things that will limit a male’s career. However, he does have a fairly fem look, isn’t a conventional “hunk” or sex symbol, and the music itself isn’t extremely radio friendly despite being “pop”. So, he would have had challenges to his mainstream success either way.
Donston
People will mention Sam Smith. But his debut single rocketed up the charts before anyone had any idea who he was. Troy embracing being seen as “gay” as well as making overtly homo-romantic/homo-erotic music, as well as having a very “queer” image will all limit his appeal. Even many homosexual/homo-leaning/homo-romantic/gay men are not interested in “gay music” from an actual gay person. It is what it is.
But I can’t pretend like I’m much of a fan.
lord.krath
Tell that to K-POP. Appearing “fem” and certainly not appearing anything remote to what most on this site might call “hunk-y” didn’t seem to stunt their obnoxious success at all. Think of Justin Bieber in his youth when he resembled a young Rachael Maddow. His sexuality plays a part of his success either helping or hurting, but it is his music that is probably the issue.
jjose712
Donston, that’s simply not true.
Sam Smith was especulated to be gay from the very beginning of his career, and he came out with the Leave your lover video when he just released his album.
Sam Smith advantage is that he had an adult following from the very beginning
Troye is quite successful, maybe not mainstream successful, but that’s probably because his music is not that mainstream.
Looks count to.
A more masculine and less in your face gay singer with the same music could be more successful but who knows, there are people with zero talent like Selena Gomez who is pretty successful
Donston
K-pop is it’s own thing entirely. The Asian world of music and celebrity is very much its own world.
My point with Smith was that his debut single became fairly popular before the general population attached him to “gay”. He’s also helped by having a fairly reserved image, not being too “in your face gay” and making fairly middle-age/middle America friendly music.
Troy perhaps got an initial boost from being “loud and out and proud”. But for a male artist like that to have genuine mainstream success they really need to know how to play the media and promotion game, they have to bring it with the catchy songs, they need to bring it with exciting videos, etc. He’s just not bringing that stuff.
WaitUrTurn88
well straight people r the majority so thats a easy answer. YES!!!…..if ur not out of this world like elton john etc…u only gonna hve a niche group of people that supports young gay artist.
Raphael
Quite the opposite, Troye. You only have this much success because you’re gay… Let’s face it, you’re not a good singer, you’re not good-looking and definitely not sexy. Being a “young gay singer” is the only reason people pay attention to you.
Brian
Yeah, that’s my thinking too. If he weren’t the token media poster boy for queer artists, he’d have no media presence at all.
boysttous
lmao at all of this. you’ve clearly never heard him sing live, go listen to the live recording of any of his live shows or the live stage collab he did with dua and then come back to me. and are you blind, he’ gorgeous. you don’t make the People’s most beautiful list if you aren’t.
Ashke113
No Troy you’d still be a skinny ass boy with a modicum of talent who happened to catch a lucky break. Now stop your whiny bitching and ride your 15 minutes for all it’s worth before the ride comes to an immediate halt and they boot your ass out the damn door……
boysttous
what lucky break did he catch exactly? hes been working for this for over ten years. how about you stop your bitching and get a new hobby, writing trolly comments on article about people who actually have achieved something with their lives, is not one.
garyh70
I wish I could say I was shocked by some of these comments but, unfortunately, I’m not. Social media seemingly gives people the right to disparage other people’s looks, talent and, well, everything. In my opinion, Troye Sivan is extremely talented and the LGBT community should be applauding him instead of tearing him down. You don’t have to like his music or his face but you must admire his courage to be himself.
Ajdy
Troye can carry a tune but I saw him perform I think on SNL his performance was really bad. He needs to work on performing live and nailing a good performance.
boysttous
@ajdy i agree about the snl performance, he was clearly very nervous and shaky, but it was his first time on SNL, first time performing in 1,5 years and first time performing the song, its not really surprising he didn’t sound like himself. but go listen to recordings of his shows, he sounds amazing when he’s not nervous.
and i agree, gays should stop tearing him down, no one has to like his music but stop being nasty
Bennyboy2004
Settle down kittens. Put your claws away.
Seems to me this is a good example of how a nagging doubt, even in the face of real success, is a reality for us that doesn’t exist for the straight community. It can change, but it remains very real today.
Blackceo
I don’t listen to Troye’s music, but I appreciate him being a White gay who understands intersectional issues. I think he asks a valid question though.
Pistolo
I’ve nothing against the kid, he’s cute and I’m always happy for a gaybie. But honestly the “bloom” song being an anthem about bottoming kind of repulsed me in its concept- not because he’s a bottom. It reminds me of that revolting rosebud fetish which I’m not sure it isn’t trying to kind of reference?
Anyways, it’s more to do with him being a YouTube star, I think. YouTube is sort of an advertising platform when it comes to gurus, vloggers, and singers, lots of clickbait and it’s all rather narcissist in nature. People are wary of anyone trying to go mainstream from there because it doesn’t seem legitimate.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Sickening some of the disgusting comments from the vile, noxious pigs above.
This is a kid who had the balls to come out at the beginning of his career. Not like virtually every other Gay celebrity hide behind a string of “girlfriends” and then come out at tail end of their careers…
This kid is out and proud and is an inspiration to other Gay kids proving they don’t have to cower in the closet and be ashamed of who they are…..
Again to the haters above you are noxious pigs, no better then the right wing smcubag trolls who live to spew hatred and bigotry against the Gay community….
Kanaka4127
I certainly hope Troye doesn’t come here. Y’all are mean.
Dwik27
Probably. But you’d be a bigger loser if you were gay and hid it.
Elf92
He is good-looking. Very twink ish. He is talented, but he did not become famous solely because of his talent. His looks played a significant part and that kind of bring his genuineness into question. His ‘talent’ cannot survive independently from his looks or even according to some his sexual orientation and that’s a problem. People are becoming conscious of it. Not plenty of people, but little by little more people are focusing on actual innate talent rather than the packaging.
Calin
Keep working on your music!!
Lifeball74
I always find it sad that a group that has been picked apart and bullied throughout time can in turn display such wretched behavior toward others. No Hate campaigns… really.
We’re looking at a genre called POP music. Nobody said Pavorotti or Hunk. Pretty sure Lady GaGa wasn’t Gorgeous wrapped in bloody meat.
There are much nicer ways to offer suggestion and redirection. First Troy is very Handsome and among Gay men his type has a very strong following. It’s clear he wasn’t trying to be a hunk. Duh!
Gay men cry every time someone isn’t out, or the cover of OUT only uses straight males that announce in their article “I’m not gay”. Here’s someone supporting who we are and doing it fearlessly so that we have a face and a voice. Hopefully giving young gay teens that first window into who they are and that it’s ok.
We should stand up and clap for Troy.
His art may not be yours… but whoever said all art needed to be to be good.
Well done Troy. Press on and grow. Let’s hope the flashes in the pan are these sad people that thought they were leaving a review. Not constructive at all… just embarrassing examples of Gays that have so much to learn and little to share.
boysttous
Unfortunately he is correct.
Straight men do not support gay artists so no listeners from that group.
Gay men for some reason do not support gay artists, they often have some sort of jealous/internalized homophobia that prevents them from supporting other gay men. They’d rather have their straight women which makes me personally pretty sad. The way gays even in this comment section seem to love tearing down someone who is being authentically themselves and whos clearly a very down to earth guy, is disgusting. And anyone who says he isn’t talented has clearly never given his music a shot, Bloom was a masterpiece.
And simply cause he’s gay he’s constantly labeled by the media as Ariana/Charli’s gay sidekick and never his own independent artist, he won’t get radio play. So he’s stuck.
Kat Casey
Well, as the old adage goes–opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one. For my money, I very much enjoy his music and have great respect for his openness that’s been presented since his early teens. I like that his lyrics are clearly from a man to a man as that’s something that I don’t find all that often in popular song. And I’ve always crushed on skinny guys (don’t know why!) so that I find him kinda cute is just a small bonus. Two cents.
Arshley
Troy Sivan is for stereotypical gays who are afraid of life outside the gay suburbs and commercial pride parades.
Also his man love lyrics are a cross between a cis high school girl puppy lust journal entry and a twink porn scene plot.
Lookyloo
Troye Sivan wonders if he’d be a bigger success if he WEREN’T gay
There. FIFY.
The word “wasn’t'” used in the headline implies past-tense – as if he used to be gay.
That ends today’s lesson in “bored guy schools pro writers in basic grammar.”
paul dorian lord fredine
he might be more of a success if he didn’t dye his hail ‘olde lady lilac #4’.
BCbreeze
No one would know who he was if he was straight.