What where you doing when you were 23?If you were like the rest of us,
you were probably still trying to figure out what it is that you wanted to do with your life. Close to finishing college and looking to get that first job and start the journey to adulthood that comes with it. If you’re someone like 23-year-old Aussie, Troye Sivan, whose doe-eyed face
belies someone even younger, you’ve already had your first album to debut at No. 1 on iTunes in over 55 countries, and No. 5 on the Billboard 200. TitledTRXYE it became Sivan’s first Top 10 album, and the song “Happy Little Pill” would go on to be certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association. His second EPWild would serve as an introduction to his debut studio albumBlue Neighbor- hood, which offered up the lead single “Youth,” becoming Sivan’s first single to enter the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Before that, and yes, there is a before that—a way, way before that— Sivan was
performing as he said, “pretty much as long as I can remember, I think I started when I was like seven or something like that.” By the time he was thirteen he’d been on Australian television, duetting withAustralian Idol winner Guy Sebastian, then making it to the finals himself in 2007. A popular YouTuber, Sivan amassed over six million subscribers on his self-titled channel and a collaboration video titledThe Boyfriend Tag, filmed with fellow YouTube star Tyler Oakley, won them a Kid’s Choice award in 2014. At thirteen, he made his acting debut in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverineplaying the younger version of Hugh Jackman’s character and would go on to star in the 2010 comedySpud as well as in the 2013 sequel, Spud 2: The Madness Continues. Unapologetically out, Sivan gracefully shared
way to do it!” It kind of clicked for me really early on and I’m really happy it did, because I just kept going and just growing, you know, grew from there. What was the first posting that sort of made you realize “Holy crap, this could really become something.” Was there a specific turning point? There was a video for a song I covered called “Tell Me Why” and I remember it
just kept getting views. My other videos kind of got cold after a while and this particular one, it was like my only video that ever hit a million views. I don’t know why it did, but it didn’t ever stop. I’d say that was kind of a big moment for me, I realized that the potential was kind of endless with the internet. It’s interesting to see how the process of gaining recognition on the web works. You seemed so comfortable sharing your world very early on. Was that always the case? I think it was, just because I don’t really remember not having the internet. I
WHERE I WAS IN MY LIFE: IT FELT
his emotional exodus from the closet with his loyal YouTube audience saying later, “Part of the reason why I came out is to do whatever I wanted and be with whoever I wanted. That freedom is something that I’ve worked hard for.” His music reflects that, singing unabashedly to and about boys in his music. As he said, “I just wanted to write normal pop songs and when the time comes to use a pronoun, I’ll use the word ‘he.’ “ A totally refreshing and wonderfully validating stand to take… and not just for himself, but for every one of us in the LGBTQ community. He’s a groundbreaker for sure, reflective of a generation who is fast taking control and running with it.
SIVAN SAT DOWN WITHTHE RAGE MONTHLY TO CHAT ABOUT HIS LIFE, HIS CAREER, WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO HIM AND WHERE HE’S HEADED.
Thanks so much for doing this. I’ve been stalking you for two years to land an interview. Oh my gosh really? (Laughs) I’m glad we could make it happen.
Let’s start with your early forays on the web. When did you first become aware of what being online could do for you as far as career possibilities? I uploaded my YouTube video when I was 12 and it got like a thousand views. I remember thinking, “I’ve never sung for a thousand people in real life, this is the
KIND OF FELT LIKE IT SUMMED UP
IT RESONATED WITH ME AND I
I KNEW THAT
CELEBRATORY, IT FELT JOYOUS, WHICH IS
THAT I WANT TO CAPTURE.”
EVERYTHING
remember having dial-up, very vaguely and by the time I was able to kind of use the computer by myself, the internet already existed. I’ve always known it to be there and so it’s just a comfortable place for me and a big part of my personal journey. It’s where I looked when I didn’t know where else to seek out any sort of community or relatability to anyone. I grew up in a really tight knit Jewish community in Australia and I felt like, for me, being online was kind of like a necessity to being able to find queer community and belonging. So yeah, it’s just always been there for me and always a place of exploration. I love how much access the web gives, it allows even the most isolated an opportunity to connect to the LGBTQ world. Your coming out video is a great example, it’s an amazing, personal moment for you to have shared. What was the biggest surprise after you posted the YouTube video? How few negative comments there were. I don’t know
what I was expecting, but I was ready for drama and it didn’t happen. There were pages and pages and pages, filled with comments of love and support. Obviously, it was a really pivotal moment in my life, but when I think about it though, not much really changed. I still got to go on and do all the things that I ever wanted to do. The main difference was I just felt like I could be myself... I felt happier. There’s been such a seismic shift in how the coming out process
works and what being out looks like. Being gay is just an aspect of who we are, rather than being the only thing that defines us and people are finally starting to understand that to be true. Is that part of what you have found as you’ve interacted with people? I still get asked about it in every interview, so I think I see it as a sign that people
need to talk about it more. They still kind of have a curiosity that needs to be satisfied and explained and I’m totally fine to be a part of that. In general, I do think that the ideas around what a queer person is has broadened. When I was a little kid, if I met someone who was gay—I think maybe because I knew in the back of my head that I was—I just remember thinking, “That person’s gay, that person’s gay” the entire time that we were with them. I don’t do that anymore, but I can kind of relate when you’ve never met or seen a gay person before and it’s an unknown. I think it is why representation is so important and having these
SEPTEMBER 2018
SEPTEMBER 2018 | | RAGE monthly
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