“Rush” Is Troye Sivan at His Gayest, Sweatiest, and Most Intimate. He Tells Vogue All About His New Single and Upcoming Album

I also have to ask you about the timing, because there’s been some chatter online about the song not coming out in June during Pride, although you’ve been teasing it since before that.

The complete, honest truth is that I have been ready to release this song for a long time, and it was really a conversation of me surrendering to the powers that be, and being like, Okay, I trust you guys know what you’re doing. It’s been so long since I released an album, and I’m really proud of the music, so I just wanted to give it the best runway that I could. To me, Pride is a year-round thing, and it’s scorching hot right now in LA, so it definitely still feels apt. It’s also not a Pride song or anything like that. Sure, I’m gay and I’m singing about sex, but it’s not like I’m trying to make a Pride anthem. I’m singing about my life.

When I told the friends I was with this weekend that I was going to talk to you about this, we were all in agreement that it felt right for it to come out in July. We can be gay after the month of June.

I was in London on July 1st, and I have this photo in my phone of a Pride flag hanging out of a trash can. I was like, This is exactly what I’m talking about. This should be a year-long celebration, it’s not just the month.

The video encapsulates the energy of a sweaty, sexy, endless summer party. How did you envision it?

I just wanted it to feel real. We had conversations where someone would be like, “Is this too much?” And I’d just be like, “God, no.” We go to parties with dark rooms every weekend, this is real life and it’s what it feels like. I spent so much time in Australia in the summer, too, and it’s exactly what I want to capture. Everyone is hot, everyone is sweaty, everyone has sunblock on and their skin is shiny, and it can be anything from what we call “bush doofs” in Australia [an outdoor party] to a nightclub or a bar or staying home with your friends. Whatever it looks like, it’s the feeling of endlessly being addicted to your friends and wanting to just have a really good time. I also spent a lot of time in Europe, and I’m super inspired by European party culture.