Save this story Save Story Save this story The title track and opening song of Troye Sivan ’s new album, She’s the Best —released as the lead single alongside a viral video featuring Nicole Kidman vamping in a dive bar and Sasha Colby strutting through the steam-vented streets of downtown New York—is an ode to the women who made him. (“That girl, that girl, wow, that girl,” he croons. “She’s the best.”) The final words you’ll hear on the album are those of a close female friend of Sivan’s, Lily-Rose Depp , who sings in French about the sweet, lingering sadness of a love that didn’t last.
So yes, the album is bookended by the women who surround him, and who have been a constant throughout the emotional ups and downs. But taken as a whole, She’s the Best follows a more meandering arc—from the raucous, tongue-in-cheek debauchery of club-ready banger “Party,” to the surging psychedelic synths of “Le Boy” (a euphoric, career-best banger), to a series of songs where the bravado melts away, and Sivan finds himself pining for a lover to share his life with. Towards the end, there’s “FF,” the single Sivan is releasing today (shorthand for “Fuck Forever,” it comes with a cinematic, Fire Island-set music video directed by his close collaborator and creative director Gordon von Steiner) which pictures a future romance as solid and enduring as an architect-designed home made of “concrete and steel.”
The result is unexpectedly vulnerable—an album laced with melancholy that gives way to a hard-won, final-act shot of confidence—and which showcases Sivan’s most expansive sonic palette yet. She’s the Best features some of the most meticulous production on any record you’ll listen to this year, cycling through trip-hop, house, shoegaze, breakbeat, and flamboyant orchestral pop with casual virtuosity and well-judged flashes of weirdness. (Sivan expanded his pool of writers and producers for this album, supplementing his regular collaborators Leland and Oscar Görres with the likes of Jack Antonoff, George Daniel, his younger brother Tyde Levi, and, for the first time, Sivan himself on production duties.)
The gap between those first singles and She’s the Best ’s introspective core wasn’t an intentional bait and switch, Sivan notes, speaking from the apartment he’s renting in New York in the weeks leading up to release day, his baby nephew balanced on his lap. It was simply that, when it came to selecting the songs that would introduce his fans to the record, the first two on the tracklist—“She’s the Best” and “Party”—instinctively felt like the starting block, before heading off into all manner of directions: to the furthest reaches of hedonism, loneliness, yearning, and ultimately, back to the steadying force of the women that have pulled him through it all.
Photo: Terrence O’Connor Vogue: It’s less than 48 hours until the album comes out. How are you feeling?
Troye Sivan: I think it’s that feeling of… Remember before exams, where you’ve done everything that you can possibly do, and you just surrender your body to the experience? That is where I’m at now. In general, releasing an album is such a weird experience because all of a sudden it’s just on your phone—you just look, and then it’s there. But overall, I’m feeling really good, and I’m excited for people to hear it—I think this album more so than others, because in my opinion, the story really gets told when you hear the whole thing. It was interesting trying to pick singles for this album because it’s all about contrast and contradictions and tension. So picking a single song that defines the whole thing was a really tough decision.
It’s funny you say that, because after listening to the album in full, it goes places that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from listening to those first two singles. Why did you choose those songs to introduce the project?
I think when I zoomed out and realized this album is really difficult to define through singles, I wanted to go with the one that feels the most important to me. I called the album She’s the Best because the journey, the ups and downs, the tension—it’s almost like “She’s the Best,” the song, was the antidote to that tension. That song is about the one thing in my life that feels stable. It was a real toss-up: Should I put it as the last song on the album or the first song on the album? But I liked the idea of leading with it and naming the album after it, because ultimately, when I look back on this time in my life in 10 years, I don't want to be thinking about the loneliness and the turmoil and the random guys that I’m trying to date and the longing. I’d much rather remember the people that were actually there for me.
Some of the songs that felt most striking to me were love songs dedicated to a future romance, or someone you might not have met yet. It’s hard to find a new spin on a love song, but that feels fairly novel. Was it cathartic to write those, or did they help you process those feelings?
It wasn’t fully intentional when I was writing them—that was really just what was happening in my life. When I realized there was a throughline, an alternative title for the album was going to be “Le Boy” [the title of song 7 on She’s the Best ] , considering that so much of the album was written to this figure. And then, back to what I said earlier, I had this conversation where I was like, really? Do I want to fucking dedicate this thing to this guy who doesn’t exist? No, let me focus on what’s actually real. Was it helpful? Yes, I think so. I think I’ve always used music as a form of catharsis, but I also wouldn’t say much has changed since. So maybe it wasn’t helpful enough! [ Laughs. ] But it definitely felt… well, good is a strong word, because I wouldn’t say those songs were always super fun to write. But when I was thinking about the album and what direction I wanted to go in, the one thing I always came back to is that the only fully defensible and bulletproof approach is to be honest. And sometimes that’s uncomfortable, but it’s what I’ve always done, and I think it’s what I’ll always do. So I was like, yeah, sure, this is not necessarily an album full of songs that you want to dance to by a pool. But it’s real, and that’s the best that I can do.
Photo: Terrence O’Connor I suppose whether it helps you move through those feelings or not, it will probably help someone listening to feel less alone. There can be shame around expressing those feelings of longing and vulnerability for someone you’re only imagining, but it’s universal. I’ve felt that.
I hope so. I’m very, very curious to see what this person thinks—one day, when I do eventually meet him. He’s either going to think it was very romantic that I wrote this music about him before we met, or it’s going to be a weird red flag and a complete deal-breaker. [ Laughs. ] It really could go either way. We’ll see.
The production on the record is brilliant, and a real journey in its own right. I read that in the past, you were always trying to reach for and refine these perfect pop songs, but on this one, you weren’t afraid to have them feel a little messy or to unfold in unexpected ways. Can you tell me a little more about that?
Essentially, I just didn’t want the music to feel contrived at all. And obviously the structures and rules of pop music are really effective in communicating your story. But I’ve spent so long honing that and working on that and obsessing over that, that I was really interested in trying to create something that felt like it was coming from a more spontaneous place. So I just freed myself of any expectations as a pop songwriter. On “She’s the Best,” I was like, okay, well, singing about how much I adore women feels patronizing and cheesy. So let me speak it instead. Maybe it’s because I’m in the weeds, but when I listen to other people’s music, I think about the production and that places me in the studio, but I really just wanted this music to feel like it was happening in real life. That’s partly the reason why I used samples so much across the album, because I was fascinated by The Avalanches, for example, and I was like: Why does this music feel so alive? I think it’s because you hear the world in the music. I definitely think it’s my most experimental album yet.
Photo: Terrence O’Connor The videos so far are a real highlight—when did you start thinking about those? Were you picturing the visuals while you were writing the songs?
Yeah, it’s pretty much immediate. I will have two windows open on my computer simultaneously when I’m writing—one is notes, the other is pulling visual references. To me, music is so visual—though I don’t think I have synesthesia. I have my doubts about that in general. [ Laughs. ] But maybe it’s just because I don’t have it, so I can’t imagine what it would be like. But it’s definitely a two-way street where one inspires the other, which then inspires the other, and it goes back and forth. Finding a good visual reference can set me on a path, whether it’s in the production or the lyrics—it opens doors, which open more doors.
And what was the story behind the “FF” video? Was it filmed on Fire Island?
Yeah, we went to Fire Island, which in itself was such a special experience. It was my first time going, and it reminded me a bit of Australia. It’s shockingly beautiful, and there’s so much history there. I wanted to tell a love story, and it felt like such a beautiful place to do that. Also, after the mammoth video that we made for “Party,” I think Gordon and I wanted to make something that represented “FF” and the more interior side of the album. We wanted to make something simple and filmic and hopefully very beautiful.
There are some pretty steamy scenes in both the “FF” and “Party” videos. Are those ever awkward to film?
I think I’m weirdly so desensitized to it. I mean, I don’t want to burst any bubbles, because I hope that people feel some real chemistry when they watch the videos. But I think it’s acting at the end of the day, so it’s not that weird to me. It’s almost like getting naked for the doctor. There are a million people around, and it’s like, we’re here to work. Someone calls cut, and all of a sudden you're just up and about and you go to the next thing.
Photo: Terrence O’Connor Was there anything you wanted to do differently with your look and the fashion for this record? It’s the first time you’re not on the album cover.
I mean, I see fashion as another arm in the creative suite. And I think the baseline was that I didn’t want to be in a costume; I really just wanted to feel like myself. I didn’t want to dye my hair blonde and put on this pop star persona. On the last album, we had a lot of fun creating this kind of boy version of Christina Aguilera or something, with the chaps and straps. This time, I think because of the nature of the album and where I’m at in my life, I just wanted to feel comfortable, and like I was more centered in myself. It sounds corny, but it was about honoring Troye the person, rather than a persona. And it’s been a very freeing experience to just feel like myself.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
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Source: Lifestyle
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