Unlike most YouTube stars, Troye Sivan wasn’t living a normal teenage life before he became famous via the video sharing site. He was a child star in Australia, singing on TV shows including Star Search and Telethon, and acting in X-Men Origins: Wolverine as a mini Hugh Jackman. At that time he was posting singing videos on YouTube, but it was his vlogs, and membership of the vloggers inner circle (he’s made videos with Zoella, Tyler Oakley etc.), that earned him a huge online following. There’s no doubt that his vlogs are the reason he has a deal with Universal and a shot at becoming a major pop star, but the fact that he had a history with music and treats his singing career as a priority gives him more credibility.
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Troye also stands out from other YouTube singers because his music is current and relevant, and he is a viable pop star. It’s believable that Universal would have signed him if he hadn’t had millions of subscribers, which is not something you can say about many of the social media stars who got record deals a few years ago, when the labels first became stats-obsessed. His cute geeky hipster vibe is similar to Olly from Years and Years, while musically he’s pitched as a male Lorde. Unfortunately, he doesn’t yet have his own Royals, either in quality or success. Troye’s album, Blue Neighbourhood, was released this month and reviews have been surprisingly gushing. I attended his London gig a few weeks ago to give him a fair chance, and although I was impressed by his fanbase, who were singing along enthusiastically to every word, I’m still not quite on board with Troye as a pop entity. But I’m open to being convinced, and I think the music world is open to it too, so that’s a pretty good start.
Click here to find out more about This Must Be Pop’s Stars of 2016 and come back on 18th December to vote for the artists you think, and hope, will be the biggest stars of 2016. The results will be announced in the Future Pop mailer on 4th January.