Troye Sivan Mellet (/ˈtrɔɪsɪˈvɑːn/ⓘTROY sih-VAHN; born 5 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actor. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed withEMI Australia in 2013 and released his third EP,TRXYE (2014), which peaked at number five on the USBillboard 200. Its lead single, "Happy Little Pill", reached the top 10 on Australian music charts. In 2015, he released his fourth extended play,Wild, followed by his debut studio album,Blue Neighbourhood. The album's lead single, "Youth", became Sivan's first single to enter the top 40 of theBillboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 23.[6]
Sivan was born on 5 June 1995[10] inJohannesburg, South Africa,[11] the son of Laurelle Mellet, a homemaker and former South African fashion model, and Shaun Mellet, an entrepreneur and real estate agent.[12][13][14] At age two,[15] Sivan moved toPerth, Western Australia, with his parents and three siblings due to rising crime in South Africa.[14][13] He was raised in anOrthodox Jewish family, though he does not consider himself to be religious. His motherconverted to Judaism when marrying his father, who is ofLithuanian-Jewish descent including from a grandmother who escaped from Lithuania to Johannesburg as aHolocaust survivor.[13][16][17][18][19] He attendedCarmel School, a privateModern Orthodox school, until 2009, when he starteddistance education.[20]
On 5 June 2013, Sivan was signed toEMI Australia, aUniversal Music Australia label, but kept it a secret until a year later. On 15 August 2014 he released a five-song EP entitledTRXYE, led by its first single "Happy Little Pill", which was released on 25 July 2014.[24]TRXYE debuted at No. 1 on iTunes in over 55 countries.[25] The EP debuted at No. 5 on theBillboard 200 the following week, scoring Sivan his first Top 10 album.[26] "Happy Little Pill" peaked at number 10 on theARIA Singles Chart and was certified gold by theAustralian Recording Industry Association for shipments exceeding 35,000 copies.[27]
Sivan performing atCapital Pride in Washington, DC, in 2018
On 10 January 2018, Sivan released the single "My My My!", along with an accompanying music video.[34] He confirmed that his second album was inspired by his then-boyfriend, American modelJacob Bixenman.[35] The song was described as a departure from his earlier work, withPitchfork calling his vocals "assured" andNPR Music describing it as "an infectious celebration of sexual desire".[34] NPR also noted the significance of the song and music video displaying confidence in Sivan's sexuality, writing "it's not every day you see a young, skinny, queer kid get to be completely himself in a music video, and Sivan makes us want to dance along with him."[34] Sivan's first live performance of the song was on 20 January as the musical guest onSaturday Night Live in an episode hosted byJessica Chastain.[36] Sivan later confirmed that his new album would feature a collaboration with long-time friendAriana Grande,[37] titled "Dance to This".[38]
On 1 April 2020, Sivan released "Take Yourself Home", his first single from his fifth EPIn a Dream. Sivan worked with freelance artists in need of work during theCOVID-19 pandemic to create the visual art for his single. The artists, who Sivan met on Instagram, also designed t-shirts for the single, and all net proceeds were donated to the WHOCOVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and Spotify's COVID-19 Music Relief Project.[53] On 15 July, Sivan released the single "Easy" and announced the release of theconcept EPIn a Dream. The EP was released on 21 August 2020.[54] In June 2021, he performed songs from the EP forGrubhub's virtual concert seriesSound Bites, in support of theNGLCC's efforts in assisting LGBT-owned restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic.[55] On 16 April 2021, his collaboration "You" withRegard andTate McRae was released. The song toppedBillboard'sDance/Electronic Songs chart for eight weeks.[56] Sivan's single "Angel Baby" was released on 10 September.[57] After becoming viral in Southeast Asia, it reached the top 5 in several countries.[58] In February 2022, two original songs Sivan had written for the filmThree Months were released.[59] In December 2022, he released a collaboration withPNAU titled "You Know What I Need".[60]
Sivan announced his third studio album,Something to Give Each Other, on 13 July 2023, alongside the release of its lead single, "Rush". On 20 September, the second single, "Got Me Started", was released with an accompanying music video.[61] The album was released on 13 October, along with the third single, "One of Your Girls". On 10 November 2023, Sivan received twoGrammy nominations for "Rush": Best Music Video and Best Pop Dance Recording.[62] The album's fourth single, "Honey", was released on 16 May 2024 with remixes byMura Masa.[63][64]
Sivan at the Australian premiere ofPaper Towns in 2015
In 2007, Sivan starred asOliver Twist in a production ofOliver! at theRegal Theatre.[22] In 2008, Sivan was cast in a Western Australian short film,Betrand the Terrible.[66] In February 2008, Sivan was cast as youngJames Howlett inX-Men Origins: Wolverine. Sivan got the part after videos of his telethon performance were posted on YouTube, catching the attention of a Hollywood agent who contacted Sivan and asked him to send in an audition tape.[22] ThoughKodi Smit-McPhee was already cast for this role, he was unable to be a part of the film, due to his commitment toThe Road.[67] In July 2009, he auditioned successfully for the lead role inSpud, a film adaptation ofthe 2005 novel by South African authorJohn van de Ruit.[68] Filming took place in South Africa from early March to mid-April 2010.[69][70] The film was released in South Africa on 3 December 2010 and was later nominated for sixSAFTAs, including a Best Lead Actor in a Feature Film nomination for Sivan.[71]
Sivan appeared in the Western Australian season ofSamuel Beckett's absurdist playWaiting for Godot which opened on 28 May 2010. Sivan shared the role of "Boy" with Craig Hyde-Smith, alternating nights.[72] In June 2012, Sivan returned to South Africa to filmSpud 2: The Madness Continues, which was released in South Africa on 21 June 2013. Sivan also starred in the third film in the series,Spud 3: Learning to Fly, released on 28 November 2014.[73]
Sivan had a supporting role in the 2018 filmBoy Erased.[74] In 2022, he starred as Caleb, a 17-year-old exposed to HIV following a one-night fling on the eve of his high school graduation in the feature filmThree Months, which explores the ongoing stigma that HIV-positive persons experience.[75] On 22 November 2021, Sivan was cast as a series regular in theHBO drama seriesThe Idol.[76] The series was cancelled in August 2023 after a single season.[77]
In September 2012, Sivan began creatingvlogs on the video sharing site YouTube, after having only sung on the site since 2007. At the time of posting his first vlog, Sivan had accumulated 27,000 subscribers in his five years since joining YouTube on 1 October 2007. His first video was an a cappella cover ofDeclan Galbraith's "Tell Me Why".[78] A YouTube video Sivan made with fellow YouTuberTyler Oakley, titled "The 'Boyfriend' Tag", earned them aTeen Choice Award in the "Choice Web Collaboration" category.[79] As of November 2023, Sivan had over 8.1million subscribers and over 1.9billion total views across his YouTube videos.[80]
In 2018, Sivan was the face ofValentino's Spring/Summer 2018 collection.[81] In 2019, he was abrand ambassador forMAC's Viva Glam campaign.[82] He also appeared inCalvin Klein's #MyCalvins and #CK50 campaigns that year.[83][84] Since 2020, he has been aCartier ambassador.[85] In February 2021, Sivan's capsule t-shirt collection that he designed withUniqlo was released.[86] On 24 September 2021, he was featured as a model in the third volume ofRihanna'sSavage X Fenty Show.[87] In early 2022, he was involved inBeyoncé'sIvy Park's campaign for her capsule collection withAdidas.[88] He has been a brand ambassador forYSL Beauty since 2022.[89] In 2024, Sivan was announced as a brand ambassador forRabanne.[90]
Following the positive response to a 2021Architectural Digest tour of hisMelbourne home, Sivan sought to launch his ownlifestyle brand.[91] In July 2023, it was reported that he, in partnership with his brother Steele Mellet, would launch "an independent luxury lifestyle collection of fragrances and art-driven objects" calledTsu Lange Yor.[92] The name isYiddish for 'to long years', which comes from his growing up in a Jewish household.[93] The brand focuses on a feeling of "home" and does not sellwhite-label products.[94][95]
In July 2025, it was announced that Tsu Lange Yor products would receive American distribution byNordstrom. Co-founder Steele Mellet noted that "[the] UK, Australia and the US are our three major markets".[99] In collaboration with fashion designer Henry Zankov, the brand also expanded into textile products.[100]
Sivan's music has been described as "layered electropop with constant tinges of EDM".[3] Hisbaritone voice[106] has received widespread praise,[107][108][109] and his work has been compared to that of Lorde and Taylor Swift.[110][111][112] In December 2020, Sivan was listed at number 34 inRolling Stone Australia's "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time" issue.[113]
Sivan's music videos frequently feature gay relationships between the characters.Blue Neighbourhood's trilogy followed the narrative of two gay teenagers in a secret relationship while "Youth" featured Sivan with another male love interest. His music video for "Heaven" features footage of historical LGBT movements and couples, as well as sensual shots with him and an anonymous man with the running taglines "Without losing a piece of me, how do I get to Heaven?" and "If I'm losing a piece of me, maybe I don't want Heaven". Sivan has said that these portrayals are important to him, especially when he remembers "such vivid memories of the few times I saw any type of LGBTQ relationship on TV or in music videos".[114]
On 16 July 2020, Sivan released a self-directed[115] music video for his second song, "Easy", from his EPIn a Dream.[116] A remix of "Easy", featuring country singer-songwriterKacey Musgraves and producerMark Ronson, was released alongside a second music video in December 2020.[117]
On 13 July 2023, Sivan released the music video for "Rush", the lead single forSomething to Give Each Other, which received widespread acclaim for its unapologetic display ofqueer culture.[118] The video garnered Sivan his first nomination for theGrammy Award for Best Music Video.[119] Sivan received some criticism for a lack ofbody diversity among the dancers in the music video; in response, he said "it just wasn't a thought [he and creative director Gordon von Steiner] had."[120]
Sivancame out publicly as gay via a YouTube video on 7 August 2013, three years after coming out to his family.[121] He stated that he wanted the video to be out because he did not want his sexuality to be a secret from EMI Australia as he was in negotiations with them at the time for a record deal and had not yet discussed his sexuality with them. The morning after he posted his coming out video, he received a congratulatory email from EMI.[13]
Sivan has a mild form ofMarfan syndrome making him "super thin, with long bendy fingers, and a high palate" which he considers "weird".[122] He has also suffered frombody image issues. In an interview withBillboard, Sivan said "I think that everyone's body is as beautiful as it is, including my own, and it just sucks to see people talking about other people's bodies."[123]
^Van de Ruit, John (20 April 2010)."Icarus Allsorts".John van de Ruit's blog at Book South Africa. Archived fromthe original on 25 April 2010. Retrieved24 May 2010.
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