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May 1, 2019 – Smack right in the middle of the scorching Manila summer, Troye Sivan’s “Bloom” Concert Tour at the MOA Arena intensified the heat, making it more vibrant and all the more enticing. Thousands of fans, composed mostly of the younger generation – teenagers to people in their early 20s, were amongst the eager spectators of the evening.

The 23-year old Australian singer and songwriter is one of the most alluring pop music sensations at present. Troye Sivan’s music is a curious blend of electro-pop and EDM driven by his deeply affective baritone vocals. Freedom, romance, desire and heartbreak are some of the themes of his songs, and curiously enough, he’s able to turn these into stadium-ready anthems. Think “YOUTH”, “FOOLS” and “My! My! My!”.

Having come out to the public as gay on 2013, Troye Sivan has steadily but surely grown more comfortable in his sexuality. Currently, he’s one of the most famous LGBTQ icons in pop culture. He’s unapologetically queer and flamboyant, and it is made clear in his songs, music videos and interviews. He’s exactly what he claims to be, an endearing personality through and through. It was no wonder how he was able to captivate the Filipino crowd completely.

Troye Sivan was packed with surprises from the beginning. When the lights went down, everyone’s eyes were glued to the stage. To everyone’s surprise, he made his entrance at the back part of the crowd, near the tech booth. He performed the controversial “Seventeen” and made his way to the main stage right after.

“The only thing that’s running through my head right now is why did it take me so f—-ing long to be here?”

Those were some of the first words Troye said to the crowd after hearing their over-the-top screaming and the unabashed karaoke-like singing after he performed “Plum”, the third song in the set. He had gone to Manila on 2017 for a short visit. “It was such a great trip… and you guys have been all I’ve been thinking about since then.”

Troye Sivan was very candid onstage. Although there were no extravagant costume changes, no grandiose stage production or choreography, he had everyone’s attention by merely singing and swaying to each of his song. His vocals, while mainly baritone, has a deep, sensual tinge to it. He knows how to evoke emotions with the slight inflections and roll of his tone. On top of this, he was backed by a powerful live band which brought more dimensions to his set. His mere presence and music had the Arena hooked, the crowd following his lead from start to finish. That, by itself, was impressive.

To date, Troye Sivan has released two studio albums – Blue Neighborhood (2015) and Bloom (2018) with several EPs on the side. His setlist contained a mixture of all these. From Blue Neighborhood, “Fools”, “Heaven”, “Wild”. As the namesake of the tour, most were tracks off “Bloom” such as “Plum”, “Lucky Strike”, “What a Heavenly Way to Die”, “My! My! My!”. Collaboration songs were among the crowd favorites as well – hits like “i’m so tired…” (originally with Lauv) “Dance To This” (with Ariana Grande) and “1999” (with Charlie XCX)

“Maybe it’s the big queer energy in the room, but I feel very at home in the Philippines tonight!” Troye said with a big grin on his face.

“You are the funnest crowd so far. Thank you so, so much! I don’t even know where to start.”

The Filipino crowd also came prepared, and Troye was ecstatic about it. Except for knowing every word to all the songs, some fans went the extra mile. Some were dressed to kill in high fashion, some had customized lightsticks and some waved the most interesting banners. At one point, Troye noticed these slogans and fondly mentioned, “These signs are absolutely killing me. Who in the hell made ‘Manila Power Bottom’?”

The fans also organized a project called “Heaven Rainbow Lights” wherein specific sections of the Arena held up different flashlight colors to form a rainbow as “Heaven” played. The rainbow glowed in the dark and Troye thanked the crowd for it.

“I’ve seen you jump for me. I’ve heard you scream your lungs out. I wanna see every person in this building believe that they are the baddest bitch in the building. Manila, will you dance with me?”

In varying intervals, Bloom felt like a rave party with all the dancing, a rock concert with all the screaming and singing, and a sacred gathering with the momentary acoustic sing-alongs. Insert: some intense foot stomping which produced a mild earthquake around the Arena before the encore. It was really quite the experience to go through all that in one evening, and we have Troye Sivan to thank for it.

“I wanna come back as soon as possible, is that okay?” he asked before playing the last, last song.

We are pretty sure he knows the answer to that now.

Special thanks to MMI Live and Live Nation

by Sandra Mae Laureano
Photos by Vince Bern

Troye Sivan: Bloom Live in Manila Setlist

1. Seventeen

2. Bloom

3. Plum

4. HEAVEN

5. FOOLS

6. Lucky Strike

7. WILD

8. i’m So Tired…

9. Postcard

10. The Good Side

11. What a Heavenly Way To Die

12. BITE

13. 1999

14. Dance To This

15. Animal

16. Youth

17. My My My!