Troye Sivan Declares He Is 'Not as Afraid as I Was Before'

Pop star Troye Sivan is making the media rounds on the eve of his third album release, "Something to Give Each Other," and we are learning a lot.

For starters, Sivan says Lil Nas X inspired him to be more bold, lean into his gayness, and stop worrying about being a gay man in pop music, he told The Guardian.

"Someone like Lil Nas X–I was just so inspired by how unafraid he was to take up space," he said, adding that he "always felt a little bit like I kind of had to stay in my lane–maybe like, alt-bedroom-sadboy-gay-pop, or whatever."

A departure from his usual ballad-heavy aesthetic, Sivan said his upcoming album includes lots of inspiration from meeting people and doing everyday things in Melbourne, Australia.

"Melbourne is all over this album and all over these experiences. It's easy to feel like you're growing just because you're busy, but I think sometimes you really grow in the moments in between," he said. "I had this time, for the first time in like eight years, to meet people and figure out what else I like to do besides work. I don't think this album would be what it is without, like, meeting someone at the pool and going on a date, or like, the real life that is so detached from everything else that's going on in my life."

Between Covid lockdowns, Sivan said he took to the gay clubs of Melbourne's Smith Street and "wanted to go ballistic."

"I was having so much fun, and I felt like I had sort of met the world again for the first time in a long time," he added.

And Sivan is reportedly having fun with the album's themes and lyrics. In one song he even asks a partner to "turn my bussy out."

"Throwing all [those hang-ups] away and being like, 'No, I can make a ruckus like everybody else is and have some fun with this,' that was really liberating for me," he said. "I'm just not as afraid as I was before."

Look for Sivan's "Something to Give Each Other" on Oct. 13.