Pop star and actor Troye Sivan has revealed that the first person he almost came out to was acclaimed British acting royalty, Sir Ian McKellen, as he “wanted to talk to someone about it so badly.”

Troye first came out privately to his family and then publicly, as gay, on YouTube aged 18.

The video aptly captioned “Coming Out” saw Troye address the viewers by drawing their attention to the significance of the date – 7 August 2013. The date was significant “because on August 7 2010 I told my family that I am gay.”

To date, this video has received more than nine million views.

However, in a recent interview with GQ Germany ahead of the release of his third album Something To Give Each Other, he revealed that McKellen was the first person he wanted to share details of his sexuality with.

The queer pop icon was around 15 years old when he appeared on stage alongside McKellen, who was in his early seventies at the time. The pair performed in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.

In conversation with GQ, it is highlighted how Sivan “looks up to McKellen in a special way.”

Troye recalled how: “I hadn’t come out to my parents at the time, but then I thought about telling Ian McKellen. Somehow I had the feeling he noticed.

“I wanted to talk to someone about it so badly and he was so kind.”

It was just a short time after this that he came out to his parents.

Troye set pulses racing last July with the single ‘Rush’. The disco-infused dance floor banger was not only a summer bop but was accompanied by a sweaty, sexually-charged music video that celebrated queer love.

In a statement about the video, Troye said ‘Rush’ is “the feeling of kissing a sweaty stranger on a dancefloor, a two-hour date that turned into a weekend, a crush, a winter, a summer.

“All of my experiences from a chapter where I feel confident, free and liberated. Independent, yet somehow the most connected to the music and community around me.”

‘Rush’ is the lead single on new album Something To Give Each Other, which he has been tantalisingly teasing across social media.

In his latest post he tweeted “Album is out in 6 days [heart emoji] this is my favourite song]” alongside a short clip of him, sat topless, on a bed lip-syncing to his own lyrics.

The video opens up with the words “Shout out to the srt8-ish boys who this song is about (you know who you are).”

https://twitter.com/troyesivan/status/1710791380434661658

Something To Give Each Other marks his first full-length studio album since 2018’s Bloom, which received universal acclaim and featured singles such as ‘My! My! My!’, ‘The Good Side’, ‘Dance to This’ (with Ariana Grande), ‘Animal’ and the title track.

‘Rush (The Extended Version)’ will sit alongside eight new tracks and second single ‘Got Me Started’.

The follow-up to ‘Rush’ was another pulsating, club-ready anthem packed with the same synonymous choreo associated with Troye.

Keep scrolling for the full album list below:

  1. Rush (Extended)
  2. What’s The Time Where You Are?
  3. One Of Your Girls
  4. In My Room (ft. Guitarricadelafuente
  5. Still Got It
  6. Can’t Go Back Baby
  7. Got Me Started
  8. Silly
  9. Honey
  10. How To Stay With You

Something to Give Each Other is out on 13 October.