Troye Sivan's "The Good Side" Is an Unconventional Love Song
In pop music, lyrics about love typically consist of either falling into it or heartbreak. Take for instance Troye Sivan’s new lead single, “MY MY MY!,” which is all about the euphoria of finding a new lover. For queer artists, like Sivan, these anthems can provide a feeling of sexual liberation to LGBT fans and their allies. They’re rare and important.
And with his second offering from the album, Sivan offers yet another side of love: “The Good Side.” The pop track, which debuted today, strays from convetiontional narratives of mainstream music and also offers a nuance of gay love seldom expressed. That Sivan will perform the song live on Saturday Night Live (Jan 20) only makes the track more impactful.
In an interview with Zane Lowe, Sivan explains how his latest release is more of a letter acknowledging an ex, and apologizing for how their breakup played out — a situation that saw him end up in a better position.
“In a breakup, the sheer nature of it is that someone is going to get it rougher. I happened to be on the good side of things. I got to go on tour. I got to go and see the world. I had this very therapeutic experience of singing songs about that breakup and have people sing them back to me. I met someone new fairly soon after. It was just the way that things ended up working out.
In all honesty, it’s sort of a letter to that person to express apologies and sympathy. If I could change this I would’ve. This isn’t the way I wanted things to go. I’m hoping that this song, a couple of years down the line, will serve as a cathartic experience for the both of us.”
Miley Cyrus wrote a similar song, “She’s Not Him,” to a female ex. Though she never quite apologized in the lyrics, she did offer a reason for why their love couldn’t last. Here’s hoping songs like this continue to expand the way we talk about LGBT love.
