Australian singer-songwriter Troye Sivan is blowing up.
The YouTube sensation, who turned 21 in 2016, has transformed from a popular online cover
artist to a full-fledged pop star with original hits such as "Youth."
In the interests of helping you understand the next big thing, let's take a look at some
facts you might not know about Sivan.
Taylor Swift adores him
Sivan has often talked about how his musical dreams are all coming true.
But even he has probably been pinching himself as an increasing collection of renowned musicians
sing his praises.
For instance, crooner Sam Smith let Instagram know how he felt about Sivan, while Grammy-winning
powerhouse Adele was moved to tears when Sivan covered one of her songs.
"Oh, he's singing my song…
I was so overwhelmed!"
Even Taylor freaking Swift tweeted lovingly about one of his tracks, posting, "GO @troyesivan
WILD IS STUNNING AND AWESOME.
(YES CAPS LOCK IS NECESSARY HERE.)"
Sivan told Pedestrian TV that it was pretty much a dream come true.
"I was way too nervous to go say 'hi.'
So I just like, eyed her from across the room.
And, um, yeah… now I guess I can go up and say 'hi' this time if I ever see her again."
He's Wolverine
Marvel Comics fans may have encountered Sivan's work and not even known it.
In 2009, he played the boy who grows up to be Logan in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
That's right, his first international showbiz break was playing a young James Howlett, aka
Kid Stabs-a-lot, aka little Hugh Jackman.
According to an Aussie news report, talent scouts were smitten by his YouTube projects.
But Sivan remained humble about his talents.
"I'm just any other normal kid.
Why me over all those other thousands of kids, but I guess I just got lucky."
Miley moment
Sivan came out as gay to his family first in 2010, and the acceptance and support he
received from them encouraged him to share his sexual identity with his millions of followers
three years later, when he was 18.
"I share everything with the Internet, I share every aspect of my life with the Internet.
And, um, whether or not that's a good thing, I don't know, but this is not something I'm
ashamed of."
He has since become an inspiration to millions of LGBT fans, but he credits the many YouTubers
who came before him with helping him find his voice.
Oh, and one other person: Miley Cyrus.
Yup, Hannah Montana herself inspired Sivan, who told Buzzfeed, "She wrote a song called
'My Heart Beats for Love' and she said in an interview that it was about her gay best friend.
I was like, 'Oh my god, Miley Cyrus has a gay best friend.
Why am I not that person?'
And I was like, 'If everyone in the world rejects me, I can just go become friends with Miley Cyrus.
Mission accomplished!
Politically outspoken
Sivan is not afraid to speak his mind, telling Paper Magazine in December 2016, "It's not
your job to make other people feel comfortable."
Although he's an Australian citizen born in South Africa, Sivan shared his feelings about
the U.S. presidential election results loud and clear.
"I've been pretty heartbroken about the whole thing and I don't even live here.
I broke down the other day thinking about the survivors of Pulse in Orlando, for example.
Imagining how it would feel to feel like your country doesn't care about you, and your people…
I have no doubt that we'll carry on and we'll be fine, and we'll make it through this.
But it f---ing sucks that we have to in the first place."
Sivan is equally vocal about equal rights in Australia, where same-sex marriage has
yet to be legalized.
"This just a little thing for like, every gay Australian kid who wants to go make music,
every LGBTQ kid who wants to go make music.
You can totally do it, and win an Aria too."
Unorthodox style
Sivan may have A-list fans and friends, but when it comes to making music, he's just as
likely to enlist the aid of complete unknowns.
In a "How I Wrote That Album" segment for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Sivan
dished on the more unorthodox methods he used to create his debut record, Blue Neighborhood.
"We had had some kids come into the studio who were like, I dunno, they wanted to come
in and say 'hey' and get some pictures and get some stuff like that.
They left, they went out for lunch, and we like, demanded that they come back and we
got them back into the studio and we made them sing."
Smart underpants
When nude photos of Sivan were leaked online, he took action in characteristically quirky fashion.
Through his website, he started selling limited edition pairs of black and white unisex briefs
with his name and a red rose stitched on the waistband.
The underwear line trended, helping skew search engine results away from the uncensored images
and towards his website's merchandise page.
Way to turn the tables!
Secret identity
Fans have been desperate to learn the name of the "beautiful boyfriend" mentioned in
Sivan's album liner notes, but the singer has remained uncharacteristically quiet.
That may have something to do with the internet's tendency to link him up with everyone from
Connor Franta to Tyler Oakley, who joined Sivan for a lighthearted video poking fun
at all the rumors.
"I don't think that's what it is.
And he has no plans to make his private life public any time soon, telling Out magazine,
"I feel like I share everything about myself.
Like everything everything, especially in the music and stuff like that.
So I am just, like — that's the one thing where I'm like, I should keep something to myself."
Yeah...he's earned that!
Thanks for watching!
Click the Nicki Swift icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!