Troye Sivan, a 20 year old singer, songwriter and artist, recently released his second EP Wild. The music videos from his album Blue Neighborhood came out on Oct. 14. As an openly gay singer, Sivan aims to portray the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community in our current society through his three-part music video trilogy.

This series consists of the songs: “Wild”, “Fools” and “Talk Me Down”.

A look at artist Troye Sivan
Born in South Africa, Sivan is well-known for his YouTube channel that currently has over 3.6 million subscribers. For the past nine years, he has been posting collaborations, challenges and Q&As that illustrate his life and daily activities. After coming out publicly in Aug. 2013, Sivan released his first major EP called TRXYE in Aug. 2014.

Wild

In part one of the Blue Neighborhood trilogy, Sivan is seen playing with his male friend and lover during his childhood. The male friend’s dad is an abusive alcoholic. During the middle of the video, Sivan’s dad gets in a fight with the abusive father.

The setting is introduced with a conflict between Troye and his friend’s dads that might cause a larger disconnect in the future. The idea of a struggling gay couple is also illustrated through the naive and innocent nature of the two main characters. This specific video tackles the idea of ingrained ideals of homophobia throughout childhood.

Leave this blue neighbourhood

Never knew loving could hurt this good, oh

And it drives me wild

Fools

Part two flashes forward to an adult version of Sivan and his friend who are still in love. The abusive father catches the two and enraged, he beats his son and forces him to “change” his identity. He threatens to harm both the boys if his son does not follow through with what he demanded. Sivan’s friend, conflicted with what to do, decides to get a girlfriend and as a result, pushes Sivan away.

The main conflict that members of the LGBTQ+ community face is presented in this video. Many people commonly think that an identity or sexuality is fluid and can be reversible. The abusive father is shown as an one of the examples of the struggles faced.

I am tired of this place, I hope people change

I need time to replace what I gave away

Talk me down

 
In the last video of Blue Neighborhood, the video pans out to the funeral of the abusive father. Sivan’s male friend is seen crying with his “girlfriend” even though his father has caused him a severe amount of trouble throughout his life. Sivan attends the funeral as well and meets his friend. They momentarily hug and his friend realizes that he still loves Sivan, but the video pans to his friend’s girlfriend immediately after. Sivan’s friend remains in a fix of what to do and the video ends with the conflicted friend standing over a cliff near the ocean.

Through this music video, Sivan tackles the rising problem of suicide in the LGBTQ+ community. Troye’s friend at the end is seen as debating whether to commit suicide or not because of his father’s idea of a “fixed” sexuality. He thinks over the value of his life if he will not be comfortable showing his true identity to society.

So if you don’t mind, I’ll walk that line

Stuck on the bridge between us

Gray areas and expectations

What’s next?

Many of Sivan’s fans are left hanging after the end of the third video in his series. Several questions are left unanswered regarding the relationship between Sivan and his friend. Some are even hoping for a part four.
Sivan’s studio album Blue Neighborhood will be released on Dec. 4. He plans to continue as a songwriter and possibly tour in the near future.

For more videos about Troye Sivan, visit his youtube channel and VEVO.