Blue Neighbourhood

Blue Neighbourhood
Studio album by Troye Sivan
Released 4 December 2015 (2015-12-04)
Recorded 2014–15
Genre
Length 36:49
Label
Producer
Troye Sivan chronology
Wild
(2015)		 Blue Neighbourhood
(2015)
Singles from Blue Neighbourhood
  1. "Wild"
    Released: 4 September 2015
  2. "Youth"
    Released: 13 November 2015
  3. "Talk Me Down[1]"
    Released: 6 April 2016

Blue Neighbourhood is the debut studio album by Australian singer and songwriter Troye Sivan. It was released internationally on 4 December 2015 via EMI Music Australia and Capitol Records America.[2] The album is preceded by Sivan's fourth extended play Wild, which served as a 6-song opening installment to Blue Neighbourhood.[3][4]

Upon its release, Blue Neighbourhood was acclaimed by music critics and was preceded by the promotional singles "Wild", "Fools" and "Talk Me Down".

Background

Troye Sivan Mellet, better known as Troye Sivan, is a South African-born Australian singer, songwriter, actor, and YouTuber. As an actor, he played young James Howlett in the X-Men film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and most recently has starred as the titular character in the Spud film trilogy. Despite his infrequent video uploads, as of 2 April 2016, Sivan has over 4 million subscribers and over 242 million total views.

On 15 August 2014, Sivan released his first major-label EP, entitled TRXYE, which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200. The lead single from the EP, "Happy Little Pill", reached number 10 on the Australian singles chart. On 4 September 2015, Sivan released his second major-label EP, Wild. His debut album, Blue Neighbourhood, was announced on 14 October and released 4 December.

Release and promotion

On 13 October 2015, Sivan revealed that Wild served as an opening introduction to the album.[5] The EP's title track serves as the album's lead single. Pre-orders for the album opened on 15 October 2015, with the album reaching No. 1 within hours on iTunes in ten countries, including the United States.[6] "Talk Me Down" was included as a promotional single to those who preorder the album and was the only previously unreleased song made available before release; it was later promoted as the second official single. Those who had already purchased Wild received a discount to purchase Blue Neighbourhood.[7][8] Sivan also launched merchandise bundles on his site, selling jumpers with the album logo, candles scented to match the mood of his songs, CDs, vinyl, posters, digital downloads, bags, and notebooks.[9] "Youth" was released as the third official single from the album. The song premiered exclusively on 12 November on Shazam Top 20 at 7PM AEST and was officially released worldwide after midnight in each country on 13 November.[10] In early 2016, it reached the top 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Sivan's most commercially successful single in North America.

Music videos

Prior to the album's announcement, the same day the Wild EP came out, a music video trilogy labelled under the umbrella term Blue Neighbourhood was confirmed. The trilogy follows the storyline of Sivan and his fictional childhood friend and love interest (played by Australian model Matthew Eriksson), and the struggles their same-sex relationship faces. The first two installments are for the songs "Wild" and "Fools" and both were released in September 2015. The last installment of the Blue Neighbourhood video trilogy is for "Talk Me Down" and was released on October 20, 2015. The video has an open ending, since it leaves us with a shot of Sivan's love interest at the edge of a cliff and then cuts to a view of the sea. After the release of this installment, Sivan provided suicide prevention hotlines (for countries where they are available).[11][12]

In December 2015, Troye shared some giveaways with its fans for a whole week until Christmas through a website called 8 Days of Givaways. On December 23, the giveaway was a few black and white pictures from behind the scenes for the "Youth" music video.[13] That music video was never released, and a new one was shot instead in early February 2016 and released on February 24.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Billboard[16]
The Diamondback[17]
The Guardian[18]
Herald Sun[19]
Islington Gazette[20]
The Observer[21]
Rolling Stone Australia[22]
South China Morning Post[23]
The Sydney Morning Herald[24]

Blue Neighbourhood received general acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 4 reviews.[14] Everett True from The Guardian gave the album five stars, commenting that "it is difficult to find fault with Blue Neighbourhood" and praising Sivan for "capturing the sound of now so well".[18] Neil Z. Yeung from AllMusic praised Sivan's "sultry and effortless, wounded and breathless" voice as well as noting the album's themes of "heartbreak and affirmation" that make it "a sparkling, triumphant experience".[15] Writing for Billboard, Kenneth Partridge commented that "in lieu of originality, Sivan sells vulnerability" as well as comparing the album's instrumentation to those of Lorde and Taylor Swift.[16] Bernard Zuel from The Sydney Morning Herald described Sivan as having a "coffee-and-cream voice [...] artfully caught between childhood and adulthood."[24] Writers for Herald Sun praised Sivan's voice, calling it "fearless and honest in a way most pop stars aren't" as well as noting the openness of the album's lyrical content that does "not [shy] away from pronouns like many before him."[19] Jules Lefevre from Rolling Stone Australia commenting that Sivan's vocals "[hover] amid electronic production that manages to be densely intricate and helium light" and that he "delivers these quiet gems of young wisdom with enough humility so as to be endearing rather than precocious."[22]

Accolades

Award Category Recipients and nominees Result
GLAAD Media Award[25] Outstanding Music Artist Troye Sivan Won

Commercial performance

Blue Neighbourhood debuted at number seven in the United States selling 65,000 units (55,000 total album sales), becoming his third album to debut inside the top ten.[26] As of April 2016, Blue Neighbourhood has sold 150,000 copies in the United States.[27]

Track listing

Standard edition[28]
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Wild"  
Hope 3:47
2. "Fools"  
  • Sivan
  • Hope
  • Pip Norman
  • SLUMS
  • Alex JL Hiew
  • Norman
 3:40
3. "Ease" (featuring Broods)
C. Nott 3:33
4. "Talk Me Down"  
  • Haynie
  • Inscore
 3:57
5. "Cool"  
  • Sivan
  • Hope
Hope 3:21
6. "Heaven" (featuring Betty Who)
Antonoff 4:21
7. "Youth"  
  • Sivan
  • Inscore
  • McLaughlin
  • Allie X
  • Hope
  • Inscore
  • SLUMS
  • Hiew
 3:05
8. "Lost Boy"  
  • Sivan
  • Inscore
  • McLaughlin
  • Allie X
Inscore 3:43
9. "For Him." (featuring Allday)
Inscore 3:29
10. "Suburbia"  
  • Sivan
  • Inscore
  • McLaughlin
  • Allie X
Inscore 3:53
Total length:
 36:49

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[31] 6
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[32] 49
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[33] 20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[34] 140
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[35] 11
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[36] 19
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[37] 25
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[38] 32
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[39] 73
Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)[40] 44
Irish Albums (IRMA)[41] 30
Italian Albums (FIMI)[42] 78
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[43] 9
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[44] 17
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[45] 49
Taiwanese Albums (Five Music)[46] 5
Scottish Albums (OCC)[47] 44
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[48] 10
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] 66
UK Albums (OCC)[50] 43
UK Digital Albums (OCC)[51] 9
US Billboard 200[52] 7

Year-end charts

Chart (2015) Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[53] 67

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[54] Gold 35,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ "EMI Music Australia's Twitter". EMI Music Australia. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  2. ↑ Sivan, Troye. "Troye Sivan tweet on 15 October 2015". Twitter. Troye Sivan. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Brandle, Lars. "Troye Sivan Announces Debut Album 'Blue Neighbourhood,' Adds Tour Dates". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "YouTube Star Troye Sivan Announces New Album 'Wild'". Billboard. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "Here’s Everything We Know about Troye Sivan’s ‘Blue Neighbourhood’ so Far". SuperFame.com. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Troye Sivan Announces First Feature-Length Album, Blue Neighbourhood". Out.com. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Troye Sivan Announces Debut Album 'Blue Neighbourhood,' Adds Tour Dates". Billboard. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Troye Sivan tweet on October 15". Twitter. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Troy Sivan". MusicToday.com. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  10. ↑ "Listen:Troye Sivan - Youth". Trendio.us. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  11. ↑ Peeples, Jase. "Troye Sivan Releases Heartbreaking Video 'Talk Me Down'". Advocate. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  12. ↑ Sivan, Troye. "Troye Sivan tweet on October 21". Twitter. Troye Sivan. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Troye Sivan News". Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Blue Neighbourhood Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  15. 1 2 Yeung, Neil Z. "Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  16. 1 2 Partridge, Kenneth (4 December 2015). "Troye Sivan Shows Growth and Growing Pains on Debut ‘Blue Neighbourhood’: Album Review". Billboard. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  17. ↑ Jackson, Miranda (6 December 2015). "REVIEW: Troye Sivan is mature, haunting on debut album 'Blue Neighbourhood'". The Diamondback. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  18. 1 2 "Troye Sivan: Blue Neighbourhood review – immaculate doses of three-minute emotion". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  19. 1 2 Adams, Cameron; Cahill, Mikey; Wehner (3 December 2015). "Latest Album Reviews: Troye Sivan, Coldplay, Molly OST, Palms & Ceelo Green". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 December 2015. |first3= missing |last3= in Authors list (help)
  20. ↑ Moore, Stephen (22 December 2015). "Album review: Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  21. ↑ Cragg, Michael (6 December 2015). "Troye Sivan: Blue Neighbourhood review – a precocious debut". The Observer. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  22. 1 2 Lefevre, Jules. "Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  23. ↑ Peters, Mark (19 December 2015). "Album reviews: Troye Sivan, Smoke Fairies, Enya, Hurricane #1". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  24. 1 2 Zuel, Bernard (19 November 2015). "Album reviews: Jamie Woon, Troye Sivan and CeeLo Green – after the zeitgeist". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  25. ↑ "GLAAD Media Awards Nominees #glaadawards". GLAAD. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  26. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (13 December 2015). "Adele's '25' Rules for Third Week at No. 1, Coldplay Debuts at No. 2 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  27. ↑ "Chart News on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  28. ↑ "iTunes (U.S.) - Music - Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood". iTunes (U.S.). 4 December 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  29. ↑ "iTunes (U.S.) - Music - Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood (Deluxe)". iTunes (U.S.). 4 December 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  30. ↑ "Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood Deluxe - Target Exclusive : Target". Target. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  31. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  32. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  33. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  34. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  35. ↑ "Troye Sivan – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Troye Sivan. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  36. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  37. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  38. ↑ "Troye Sivan: Blue Neighbourhood" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  39. ↑ https://www.offiziellecharts.de/album-details-290976
  40. ↑ "Top-75 Albums Sales Chart Week: 1/2016". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  41. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 50, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  42. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  43. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  44. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  45. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  46. ↑ "第4 週 統計時間：2016/1/29 - 2016/2/4" (in Chinese). Five Music. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  47. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  48. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  49. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  50. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  51. ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  52. ↑ "Troye Sivan – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Troye Sivan. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  53. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  54. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (30 April 2016). "ARIA Albums: Beyoncé Is No 1 But Prince Is Everywhere". Noise11. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
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