Arts & Entertainment
Troye Sivan drops new single, ‘Take Yourself Home’
Troye Sivan is doing his best to keep us entertained during the COVID-19 pandemic – while also giving some much-needed support to artists struggling to find work – with the early release of his latest single, “Take Yourself Home.”
Originally slated to drop later in the year, Sivan decided on an early release after considering the song in a new context as he headed home to Australia for a period of isolation due to the global spread of the coronavirus.
“‘Take Yourself Home’ is one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written,” says the LGBTQ fan-favorite pop star. “The song is kind of a pep talk with yourself and the place you’re from. Grappling with your place in the world. I write these songs as a diary entry, then as life and places change and relationships change, songs can take on a new meaning entirely. Clearly that has happened for this song, with what is going on in the world right now.”
The singer, recognizing that many freelance artists have experienced a loss of income in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, also publicly reached out for creatives to develop visual elements for the rollout of the track, with an Instagram post captioned, “FREELANCE ARTISTS (GRAPHIC DESIGNERS, ANIMATION ARTISTS) HMU I WANT TO WORK WITH YOU AND TAKE THE MONEY I WOULD BE SPENDING ON MUSIC VIDEOS AND GIVE IT TO YOU.”
After an overwhelming response, the visuals for the pre-save page, lyric video and other elements of “Take Yourself Home” were sourced from artists who responded to Sivan’s solicitation.
The musician has also launched three t-shirts, designed by @jacktaylorlovatt and @Lanning and sourced via Instagram, with all proceeds to be donated to the WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and Spotify’s COVID-19 Music Relief project.
“Take Yourself Home” was written by Sivan with frequent collaborator Leland (Selena Gomez, BTS, Charli XCX), Oscar Görres (The Weeknd, MARINA, Tove Lo) and Tayla Parx (Khalid, Ariana Grande). Görres, who also helmed Sivan’s Gold-certified “My My My!” and “I’m so tired…,” his Platinum collaboration with Lauv, produced the track.
Press material describe the song as perfectly capturing “a mood of isolation and longing,” building “from a lilting opening refrain with Troye’strademark melancholy into expansive, rave-like choruses with a surprise deep-electro moment to close.”
You can watch the lyric video below.
The Freddie’s Follies drag show was held at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va. on Saturday, Jan. 3. Performers included Monet Dupree, Michelle Livigne, Shirley Naytch, Gigi Paris Couture and Shenandoah.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Queer highlights of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards: Aunt Gladys, that ‘Heated Rivalry’ shoutout and more
Amy Madigan’s win in the supporting actress category puts her in serious contention to win the Oscar for ‘Weapons’
From Chelsea Handler shouting out Heated Rivalry in her opening monologue to Amy Madigan proving that horror performances can (and should) be taken seriously, the Critics Choice Awards provided plenty of iconic moments for queer movie fans to celebrate on the long road to Oscar night.
Handler kicked off the ceremony by recapping the biggest moments in pop culture last year, from Wicked: For Good to Sinners. She also made room to joke about the surprise hit TV sensation on everyone’s minds: “Shoutout to Heated Rivalry. Everyone loves it! Gay men love it, women love it, straight men who say they aren’t gay but work out at Equinox love it!”
The back-to-back wins for Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein and Amy Madigan in Weapons are notable, given the horror bias that awards voters typically have. Aunt Gladys instantly became a pop culture phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community when Zach Cregger’s hit horror comedy released in August, but the thought that Madigan could be a serious awards contender for such a fun, out-there performance seemed improbable to most months ago. Now, considering the sheer amount of critics’ attention she’s received over the past month, there’s no denying she’s in the running for the Oscar.
“I really wasn’t expecting all of this because I thought people would like the movie, and I thought people would dig Gladys, but you love Gladys! I mean, it’s crazy,” Madigan said during her acceptance speech. “I get [sent] makeup tutorials and paintings. I even got one weird thing about how she’s a sex icon also, which I didn’t go too deep into that one.”
Over on the TV side, Rhea Seehorn won in the incredibly competitive best actress in a drama series category for her acclaimed performance as Carol in Pluribus, beating out the likes of Emmy winner Britt Lower for Severance, Carrie Coon for The White Lotus, and Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us. Pluribus, which was created by Breaking Bad’s showrunner Vince Gilligan, has been celebrated by audiences for its rich exploration of queer trauma and conversion therapy.
Jean Smart was Hack’s only win of the night, as Hannah Einbinder couldn’t repeat her Emmy victory in the supporting actress in a comedy series category against Janelle James, who nabbed a trophy for Abbott Elementary. Hacks lost the best comedy series award to The Studio, as it did at the Emmys in September. And in the limited series category, Erin Doherty repeated her Emmy success in supporting actress, joining in yet another Adolescence awards sweep.
As Oscar fans speculate on what these Critics Choice wins mean for future ceremonies, we have next week’s Golden Globes ceremony to look forward to on Jan. 11.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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