When Troye Sivan covered Adele’s mega-hit “Someone Like You”, he tweaked the lyrics a bit. Instead of singing “found a girl”, he chose to sing “found someone”. In one cover, Adele’s track became a heartbreak song for everyone. This was just one of the many attempts Troye Sivan has made to speak up for his community.
It was not before Sivan or Years and Years that we could see male singers “explicitly” sing to their male beloved or female singers doing the same for their own sex. Singers like Troye Sivan have worked hard to provide “visibility” to the LGBTQ+ community. His songs, words, actions and activism have become a driving force of change for the community.
The main attempt seems to normalize LGBTQ+ existence. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who don’t mind shaming people for their identity. The hatred sometimes goes to an extent that even survival becomes a struggle. The attack on Pulse club in Orlando last year is case in point.
For his contribution to the community, Troye Sivan has been awarded GLAAD’s Stephen F. Kolzak Award at the 28th annual GLAAD Media Awards. The ceremony happened in Los Angeles on April 1st. Troye Sivan is the youngest recipient of the award.
What really made the night special was the singer’s heartfelt and powerful speech.
Touching upon various moments in history and the events that have affected and continue to affect LGBTQ+ community, Sivan talked about various organizations that have worked for the betterment of the community. He also raised his concern over the recent incidents of hate killings. Sivan dedicated his award to activists including Bayard Rustin, Edie Winsor, and Marsha P. Johnson and to the people who lost their lives fighting for community’s justice and their fundamental rights.
He ended his speech on a powerful note. Optimism in his eyes for the future, he ended his speech with some encouraging words,
“don’t let anyone strip you of your truth and love because those are the foundations of who we are as a community.”
Check out Sivan’s full acceptance speech below:
What do you think about Troye’s speech? Tell us @CelebMix.