Refusing to disappoint, Troye Sivan is hitting every single mark and we’re not just talking about his epic dance choreography; “Got Me Started” is everything we’ve wanted from him and more. His new single and music video is full of self-positivity, self-confidence, self-empowerment, and self-sexiness which is exactly what we need in the world. Lifting the LGBTQ+ community up and showcasing to the world that we’re just people too, Troye Sivan really is in his best era yet!
Acting as the follow-up to “Rush”, this is his official second single from his forthcoming album “Something To Give Each Other”, which is set to be released on October 13, 2023. The single release technically follows the remix version of “Rush” which featured PinkPantheress and Hyunjin of Stray Kids – we can’t help but hope that “Got Me Started” also gets a collaborative remix. It’s undeniable the empowering effect he’s having on the queer community and we’re loving seeing him be so open, so free, so full of confidence.
This new track goes on to sample “Shooting Stars” by Bag Raiders, which is mostly known for a viral meme of people falling that led to it going on to become a sleeper hit since it was released in 2009 but charted worldwide in the late ’10s (and even got certified silver in the UK without charting at all). The addicting loop of the song is one that will certainly get stuck in one’s head, and Troye Sivan uses that to his advantage, creating a crazily addicting dance-pop song that we could happily listen to on repeat.
Stream “Got Me Started” by Troye Sivan on Spotify here:
Due to the sample, the writer credits of “Got Me Started” are listed as Chris Stracey, Ian Kirkpatrick, Jack Glass, Kaelyn Behr, Leland, Tayla Parx, and Troye Sivan Mellet, whilst it has been produced by Ian Kirkpatrick. There’s no denying that the hook is catchy, especially as it opens the track prior to Sivan’s dreamy vocals which are full of passion and heightened emotion about a guy he wants to go home with.
Lyrically a masterpiece, Troye Sivan once again shows off his incredible innate ability to warp lyrics around a slow addicting beat during the verses, showcasing his faultless, effortless, and artistic talent – this is not something any artist could pull off quite so easily. While the verses bring sensuality to the table, the pre-chorus, the post-chorus, the bridge, and the chorus take us to the down-and-dirty – and we’re right there with you Troye!
The song also features the album title within the lyrics, building up more anticipation for his forthcoming third studio album; and while the song is certainly sexual in nature with themes of flirting and not wanting to go home alone, it also could be interpreted as calling out queerphobia due to Troye Sivan living freely with his LGBTQ+ anthems becoming mainstream – he’s not going to dim his light for anyone, and nor should we. A powerful track with an addicting beat, this is set to become his next big hit!
Watch the official music video to the newly-released song here:
This is only displayed more so in his incredible music video for the track, which has been directed by Gordon von Steiner with Stuart Winecoff acting as director of photography. We watch Troye Sivan go all out on the streets of Bangkok, from glitzy fashion statements to full-on professional dance choreography.
The visual also includes a variety of cameos including Thai actor, model, and singer, PP Krit, as well as Drag Race Thailand queens including royalty, herself, Angele Anang, who won the second season, as well as first season runner-up Année Maywong and season two disqualified contestant Miss Gimhuay. Internationally known drag queens Gigi Ferocious and Gawdland also make cameos.
There’s a slight narrative to the music video, as we first watch Troye Sivan in a hotel room, possibly thinking about the night before, which then leads into a bathhouse scene – where a nude shot is taken on the poolside. He soon hits the shower rooms, which is intercut with various scenes of him walking somewhere and a full-on dance break scene possibly in the hotel lobby or another room in the hotel.
It all builds into Sivan heading somewhere, and as the final few scenes come together he runs full out, freely, and he soon ends up on the roof of a building in Bangkok where this singer-songwriter, actor, and now dancer, knocks out group choreography with a dance troupe in an epic finale rooftop scene.
Throughout, the choreography is complete perfection. Choreographed by Sergio Reis and Mauro van de Kerkhof, fluidity and rhythm movement is everything! Styling in modernity and mainstream with TikTok-like movements through huge ’00s nostalgia concepts that are giving us Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson, and Jennifer Lopez vibes, on top of the extremely current Asian-pop dance routines coming out from the likes of South Korea, such as BTS and SuperM.
Troye Sivan and the collective of dancers hit every step faultlessly. Sexy, fun, sassy, and on-point, this is an iconic dance choreography sequence, that is truly unforgettable, and one we hope we get to see Troye Sivan perform live on stage with a group of dancers.
We can’t talk about this music video without mentioning the stunning fashion outfits, We adore the gorgeous Swarovski crystal top he wears as he walks along the streets of Bangkok, which he has paired with eyelet black leather pants. Then there’s the absolutely resplendent silver number from the Gucci SS24 series which incorporates tiny mirrored squares to create an iridescent mirror-ball outfit from head-to-toe, fully embracing the metallic look.
We also can’t forget about the cute Vinn Patararin white cut-out tank top that he wears in the hotel room. Not to mention the yellow construction vest paired with the sea-green cargo pants, the blue loose pants, the sneak-peak of the red underwear, the white outfit he wears in the backstage drag queen scene, and the smart outfit he wears at the restaurant, where he’s in a crisp white shirt, black shorts, and matching black skinny tie.
On top of all that, there are also some scenes intercut throughout showing LGBTQ+ couples kissing including a gay and lesbian couple, as well as couples spending time together and there are also scenes showcasing body diversity including a plus-sized woman in a sports bra – possibly a nod that the team took in the criticism of the lack of diversity in the previous music video, “Rush”. We also have to give a quick mention to Troye Sivan’s building ascension which looked like so much fun and such a rush (pun intended).
This is another iconic music video by Troye Sivan and his team. They really did all come together to create this masterpiece that we’ve probably watched 100 times already. On point and flawless, this is another one for the history books following right after “Rush”. If anything, this just proves that Troye Sivan deserves all the awards for this era.
“When we were writing this song, I was emphatic about using ‘Shooting Stars’ — I just kept humming it in the studio,” Sivan said in a press statement. “It’s a huge sample and was a big ask; and I knew that they had never approved it in the past. So I’m over the moon about the opportunity to sample that track because this song is iconic to me. And then we have Ian Kirkpatrick on production, who is a genius. I love his work – he had this plan to record the vocal at a slower speed and then speed it up, and ultimately that’s what you hear in the chorus. I instantly loved the way it sounded.”
He also spoke to Zane Lowe in an interview on Apple Music 1, where he shared, “It was one of the first songs that we wrote for the album and it just stuck around. They [Bag Raiders] were like, ‘By the way, we’ve had hundreds of requests and we’ve never said, “Yeah,” so don’t f*** this up.’ And I was like, ‘I promise you, I’m going to make a video. It’s going to be sick.’ Like, I really believe in this.”
“And I also, I think it’s tacky when people sample something like out of term, you know what I mean? And I really, really, really didn’t want to do that. And I wouldn’t be doing this if I felt like that’s what I was doing. You know, it was something that came in the studio naturally. I started seeing the sample laughing because I was like, there’s no way that they’re ever going to let me do this,” he continued.
“So while we were in the studio, I texted my A&R from Australia. And obviously, because we’re all Australians, it was like within 20 minutes he had reached them and I get this text with the stem in my phone. I’ll never forget the moment I like play and it just came out so clean completely like solo. And I was like, oh my God. And we put it in and it worked.”
“Got Me Started”, by Troye Sivan, is available to download and stream, right now, across all platforms. It is An EMI Recorded Music Australia Production and has been distributed by Universal Music Australia.
