Jewish Artist Troye Sivan Pens Chart-Topping Gay Sex Anthem

Troy Sivan (r) with his boyfriend, Jacob Bixenman Image by Getty Images

By Jenny Singer May 7, 2018

You can bet your bottom dollar that gay sex will not remain a taboo topic in mainstream culture much longer. For this we can thank Jewish and Australian singing sensation Troye Sivan, whose new hit song “Bloom” seems to be an anthem to homosexual discovery.

Sivan, 22, who rose to prominence on YouTube and Star Search Australia, told Dazed that his song is “100 percent about flowers!” He said this, however, while winking. “I’ve been saving this for you, baby,” Sivan croons, before issuing a few requests that sound more sexual than botanical.

Oh, dearest Forward reader! Let this be a rosy reminder to all of us that gay sex is not a more obscene topic than any other kind of sexual references that appear regularly here in The Schmooze. Sivan’s subversive “Bloom” has an addictive rhythm and a painful vulnerability — the song, now in the top 30 on iTunes, reminds us that first times are to be celebrated. Sivan says he hopes it will be played “at every Pride” and gay pop icon Adam Lambert applauded Sivan for his “bravery,” calling the song “cheeky.” Shehechianu, Troye! Thanks for helping us get to reach this day.

Enjoy the music video for “Bloom” below:

Genius provides helpful annotations here.

Jenny Singer is a writer for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO