Troye Sivan May Have Just Released The Best Pop Album of 2018


Troye Sivan’s long-awaited Bloom dropped August 31, and critics have a ton of praise for the album. USA Today said that the album “may be the best pop album of 2018.” Ariana Grande (who even appeared on one of Sivan’s tracks) did well with her latest album, Sweetener, which debuted earlier in August; it was deemed unbeatable by pop’s standards. 2018 has turned out some massive pop albums including Grande’s, Camila Cabello’s, and Haley Kiyoko’s.

Sivan’s sophomore album consists of coming-of-age ballads featuring synth beats and sweetly composed lyrics. As the album explores tones regarding sexuality and innocence, the artist uses his notable melodic voice to tell his story. According to Rolling Stone,

Bloom negotiates what it means to give and receive passion, and Sivan finds himself channeling both innocence and weary maturity as he navigates blossoming feelings, broken hearts and the personal growth that stems from both experiences.”

In the same review, which gave the album four stars, Rolling Stone ultimately praises the album saying, “Sivan finds a wealth of ways to bring about fresh reflections on age-old themes with undeniable charisma.” The only critique from the review was that Sivan sometimes didn’t “hit the mark” with some tracks in reference to “The Good Side,” an acoustic song that appears early in the album.

The album has been called reminiscent of Lorde’s 2017 release, Melodrama. This should be taken as an extremely high compliment as Lorde’s sophomore album went on the be nominated at the Grammy’s for album of the year.

Sivan is also being praised as an LGBT+ icon. The Los Angeles Times makes a point of noting how important his fame is to kids who are desperately searching for themselves in music,

“Gay kids have found themselves in pop music by straight stars for decades, of course. And pop has always been filled with writers and performers of every sexual identity — one reason the form has historically evolved faster than any other mass medium. But Sivan is poised to enter the Top 40 mainstream as a novel figure: an openly gay man with no use for the type of coding that earlier artists… were compelled to use in an effort to avoid alienating some portion of their audience.”

On the subject of his place in the music world, Sivan told Time,

“I just want to provide for a young audience what I felt was lacking when I was a kid, which was representation of someone living their life… There’s a lot of hunky straight white male pop stars, but I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

The same article dubs the queer, sensitive, and thoughtful 23-year old as 2018’s perfect pop star. This is following Haley Kiyoko’s recent win at the VMAs for Push Artist. Kiyoko, also a member of the LGBT+ community, writes about her experience unabashedly in her most recent album as well. Sivan’s claim that the industry is heading in the right direction may be true as diversity becomes more and more represented in the industry.

With Sivan’s euphoric rise to the top and loyal fanbase, there’s no telling how far Bloom could go for both those watching the sales and those watching to see themselves in Sivan’s hypnotic dance moves.

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