Something to Give Each Other

Something to Give Each Other
Sivan, shirtless and smiling with his eyes closed, with his head between a naked man's thighs
Studio album by
Troye Sivan
Released13 October 2023
Recorded
  • House Mouse Studios (Stockholm)
  • MXM Studios (Los Angeles)
  • The Pool Recording Studio (London)
Genre
Length33:40
Label
Producer
Troye Sivan chronology
In a Dream
(2020) 		Something to Give Each Other
(2023)
Singles from Something to Give Each Other
  1. "Rush"
    Released: 13 July 2023
  2. "Got Me Started"
    Released: 20 September 2023
  3. "One of Your Girls"
    Released: 13 October 2023
  4. "Honey"
    Released: 17 May 2024

Something to Give Each Other is the third studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Troye Sivan. It was released by EMI Music Australia and Capitol Records on 13 October 2023. It is Sivan's first album release in five years, following Bloom (2018). It features a collaboration with Spanish singer and guitarist Guitarricadelafuente.

The album received critical acclaim. It was preceded by the lead single "Rush" which entered the top ten in Ireland, Croatia, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia. The second single "Got Me Started", entered the charts in nine regions including Australia and the UK. A third single, "One of Your Girls", was released concurrently with the album. It became Sivan's first album and second project to top the ARIA chart in his native Australia, and reached the top ten in Belgium, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and the UK. It also reached number one on the US Dance/Electronic Albums chart. The album's fourth single, "Honey" was released on 17 May 2024 with remixes by Mura Masa.

At the 2023 J Awards, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year,[1] while "Rush" was nominated for Best Dance Pop Recording and Best Music Video at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards Sivan's first nominations. "Got Me Started" was subsequently nominated for Best Dance Pop Recording at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. The album was nominated for the 2023 Australian Music Prize.[2] The album was nominated for Best Record at the Rolling Stone Australia Awards.[3] At the 2024 ARIA Music Awards, the album won Album of the Year, Best Pop Release and for Sivan, Best Solo Artist.[4] The album was supported by the Something to Give Each Other Tour, which commenced in May 2024.

Background

[edit]

Sivan teased the release of the album on 9 June 2023 on Instagram alongside a clip showcasing him throughout different years on a television starting from his first ever upload to YouTube and ending with a teaser for the music video of the album's then upcoming lead single "Rush". Sivan stated in the post caption that he had been making the album for over five years in between various commitments, such as his Bloom tour and the television series The Idol, in which he had a starring role.[5]

Sivan announced the album name and release date and unveiled the cover art on 13 July 2023 on social media.[6]

This album is my something to give you - a kiss on a dancefloor, a date turned into a weekend, a crush, a winter, a summer. Party after party, after party after after party. Heartbreak, freedom. Community, sisterhood, friendship. All that.

— Sivan describing the album[6]

Music

[edit]

Something to Give Each Other is primarily a pop album.[7][8] It consists of both up and down-tempo songs, with the album's overall tempo notably slowing down after its opening track, "Rush".[8][9] Nick Levine of NME observed that, after "Rush", "the album is mostly midtempo, though with a slightly warmer, gauzier sonic palette than Sivan’s previous albums".[7] In his review of the album, Rolling Stone's Tim Chan described Something to Give Each Other as a pop record on which the singer draws from synth-pop, house, and "Nineties-esque club cuts",[10] while Lauren Dehollogne of Clash described it as electropop.[11] According to Megan McEnery of Her Campus, the album has more prominent influences of house and R&B than Sivan's prior work.[12] Lyrically, the album explores themes such as sensuality, love, and loss.[11] Thematically, Sivan said Something to Give Each Other is about "pop music being able to bring people together", with its title referring to "community built off a common experience of dance music, partying, fashion, humor, and all of these things that I love so much about my life and about my friends".[13]

Sivan has promoted the album as "a celebration of sex, dance, sweat, community, queerness, love and friendship".[14] Variety's Steven J. Horowitz said the album is "equally about grief and being unable to let go of the pain of a relationship’s end" as it is about "sex, relationships and community", identifying "human connection" as its central theme.[9] The singer identified pop divas such as Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, and Britney Spears as primary sources of inspiration for the album.[13]

Artwork

[edit]

The album cover features Sivan smiling with his head between a friend's legs. Sivan stated that he wanted to smile for the album cover but did not smile throughout the day of the photoshoot because he felt awkward smiling and did not want his smile to look fake. The shot for the album cover captured when Sivan's friend kneeled down and tickled Sivan's ribs, which provoked a genuine smile.[15]

Due to the cover's suggestive nature, countries such as Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, as well as countries in Eastern Europe, replaced it with the single artwork for "Rush" instead, which features a close-up of Sivan.[16][better source needed]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[17]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[18]
Clash9/10[19]
The Guardian[20]
NME[21]
Pitchfork8.0/10[22]
Rolling Stone[23]
Slant Magazine[24]

Something to Give Each Other received widespread acclaim from music critics,[25][26] who praised its "unapologetic queer" lyricism, production, and vocals.[27] Metacritic, a review aggregation website that assigns a normalised rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream publications, assigned the album a score of 84 out of 100 based on 13 critics' reviews.[17]

Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian called it "one of the year's most distinctive pop albums" and stated that while "there are more high tempos, but where 'Rush' was claustrophobic and orgiastic, other tracks give Sivan more space to move".[8] Writing for Variety, Stephen J. Horowitz opined that the album represents Sivan at his "most realized and forthcoming" and praised the confessional nature of the songwriting.[28]

Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote that the album "finds Sivan older, bolder, and, for a large part of its running time, unrepentantly horny" and what it "lacks in poignancy, though, is made up for by the joy with which it embraces queer pleasure".[24] For Rolling Stone, Tim Chan called the album "an ode to queerness and reinvention" as well as "a pristine slice of pop heaven".[10]

Reviewing the album for Clash, Lauren Dehollogne felt that "a wave of bubbling emotion and challenging energy is palpable throughout Something to Give Each Other, but somehow each transition goes over smoothly and not a single track feels out of place" and "each track [...] can evoke a chuckle, a smile, a tear, or a gasp".[11] Nick Levine of NME opined that aside from "Rush", "the album is mostly mid-tempo, though with a slightly warmer, gauzier sonic palette than Sivan's previous albums". He concluded that it is "a strikingly vital pop album charged with love, lust, sweat and regret".[21] Harry Tafoya of Pitchfork found the album to be "a showcase for some dazzling eclecticism" as "ideas that couldn't possibly work on paper are executed skillfully and to often gorgeous effect", commenting that it "scans as less of a reinvention than a gradual honing of Sivan's craft".[22]

Year-end lists

[edit]
Select year-end rankings of Something to Give Each Other
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Billboard The 50 Best Albums of 2023: Staff List 3
[29]
The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 2023 13
[30]
The Evening Standard The Albums of the Year 2023 3
[31]
NME The Best Albums of 2023 4
[32]
PopMatters The 20 Best Pop Albums of 2023 11
[33]
The Hollywood Reporter The 10 Best Albums of 2023 7
[34]
Nylon Nylon's Top Albums of 2023 4
[35]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Something to Give Each Other debuted at number one in Australia, making it Sivan's highest-charting studio album in his home country.[36] It opened at number 20 on the US Billboard 200 with 31,000 album-equivalent units, including 16,000 pure album sales.[37] In addition to the album's singles charting internationally, three album tracks ("What's the Time Where You Are?", "In My Room", and "Still Got It") all charted on the Official New Zealand Music Chart, and additional songs ("Silly", and "Honey"), alongside "What's the Time Where You Are?" placed on the US Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[38]

Track listing

[edit]
Something to Give Each Other track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Rush"
2:36
2."What's the Time Where You Are?"
Görres3:23
3."One of Your Girls"
  • Mellet
  • McLaughlin
  • Görres
Görres3:01
4."In My Room" (featuring Guitarricadelafuente)
Görres3:13
5."Still Got It"
  • Mellet
  • Görres
Görres3:28
6."Can't Go Back, Baby"
Görres3:21
7."Got Me Started"
  • Kirkpatrick
  • Fuego[v]
3:18
8."Silly"
  • Mellet
  • McLaughlin
  • Kirkpatrick
  • Kirkpatrick
  • Fuego[v]
3:38
9."Honey"
  • Mellet
  • McLaughlin
  • Görres
  • Behr
  • Görres
  • Fuego
3:26
10."How to Stay with You"
3:16
Total length:32:40

Notes

Personnel

[edit]

Musicians

  • Troye Sivan – vocals (all tracks), background vocals (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10), vibraphone (6)
  • Zhone – vocals, background vocals (1, 9)
  • Adam Novodor – background vocals (1, 9)
  • Alex Chapman – background vocals (1, 9)
  • Oscar Görres – bass, drums, percussion, programming (2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10); guitar (2, 3, 5, 6, 9), keyboards (2, 3, 6, 9, 10), background vocals (2, 3, 6), timpani (3), string arrangement (4); organ, piano (5)
  • Jason Minnaar – spoken word (2)
  • Santa Ouhamou Portillo – spoken word (2)
  • Sofia Gallini – spoken word (2)
  • David Bukovinszky – cello (4)
  • Mattias Bylund – string arrangement, synthesiser (4)
  • Karl Guner – synthesiser (4)
  • Hanna Helgegren – violin (4)
  • Mattias Johansson – violin (4)
  • Guitarricadelafuente – vocals (4)
  • Styalz Fuego – keyboards, programming (9)
  • A. G. Cook – keyboards (10)
  • Henki Skidu – saxophone (10)

Technical

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for Something to Give Each Other
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[69] Gold 20,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[70] Gold 7,500‡
Poland (ZPAV)[71] Gold 10,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Check out all the nominees for the 2023 J Awards". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  2. ^ Brandle, Lars (28 November 2023). "Troye Sivan Shortlisted for 2023 Australian Music Prize". Billboard. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Troye Sivan, Kylie Minogue & Dom Dolla Among 2024 Shure Rolling Stone Australia Awards Nominees". Rolling Stone Australia. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  4. ^ "ARIA Awards 2024 nominations — everything you need to know". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 September 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  5. ^ Mier, Tomás (10 June 2023). "'Enough Excuses': Troye Sivan Teases First Album in 5 Years With Single Announcement". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  6. ^ a b Paul, Larisha (13 July 2023). "Troye Sivan's New Album Is on the Way and He's Already Feeling the 'Rush'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b Levine, Nick (13 October 2023). "Troye Sivan – 'Something To Give Each Other' review: a rush of pop perfection". NME. Retrieved 16 August 2024. it's a strikingly vital pop album
  8. ^ a b c Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (12 October 2023). "Troye Sivan: Something to Give Each Other review – one of the year's most distinctive pop albums". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  9. ^ a b Horowitz, Steven J. (13 October 2023). "Troye Sivan Grapples With Agony and Ecstasy on 'Something to Give Each Other': Album Review". Variety. Retrieved 16 August 2024. Few other songs on the album ... pulsate with the same club-rearing vitality as "Rush" and "Got Me Started."
  10. ^ a b Chan, Tim (16 October 2023). "A 'Rush' of Blood to the Heart: Troye Sivan's New Album Is a Poignant Ode to Love (and Lust) Lost". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  11. ^ a b c Dehollogne, Lauren (12 October 2023). "Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other". Clash. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  12. ^ McEnery, Megan (24 October 2023). "My Track-by-Track Review of Troye Sivan's New Album, 'Something To Give Each Other'". Her Campus. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  13. ^ a b Criales-Unzueta, José (13 July 2023). ""Rush" Is Troye Sivan at His Gayest, Sweatiest, and Most Intimate. He Tells Vogue All About His New Single and Upcoming Album". Vogue. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Troye Sivan's New Album, Something to Give Each Other, Is Out Now". UMUSIC Shop Canada - UMUSIC. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Troye Sivan Reveals The Secret Behind His New Album Cover" (video). 10Play. The Project. 30 August 2023.
  16. ^ Something To Give Each Other oleh Troye Sivan (in Indonesian), 13 October 2023, retrieved 13 October 2023
  17. ^ a b "Something to GIve Each Other by Troye Sivan Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  18. ^ Yeung, Neil Z. (13 October 2023). "Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  19. ^ Dehollogne, Lauren (12 October 2023). "Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other". Clash. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  20. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (12 October 2023). "Troye Sivan: Something to Give Each Other review – one of the year's most distinctive pop albums". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  21. ^ a b Levine, Nick (13 October 2023). "Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other review: a rush of pop perfection". NME. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  22. ^ a b Tafoya, Harry (16 October 2023). "Troye Sivan: Something to Give Each Other Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  23. ^ Chan, Tim (16 October 2023). "A 'Rush' of Blood to the Heart: Troye Sivan's New Album Is a Poignant Ode to Love (and Lust) Lost". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  24. ^ a b Cinquemani, Sal (12 October 2023). "Troye Sivan Something to Give Each Other Review: Permission to Pursue Pleasure". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  25. ^ Millar, Jake (8 December 2023). "Step inside Troye Sivan's creative universe". GQ Australia. Retrieved 14 June 2024. In addition to its widespread critical acclaim
  26. ^ Smith, Serena (14 December 2023). "The 20 best albums of 2023". Dazed. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024. Something to Give Each Other is arguably the Australian artist's best work to date, earning universal acclaim from critics.
  27. ^ "Troye Sivan says he's "more in touch" with his femininity after winning Man of the Year". GAY TIMES. 9 December 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  28. ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (13 October 2023). "Troye Sivan Grapples With Agony and Ecstasy on 'Something to Give Each Other': Album Review". Variety. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  29. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2023: Staff List". Billboard. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  30. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2023". The Guardian. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  31. ^ "The Albums of the Year 2023". The Evening Standard. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  32. ^ "The Best Albums of 2023". NME. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  33. ^ "The 20 Best Pop Albums of 2023". PopMatters. 29 November 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  34. ^ "The 10 Best Albums of 2023". The Hollywood Reporter. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  35. ^ "Nylon's Top Albums of 2023". Nylon. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  36. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  37. ^ Frankenberg, Eric (24 October 2023). "Troye Sivan's 'Something To Give Each Other' Debuts at No. 1 on Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  38. ^ "Troye Sivan | Biography, Music & News". Billboard.
  39. ^ "Troye Sivan Shares New Single "Got Me Started": Listen". Stereogum. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
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  41. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  42. ^ "Ultratop.be – Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  43. ^ "Ultratop.be – Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  44. ^ "Troye Sivan Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  45. ^ "Lista prodaje 43. tjedan 2023" (in Croatian). Top of the Shops. 16 October 2023. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
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  47. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  48. ^ "Troye Sivan: Something to Give Each Other" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  49. ^ "Top Albums (Week 42, 2023)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  50. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  51. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 2/2024)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  52. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2023. 42. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  53. ^ "Tónlistinn – Plötur – Vika 43 – 2023" [The Music – Albums – Week 43 – 2023] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  54. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  55. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 42 (dal 13.10.2023 al 19.10.2023)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  56. ^ "2023 43-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
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  58. ^ "Album 2023 uke 42". VG-lista. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  59. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Note: Change the date to 13.10.2023–19.10.2023 under "zmień zakres od–do:". Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  60. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  61. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  62. ^ "Top 100 Albums Weekly". PROMUSICAE. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  63. ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 42". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  64. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  65. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  66. ^ "Troye Sivan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  67. ^ "Troye Sivan Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  68. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Australian Artist Album Chart for 2023". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  69. ^ "Brazilian album certifications – Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  70. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other". Radioscope. Retrieved 17 December 2024. Type Something to Give Each Other in the "Search:" field.
  71. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 8 May 2024. Click "TYTUŁ" and enter Something to Give Each Other in the search box.
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