Troye Sivan has had an incredible, action-packed 2016. It was the year where he truly broke into the music scene, after the release of his debut album, Blue Neighbourhood, in late 2015. This year was full of promotion for the album- from concerts to TV appearances to magazine covers, Troye really did it all this year. Let’s look back at the wonderful year Troye Sivan has had!
Most of Troye’s year has been consumed by touring, almost without break. The year kicked off with the North American leg of the Blue Neighbourhood Tour, which lasted for most of February and March. Unfortunately, Troye got sick towards the end of February and had to cancel two dates in Canada, where he later visited on his Suburbia Tour.
The 18-date European leg took place during April and May, before Troye toured in North America again, Asia, Oceania, and Europe again during the summer months. The Blue Neighbourhood Tour was easily his longest and most gruelling, with very short breaks, but we’re so proud of him for pulling it off and bringing his music to fans around the world!
The GLAAD Awards also happened earlier this year. Troye won the award for “Outstanding Music Artist”, and also presented an award with Zendaya. Then, this iconic picture happened. Yes, we’re still shook.
This year, ‘YOUTH’ was announced as the lead single off Blue Neighbourhood, and did extremely well. The aesthetically-pleasing music video dropped in February and was very well-received by his fanbase. The song quickly grew in popularity and soon became Troye’s first ever Top 40 Billboard Hit. The single then went on to be certified Platinum in the U.S. after Troye’s performance at the Billboard Music Awards in May.
June rolled around, and with it came Troye’s 21st birthday. Since he spent it in America, and 21 is the legal drinking age, he had some very exciting birthday celebrations!
I'm having my first ever alcoholic beverage
— ?? (@troyesivan) June 5, 2016
The next big announcement came in the summer, with the news that ‘WILD’ would be released as the next single off Blue Neighbourhood, featuring Troye’s good friend Alessia Cara. Alesia’s voice added a whole new meaning and rich layers to the song. Read our review of the single here.
Not long after, it was time to release the music video for ‘WILD’. Before the video was posted for everyone to see, Troye used one of the most clever and engaging promotion strategies we’ve ever seen. VHS tapes with the music video were hidden in cities across the world. Those lucky enough to find one were able to view the video ahead of everyone else, and own a physical copy of it!
#WILDHUNT pic.twitter.com/MWwGaodmH9
— ?? (@troyesivan) July 21, 2016
The VHS concept fits with the video itself, which follows Troye, Alessia, and their friends around their neighbourhood, filmed in Toronto, Canada close to Alessia’s hometown. Some parts are filmed with an old camcorder, giving it the look and feel of a VHS tape.
Sprinkled throughout the year were several TV appearances and performances for Troye. He chatted with James Corden on The Late Late Show, and performed ‘WILD’ on both Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Troye also appeared on The Ellen Show twice, performing ‘YOUTH’ in January and ‘HEAVEN’ in October. It’s definitely taken some getting used to, but it’s amazing to witness Troye making the transition from our laptop screens to our TV screens.
Troye was also featured on several magazine covers and managed to look stunning on each one. One of the standouts was the time he graced the cover of OUT magazine, along with a very honest interview discussing his music, sexuality and his beginnings on YouTube. He also appeared on the covers of Rolling Stone and V Magazine.
Also this year, Troye was one of the faces of American Eagle’s “#WeAllCan” campaign, complete with a billboard in Times Square, New York! His campaign slogan was “I can love anyone.”
By September, the Blue Neighbourhood Tour had come to a close. In mid-October, the time came to kick off the Suburbia Tour. It was shorter than the Blue Neighbourhood tour, only 22 dates and about a month of touring around North America. However, it was just as fun and full of surprises as we would expect from Troye. Plus, a portion of the ticket sales went to the Ally Coalition, a non-profit organization that supports LGBTQ+ causes and fights discrimination through education, awareness and advocacy. We attended the date in Phoenix earlier this year and wrote a review! We also covered the awesome fan project that took place during the show in Boston.
During a couple stops on the Suburbia Tour, Troye filmed a backstage vlog and posted it on his YouTube channel. Even though YouTube isn’t Troye’s priority anymore, the occasional casual video is always appreciated by his fans!
Troye didn’t release any brand new music this year, but some remixes and alternate versions of his current songs were unveiled. The long awaited, heavily teased ‘EASE’ remix was dropped. The director’s cut of the ‘Blue Neighbourhood’ trilogy of music videos (consisting of ‘WILD’ ‘FOOLS’ and ‘TALK ME DOWN’) was also released. 2016 was also the year where Troye’s widely appreciated song,’Swimming Pools’, only found on the edition of Blue Neighbourhood sold in Target, was performed live for the first time! And to top it all off, Blue Neighbourhood was certified Gold in the U.S. in September!
To conclude the year, Troye recently dropped Blue Neighbourhood (The Remixes), which features several remixed versions of the songs ‘EASE’, ‘WILD’, ‘FOOLS’, and ‘YOUTH’, as well as a ‘YOUTH’ acoustic and some live performances. Troye also attended the ARIA awards, where he took home the awards for Video of the Year and Song of The Year.
After the Suburbia Tour ended, Troye had some time to catch his breath, and go back home to Australia for the holidays! He’s posted a few pictures of his adorable nan, and it’s safe to say we love her almost as much as Troye does.
So, we think it’s pretty evident that Troye has had a crazy but successful year. He’s toured the world, won awards, and given us all the gift of his lovely music. What more could you want? We’re so proud of Troye and everything he has accomplished in 2016, and wish him the very best for a successful, fun 2017; hopefully filled with new music!
oi guys I feel lucky to say that every year so far of my life has been the best year of my life thus far
— ?? (@troyesivan) November 7, 2016
Catch up on all of our articles about Troye by clicking here!
What was your favourite Troye Sivan moment of 2016? What do you hope will happen in 2017? Let us know on Twitter @CelebMix.