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.
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(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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In some fowl fiction foreshadowing, a gay-owned chicken joint has come home to roost on U Street, taking a page from the chicken window subplot on the HBO show “Looking.”
Last Friday, Lucky Pollo – much more than just a takeout window – stretched its wings atop the busy nightlife corner of 14th and U Streets NW.
Behind the poultry production place is Zach Renovátes, a D.C.-based nightlife operator and managing partner of LGBTQ venues Bunker and District Eagle, as well as the LGBTQ event production company KINETIC Presents.
Renovátes opened Bunker in February 2023 and District Eagle in January of this year. Lucky Pollo is the third in his growing gay empire, though this time there are noshes.
“Lucky Pollo was meant to be fun and a little provocative,” Renovátes said.
Based around its Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, Lucky Pollo is a quick-service restaurant boasting a small menu of poultry and sides. Renovátes says that the dishes are deeply rooted in Peruvian culinary tradition, “a playful experience alongside seriously good food.”
Lucky Pollo’s signature chicken is steeped in a dozen-plus-spice marinade for 24 hours. The meat is then slow-roasted, rotisserie-style, over oak-wood charcoal. Chicken options include quarter, half, and whole.
Helming the kitchen at Lucky Pollo is Chef Luis Herrera, who brings Peruvian recipes passed down through three generations, including his grandmother Laura’s original creations.
Beyond the full bird, the menu features Peruvian-inspired sides like yuca fries (“I personally love these,” says Renovátes) and fried plantains, as well as comfort classics such as mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, and bowls, wraps, and salads. Herrera oversees development of the multiple sauces (including staff favorite, the “secret green sauce”), crafted in-house using traditional Peruvian ingredients.
Lucky Pollo, in its streetside perch, is an independent concept from District Eagle, open to the public and staying open late (3 a.m. on weekends) to serve both nightlife guests and the wider U Street crowd hungry for late-night bites. However, just beyond the kitchen, tucked in the back lies a vintage 1950s candy machine—labeled “Out of Order,” which serves as the door leading to subterranean District Eagle.
Renovátes notes that when District Eagle is open, security staff will maintain a strict two-line policy, ensuring that those seeking meat to eat will not get entwined with those looking to gain access to District Eagle.
Lucky Pollo unites the need for sustenance with the idea of a bit of fortune, given its motto, “Get Lucky” and the whimsical brand mascot: a leather-booted chicken perched on a horseshoe. Renovátes and his District Eagle business partner had always been interested in opening a restaurant, and the Lucky Pollo space was indeed lucky: It already came with a functional kitchen. Plus, he says, the nearby fast-casual places around 14th and U streets “don’t offer a lot of quality options,” so opening the chicken spot “was a no-brainer.”
The space, designed by NYC creative Jasin Cadic, blends theatrical street-art-style vibes with Keith Haring-inspired wall prints, neon signs, and ceiling-hung chicken figurines —”some edgy, some sweet,” says Renovátes —creating an immersive, playful atmosphere. Lucky Pollo and District Eagle maintain separate amenities for their respective customers.
Lucky Pollo opened last week with a competition to devour a whole rotisserie chicken in the fastest time, with the winner earning $1,000 and a framed spot on the restaurant’s “Wall of Fame.” The opening also featured other games and prizes, and a full crowd spilling out the door.
“We want it to be a great place to eat, but also serve as a playful front for something completely unexpected.” Renovátes says.
On weekends especially, he jokes, the motto will be, ‘Come for the chicken, stay for the cock.’”
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