Troye Sivan. So hot right now. Who’s not infatuated with his every perfectly executed move and knowing look?
When was the last time you were so impressed by a music video that you raced to the TV set to enjoy it on the biggest possible screen? Gener8ion and Yung Lean’s “STORM II” in April, 2026, perhaps? Or maybe even Kylie’s “Padam Padam” way back in May, 2023? You can now add Troye’s “Party” to that exclusive list.
Sir Ian McKellen’s voiceover sets the scene: “The conquest is nearly behind us. Fires blaze from one end of the realm to the other. And what is victory, if not celebrated? For at long last, a party.”
Did you know? Troye and Sir Ian first met in 2010, when they both acted in an Australian touring production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot in Perth. Troye was 14 at the time.
Depictions of parties throughout the ages follow. In one time period, Troye plays a knight in shining armour on horseback. Once the concept, ground-breaking choreography and performances galvanise, you’ll find yourself grinning and bopping along involuntarily, eyes glued to the screen.
“Party” – this album’s Madonna-sampling second single (“Music/ Makes the people/ Come together”) – basically broke gay Twitter, TikTok and many club dancefloors when it dropped in September. This queer liberation anthem boasts an irresistible marching pace; we picture a loosey-goosey conga line (and many punters attempting the choreo, with mixed outcomes).
Fun fact: Troye has confirmed that “Party” was partly inspired by a 2011 Lady Gaga interview for the Fuse TV show, On The Record, during which she said: “No sleep. Bus, club, another club, another club, plane, next place. No sleep…”
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Because Troye leans into his Aussie accent hard with every “pardy”, the internet misheard it as potty (eg. Potty in the park), which soon became a hilarious viral meme.
While accepting an award for Best Dance at the VMAs this year, Madonna said, “Party in the bush,” while bookended by Troye and his bestie Charli xcx.
Troye later posted on Insta: “Madonna saying ‘party in the bush’ is my life’s greatest accomplishment.”
He’s said that his “first memory of music” was Madonna’s “Like A Prayer”, and that her “Girl Gone Wild” video “made me gay, basically”.
You could be forgiven for assuming that Troye gets laid all the time and has zero interest in finding a significant other. I mean, have you seen the “Rush” clip?
Well, you’d be wrong. She’s The Best is Troye’s post-”Rush” comedown: back in his hotel room, hungover after the party of all parties. Struggling to fight off waves of loneliness, Troye has admitted he feels “a deep yearning” for his soulmate.
The album contains a suite of songs during which Troye manifests his future partner, including the next single, “FF” (which stands for “fucking forever”). After noticing a bead of sweat dripping into his companion’s “Blue Moon” cocktail, Troye can’t help himself: “…so I take a big sip and I’m lickin’ my lips while I’m lookin’ at you.”
The title track shimmers, like how the object of your desire seems to move in slo-mo when held in your lovestruck gaze. “She’s the Best” is Troye’s platonic love letter to all the women in his life – including his sister, an English teacher, Charli xcx and Lily-Rose Depp (whose spoken-word French monologue enlivens the closing track, “Lost Time”) – as well as the trans women and drag queens who have shaped him.
Via Insta, Troye provided listening instructions for “She’s the Best”: “Walk down the street today with your headphones in and listen to this song and look around – the divine feminine is everywhere.”
Nicole Kidman, drag icon Sasha Colby, Brooklyn-based influencer Blizzy McGuire and model/photographer Anna Bloda – also She’s the Best’s coverstar – all feature in this film clip.
Troye’s been obsessed with Nicole since he was a kid, fanning out over Baz Luhrmann’s Paris-set film, Moulin Rouge! (he would’ve been almost six when this jukebox musical was released in 2001). They met on the set of Boy Erased back in 2018.
Nicole plays the song’s main character, acting out the song’s brazen opening line (“She’s walkin’ down the street with her little thin cigarette/ Great smile and a cum stain on her dress…”) like the perennial It Girl she is.
The throbbing “Canada Dry” incorporates Troye’s exhale of delight – like finally finding the mist tent at a scorching-hot festival.
Throughout his fourth album, Sivan’s vocal delivery taps into different personas (eg. twink, macho fuckboi, “horny and connected and queer”, pensive and chill) – sometimes within a single song.
“Le Boy”’s husky, almost-bored vocal delivery in the verses pivots to dreamboat crooning come the intergalactic choruses, as synth accents amplify the euphoria.
“Troye Meets World” contrasts avatar energy (sexy-robot sample: “Music meet body/ Body meet music”) with breezy, whisper-sung choruses.
There’s no accompanying presser, but rather a “thesis” penned by this actor-entertainer (and wannabe “Sex Star”), who publicly came out and found fame via YouTube.
Excerpt from Troye’s album thesis: “A project meant to be watched as much as listened to, this is me at my truest and most creative self, all the way to my edges.”
We can’t wait to behold the clip for “FF”, which Troye has described as the “gayest music video of my career”.
She’s the Best is still lush, aspirational goodness from Troye, just with softer edges – more human. The only thing we’re mad about is the omission of “Party in my pants” from “Party” – surely Troye considered that one.
