SINGAPORE – After years of commuting between Australia, where his family lives, and the United States, singer-actor Troye Sivan has finally found his place.

“I kind of figured out how I wanted to better divide my time between America and Australia. So I’m a lot less homesick, I don’t miss my family that much because I know I’m going to be going. see them again soon, “the 26-year-old said in a recent online press conference with Asian media outlets.

“I kind of built a better work-life balance. And that makes me really happy.”

The new single Angel Baby, the first song he released this year (2021), was written in both Australia and the United States. He is known for such hits as Youth (2015) and Dance To This (2018).

While a lot of his previous songs were based on real life experiences, Angel Baby’s story was “the ultimate fantasy of finding that person who just makes you want to live this moment forever and slow down time.”

“Unfortunately for me Angel Baby is like a complete fantasy, it’s not reality,” he says. “It was a time for me to fantasize and remember how much I love love and how beautiful it is.”

The tune is also a throwback to the 1980s pop songs that were still playing at home.

“I grew up with my dad buying concert DVDs and VHSs, these are some of my earliest memories of music, and it was a lot, like the big power bands of the 80s,” he says. , citing artists such as American group Toto and English singer Phil Collins.

Angel Baby arrives more than a year after his EP, In A Dream. This release featured the song Could Cry Just Thinkin About You, a deeply personal melody.

“I was having the worst day and I was crying in my kitchen, writing the song. And I felt like I felt so much better afterwards because I got that stuff off my chest,” he recalls. “You can communicate so much with words, but when you start adding sounds and chords, different sounds, you can communicate a real feeling rather than trying to explain to someone what you are feeling.”

Sivan first made a name for himself as a YouTuber and has appeared in theatrical productions as well as films such as the superhero film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and the biographical drama Boy Erased ( 2018).

There are a lot of similarities between theater and music, he says.

“I feel like they’re sort of working the same muscle, because as a songwriter your job is to bring up a real emotion that you might not necessarily be feeling right now.

“Most of the time it’s about recalling feelings and communicating them to tell a story, and that’s exactly what playing is also. Re playing.”

Sivan also opened up about his recent appearance at the Met Gala, where he turned heads by wearing a black dress.

He said, “It was one of those times that seems silly but it’s like clothes, really for me, aren’t gendered. I think it was one of those times when I realized how true it is because I felt really cool and I felt sexy and I felt so empowered and it was very comfortable. “

Angel Baby is available on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.