Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

Bloom

Credits

Release Date

Record Label

Performance

Reviewer

Kristin Smith

Album Review

Actor and YouTube phenom Troye Sivan has made quite a name for himself in the world of music. As a young boy, the Aussie was looked at as the next Justin Bieber, what with his wide ranging vocals, boyish good looks and pop-synth sounds.

But Sivan is far from being a Bieber clone. As his career has progressed, Sivan has showcased a dance-pop style that increasingly distances him from the star he was once compared to.

His sophmore effort, Bloom, features collaborations with Ariana Grande and Gordi that delve into the messiness of love, sex, and the ups and downs of romance from his openly gay point of view.

Pro-Social Content

In “The Good Side,” “Plum” and “Postcard,” Troye Sivan looks back on failed relationships and sifts them for lessons he’s learned. He apologizes to someone he’s hurt and asks another person not to simply cast him aside as an afterthought.

On “Seventeen,” Sivan sings about being preyed upon by a manipulative older man: “And he said age is just a number, just like any other/We can do whatever, do whatever you want/Boy becomes a man now.” Obviously, the predatory encounter here itself is anything but positive. But Sivan rightly suggests that the age difference made this sexual encounter an abusive one, and that it was therefore wrong.

Objectionable Content

That said, those isolated positive moments are still couched almost entirely in the context of Sivan’s same-sex experiences. And we hear a lot about those.

Sivan focuses on his male lovers (and seemingly one in particular) on songs such as “Animal,” “Lucky Strike,” “Dance to This,” “Bloom,” “My My My!,” “What a Heavenly Way to Die,” “Plum” and “The Good Side.” The first of those songs is especially problematic, as Sivan says that not even “angels could beckon me back” from a lustful encounter with another man: “An ode to the boy I love/… I am an animal with you.” He also adds, “And it’s hotter than h— where I’m at,” and says that their future is “all laid out like a tarot” card.

On “Lucky Strike,” we hear, “And my boy is a queen/Unlike one you’ve ever seen/He knows how to love me better/A hit of dopamine, higher than I’ve ever seen.” The explicit allusions in “Bloom,” meanwhile, seem to reference the male anatomy. And lyrics on “My My My!” graphically detail yet another sexual encounter.

Troy Sivan and Ariana Grande pair up on “Dance to This,” where they describe steamy nights shared by two people: “And I wanna end up on you/ … Don’t take much to start me/ … Push up on my body, yeah.” They also say that they’re going to “do that thing we never do sober.”

“Postcard” uses the f-word several times.

Summary Advisory

Troye Sivan has never shied away from his own personal proclivities. On his last album, 2015’s Blue Neighborhood, Sivan opened up about past romantic relationships with men.

In contrast, Bloom, only occasionally touches on past relationships. Most of the time, Sivan simply sings about embracing his sexual impulses (which are sometimes equated to feeling like drug-induced euphoria) and giving in to his spontaneous desires. Most of the tracks here blur the boundaries between the ideas of love and sex, often singing as if those two things are one in the same.

In a YouTube interview with Andrew Denton, Sivan said that he wants to be “unapologetically and unashamedly” himself. And that, among other things, includes embracing his same-sex attraction and experiences in these sensual, suggestive songs and in their accompanying videos.

The Plugged In Show logo
Elevate family time with our parent-friendly entertainment reviews! The Plugged In Podcast has in-depth conversations on the latest movies, video games, social media and more.
kristin-smith
Kristin Smith

Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).