Troye Sivan just unveiled the video for his new single Heaven, which features dramatic imagery of the LGBTQ struggle through history, accompanied by powerful lyrics about Sivan’s acceptance of his own sexuality.
The video, which features fellow Aussie singer Betty Who, shows black and white footage of important moments in the equal rights movement. The clips include protests for same-sex marriage, different Pride marches and clips of gay rights icon Harvey Milk. The scenes are intermixed with clips of Sivan embracing a faceless man while singing gut-wrenching lyrics like,“Without losing a piece of me / How do I get to heaven? / Without changing a part of me / How do I get to heaven?”
Previously, Sivan had referred to Heaven as “the most important song I’ve made,” and had spoke about how writing it was a therapeutic experience for him, as it forced him to confront how he felt about his religion and sexuality. He said, “It was me thinking about how hard I try to be a good person and then feeling like, before I even opened my eyes as a little baby—because I think I was born gay—I was a sinner. All of those are very standard, but very confusing and hurtful conversations that you have to have with yourself as an LGBTQ person.”
Shout out to @alexhopemusic, @jackantonoff, @Grimezsz, and @BettyWho for helping me make the most important song I’ve made
— troye sivan (@troyesivan) January 19, 2017
Troye Sivan tweeted that he purposely decided to release the video to coincide with the U.S. presidential inauguration on January 20. As Donald Trump and his VP Mike Pence have had a poor record in supporting the LGTBQ+ community, Sivan’s video seems extremely timely and important.
Sivan kept busy in 2016, and it doesn’t look like he has any plans to slow down this year. After releasing his debut LP Blue Neighbourhood in 2015, Sivan spent the last year touring the world, appearing on talk shows and recording an updated version of his smash hit, “Wild,” with our Canadian gal Alessia Cara.
You can check out our interview with the rising star on below.
