0:00
Good to see you, my bro. How's it going? To see you, too. It's so good.
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I'm like on cloud9 right now. It feels so good. For good reason, man.
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You dropped an absolute banger, a yearning and heartfelt, very deep and wonderful new record called Dance to This, which uh features Ariana Grande.
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And we're going to play it again in a hot second.
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But first of all, I mean, when, how, what, all the questions around this song.
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So, this song started I was working with um the Max Martin crew in their big beautiful house, which is a thing by the way for anyone who's listening who wonders and is deep into the songwriting and production curiosity.
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Getting in that room is not easy. No, not at all. No.
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And so, I'm I mean I'm like such a a pop music nerd and they're just like they're the best. You know what I mean?
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I was so nervous actually before I met with them because I was like I don't want to go in there and [music] come out sounding like something that I'm not.
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Yeah, but I think if you go in there with like a vision and [music] you can stick by it, they are simply the best people to go to to execute that.
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I don't really feel like Max and his team whenever I hear their music, I'm able to instantly go, that's a Max Martin record, right?
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I think he's pretty good at integrating what his [music] experience and his taste into your vision. Exactly. Yeah.
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And so, yeah, I'd worked with this producer Oscar Halter before um who's a part of that camp. And we went in.
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It was also Nuni Bao, who I'm like such a huge fan of, and Leland, who's like my best friend and again, super huge fan of.
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And we were all just kind of like hanging out.
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And I had seen Janet Jackson at the Hollywood Bowl a couple nights before that, which he was epic. It was so epic.
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It was like one of my favorite shows.
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I regret not going to that.
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And then um she played that song, Don't Stop.
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And the percussion on it was like the the starting point for this song.
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I I played it for them and I was like, "What if we try to do something like this?"
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It was towards the end of the album cycle and I was like kind of running out of ideas and so I was so relieved to have that [music] to bring in and I brought it in and um that was kind of our starting point and then this like really gorgeous synth pad thing and we started to just write this like really sexy cool song about how much better it is to kind of like stay at home and just be with your boyfriend than it is to go out.
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Party like Kanye said, "No more parties in LA." Exactly.
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We got some great questions around this song.
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And while we're on the subject, um, this one's interesting from Nazos.
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When did you and Ariana talk about a collaboration?
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So, her and I have known each other for a couple of years, but we had never spoken about anything like that.
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Um, but I mean, I'm like so in awe of her all the time.
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I think that she's just the coolest. She's on the path.
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I mean, what we were talking about with Christina Aguilera in that sense of reaching icon level, she's on that path now. She carries on. She's on that path.
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And then um I basically just texted her the song.
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I was like I sat on it for a couple weeks cuz I I was you know I'm nervous always to like ask people for stuff.
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Well actually there's another question which kind of ties into that. This from Brooke.
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Were there any other options for a collaboration on Dance to This or was it always Ariana that you were thinking about?
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I [music] was thinking about I was trying to think of like names but then I had this moment where I was like if I'm real with myself it's 100% the voice in my head is Ariana Grande. Right. Right.
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And so, um, so you're holding up for 2 weeks cuz you're like nervous cuz you don't want to in case she says Yeah.
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You know, I don't want to ever put anybody in like an uncomfortable position where they're like, "This song is terrible and I don't want to be a part of it."
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So, I I was just like I I kind of waited and then I was like, "You know what?
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I'm going to regret it if I don't ask."
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And so, I sent her the song and I was How long did it take for her to get back? Literally a minute. Not even.
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She listened to like the first half of the song and she was like these melodies and like in all caps and like doing her Ariana Grande thing and um and she's she's a caps [music] person.
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All caps like pretty much all the time.
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A lot of keyboard smashes, a lot of love hearts. It's super super sweet.
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And um she was like when can I when can I do it?
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And I was like what are you doing today?
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[music] And I went back to the studio and she happened to be working at the same studio that day and we just like hung out for a couple hours. Wow.
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talked about life and everything, but we also kind of plotted out which parts she was going to sing.
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And then um literally the next day she sent me the it was a voice note at first of like her vocal on it and I was like so stoked and then I had the I had the demo like the next day. It's a beautiful thing.
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It's today's world record and for good reason.
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It's called Dance to This Ariana Grande joining Troy Savan on this absolute banger as we get ready for the Bloom era which is actually a little way away.
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So we're going to continue to talk about it and hang out with Troy right here on Beats One. Let's go. World St. Lo's world record.
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[music] [music] Hey, [music] hey, hey. Heat. [music] [music] Hey. Hey. Hey, hey, hey. [music] Yeah.
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[music] Hey, [music] hey, hey.
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[music] [music] This is why we do it, man. This is why we do this. Yes. This is why we do this.
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This is why we we create these moments together for us to come together and play music for people who are tapped in right around the world and we can have and share this experience.
8:06
At this point for me, if I don't come here, it doesn't even feel like I've released a song. We love you, man. We love you. It's so good.
8:13
I mean, I just feel like the the energy of your fans, every time that you present music or suggest something is going to happen, you have this fan base which is enviable, I think, to other artists.
8:24
It's incredible what the relationship you fostered with them. Well, yeah.
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I mean, I think it comes down to the fact that um it's genuine.
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Like it sounds so cheesy cuz I know that everyone always says this, but like the relationship is it's real.
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It's it's like true love. You know what I mean?
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They're so funny and cool and like open-minded.
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You got to come to a show.
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It's like the craziest thing in the world.
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It's the craziest environment in the world.
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It's just everybody is there to just like completely let loose and have a good time with each other.
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And um I just feel like so honored to kind of be a part of it.
9:01
You know, you're an inspiring artist though, man.
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I mean, you know, you write different and I think there's pop music and great pop music and we love it when a great pop song comes together.
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It's one of life's most perfect constructs.
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But you come at it from such a different perspective.
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I mean, even just the story behind this song, you know what? I'm sick of going out.
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I want to be in a relationship.
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I want to find something more meaningful, but I don't want to lose that sense of joy.
9:19
That idea of being able to dance one-on-one with somebody as opposed to feeling like I need to be in a room with 50 or 100 people, right? That's conceptual, man.
9:25
And that's not just like, "Hi, I woke up. I love you. You've got great eyes." Yeah.
9:29
You know, [laughter] thank you.
9:30
No, you know what I mean?
9:30
And it's like you come at it from a different place and that must inspire a lot of different questions and a lot of different interaction amongst your fans cuz if you think different, they think different. Mhm. Well, yeah.
9:39
I mean, again, I think it just comes down to like authenticity. You know what I mean?
9:42
Like there's not a single song on the album that's not um completely autobiographical and that's not just completely real. You know what I mean? It's like whatever.
9:50
I can't write about going out to all these parties when in reality I'm like staying home and having dinner with my boyfriend. You go to a few parties. I go to some parties.
9:58
You go to the important parties. You look great in red. Thank you very much. Thank you.
10:02
[laughter] That was a good one. That was a fun one.
10:04
That one's worth leaving the house for. That's a crazy one. That's like Rome.
10:08
That's like the closest thing to Rome, I think. Do you know what I mean?
10:10
When you go in that party and that meal party and things like that, you're like, "Wow, this is like not normal." Yeah.
10:16
I feel like um it's like in Hercules, you know, the like the godland, whatever that is. You know what I mean?
10:21
You arrive and everyone just looks I mean specifically with that theme, it was like people literally looked otherworldly. Who looked the best?
10:27
Who was the best dress for you? Ooh. Who looked amazing?
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That's a really good Francis McDorman, I reckon. Yeah.
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Everyone said she looked great.
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And she I mean she was wearing this big blue like feather headpiece thing and this crazy coat. It was Valentino.
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And um halfway through the night she was like done with the headpiece.
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So she took it off and she started like putting it on statues around the museum and I was like, "Wait, do you want me to hold that for you so that you don't have to like put it on stuff and Oh, you dear boy. I'm know what I'm doing. Well, no.
10:56
So then it was I shouldn't have offered because it was all over from that point onwards.
10:59
I was stuck with the headpiece for the rest of the night. [laughter] Yeah. Did you wear it?
11:03
I wore it like for the rest of the night. Yeah.
11:05
So she was the best dressed.
11:06
She was the best dressed for sure.
11:07
She was the worst dressed. I'm just kidding.
11:08
I'm not going to do that to you right now. You got 3 minutes. [laughter] All right. Ask Troy anything. Let's go. Dance to this on repeat. World record.
11:38
[music] [music] Hey, hey, hey.
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[music] Hey, [music] hey, hey. [music] Hey, hey, hey. [music] Heat. Heat.
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[music] [music] Oh my god.
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just the potential for this live as well.
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Just to get a guitar player or whoever it is just to ring that little guitar line out for ages and then just bring it in.
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It's going to be so amazing.
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I want to like extend the bridge by a million times and like do some strobing and Well, you mean the baristas where you do the syncopated thing where you and Arian do the syncopated verse. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, man. Amazing. I love that song, Troy. I really do. Dance vers.
14:34
That's a beautiful and yearning personal record that's very inclusive in the in sound and vibe.
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And when you perform it live, everyone's going to make it their own.
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But we know it's a true story to you. Totally. Yeah, you're in love. This is a good thing.
14:47
People are talking about with the perspectives of the album right now and questions and some people want to know, you know, what are your perspectives across this album, but you've been pretty open that this album is a dedication record to some degree. Totally. Yeah.
14:57
It's it's it's a love letter for sure. You know what I mean?
15:01
Um both to my relationship, but also just to my life right now.
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I feel so um just like happy and and free [music] to do whatever I want and that's like the biggest blessing in the world for me, you know? So, yeah.
15:15
Was there a turning point for you?
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Was there a moment in cuz you're still a very young man and you've been through, you know, you've achieved a lot and it's it can happen so fast these days.
15:22
Was there a moment for you when you felt you realized you were free?
15:28
I mean, I think the first time I felt that like true like electric freedom was [music] the night that we shot the My video. Yeah.
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cuz I had had this vision in my head of being able to sort of like perform like that one day and not hold myself back, but I had never done it, you know?
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And so then when it got down to it, I was like, "Okay, we're here.
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I'm with my dream director.
15:50
This set looks incredible. We're shooting on film.
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Like all this stuff just lined up and I was like, I have I have no choice.
15:59
I would film myself if I didn't go for it."
16:01
When was when was the SNL performance?
16:01
I want to say it was only a couple of weeks after that.
16:04
It was a couple weeks after that because I watched that I hadn't seen the video and I watched you perform on SNL and I was like who is this guy?
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Like you just came out of nowhere and all of a sudden it was just like the movement was there. You were free.
16:13
It just it felt like you were connected completely to your music and completely unaware of what was going on around you and you were really lost in that moment.
16:22
And that's hard on a platform like SNL because there's a lot of people watching. Yeah.
16:26
I mean, I I just sort of had to like play these mind games with myself about not psyching myself out that day cuz I knew that I was sort of my own worst enemy or my own best friend on that day.
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And so I um I would do like little things like I would look up and read a sign like that said caution and I'd like look at the letter C and I'd be like hm that [music] looks really strange that letter C or whatever.
16:48
Like just literally trying to distract myself [music] and stay present. Stay in the moment.
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And then as soon as we were like about to go live, um it was like it all just I was like, "Okay, here we go." You know what I mean?
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Like it's it's just [music] happening.
17:00
It's going to happen whether I like it or not. You know what I mean?
17:03
So let's just like this is what you asked for. Yeah. Enjoy it.
17:06
This is what's funny, isn't it?
17:06
You know, we we as people, you know, we will these things to happen and we [music] hope and we dream and we set goals for ourselves and visualize it and just love it and just dream it's all going to happen and then we get to this point we get terrified. Yep.
17:17
[music] And the nerves kick in, you know, and that kind of that that that human nature of like, are you sure? Yeah.
17:23
Are you sure you want to do this?
17:23
You sure you can do this?
17:25
I mean, the interesting thing about SNL that's never happened to me before is because I knew that I was going to be nervous.
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It was almost like I sort of welcome the nerves, you know, in that moment right before we went live. I felt my knees shaking.
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I felt my mouth all dry and I was like, "Oh, there it is. There's good.
17:41
This is what it feels like to perform on SNL, you know, and I was completely expecting it."
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And so it was almost just like instead of panicking about it, being like, "Oh, whatever."
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But, you know, I'm like freaking out right now.
17:52
Um, I was just like, you know, this is that rush.
17:56
How has my My Might changed for you in the time since it's streamed for the first time and now your fans have had it and you've seen the reaction to it and what it's become [music] and songs changed shape over time and I wonder what the song now means to you months on from first release.
18:08
I mean, the good news is that I'm still so proud of it.
18:10
Like, so so so proud of it. And um, thank you.
18:13
And then I performed it at um in Pittsburgh in Washington DC this weekend for Pride and [music] that's like where it really hits home, you know what I mean?
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When you see like the whole crowd, bunch of pride flags, everybody screaming.
18:27
Talk about your experience in Pride in 2018. How was it?
18:28
How was that weekend for you? It was so fun.
18:30
I've I've been to Pride parades before, but never played one. Mhm.
18:34
And um I I really just went for it.
18:34
I stage dived for the first time. Did you? I did. Oh my god. Did I catch you?
18:41
Dive is a very strong word.
18:41
I like sort of sat on the barricade and then just kind of fell just like a like a like a tired dog in a puddle after a long walk. Exactly.
18:49
And everyone was so gentle.
18:49
Um couple people squeezed my bum but that was it.
18:55
It was really really fun.
18:56
But you felt like they were genuinely appreciative of squeezes. 100%. Yeah.
18:59
You felt comfortable in the moment. Totally. It was fine.
19:01
Um what was the best which were you?
19:04
Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh and DC. Who turned up more?
19:06
Well, Pittsburgh I was headlining so it was like a 50-minute set so it felt How many people? I don't even know.
19:13
It was like it was outside on the street and so that it just went back really far. It was cool. It was so fun.
19:19
It must be such a great moment for you to be able to as you said you've been to Pride parades before.
19:22
You've watched them unfold and heard about them and I'm sure to some degree they played a huge part or a part in helping you define your identity and who you are as a person realizing that you're part of a community of people who feel the same way in their own individual way.
19:34
So to be able to come out there now and to be able to perform and embrace this moment and and be you know that's iconic when you're performing at a pride parade and you're headlining like you mean something to people. That must be a moment.
19:47
Did you allow yourself the time to reflect on that for a second? I did. Yeah.
19:50
Especially when I was on stage, you know, it was just such a beautiful sight to see.
19:53
And um my first pride parade was the first time that I I was underage so I couldn't go to clubs yet.
20:02
And so it was my first time being surrounded by a majority of people that I felt like understood me and were like me, you know, cuz growing up I didn't know any gay people, let alone being in a in a space where everyone is celebrating who you are and who they are. You know what I mean?
20:16
And so to me, pride is such a kind of sacred event.
20:20
And so, um, to be able to like enjoy it at its fullest and be on on stage in front of all those people and celebrating with them, it's crazy.
20:29
What a moment is what life is, right? A collection of moments.
20:30
Proud to have one right here with Troy Savannah.
20:32
And my my, we're talking about it now. Let's hear it. Heat. [music] Heat. [music] [music] Heat. Heat.
22:03
[music] [music] Hey, hey, hey.
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This [music] is [music] heat.
23:04
[music] [music] I still think that's about as good as it gets right now in 2018 as far as pop music goes. I really do. Thank you so much.
23:26
I just think that the the way that just every element of that song is speaking to each other is incredible. Thank you. Beautiful song. My my my.
23:33
Don't forget the exclamation point. That is Troy Savan.
23:36
And we're talking right now with the artist live on Beats One. So good to see you, man. Nice to see you, too.
23:42
Bloom coming out August 31st. Yes. What a moment.
23:46
Where are we going to be?
23:46
Have you looked at your diary?
23:47
Where you going to be on August 31st?
23:49
I actually don't know where I'm going to be on on the actual date. Hopefully.
23:50
I kind of want to be in LA cuz um you got to have a party, man. Yeah.
23:57
Then I get to go out and like celebrate with friends. You got to have a party.
23:59
Plus, you're still working with Brandon. Is it Brandon?
24:01
Yeah, Brandon holds good parties. Yeah, he does the best. He holds great parties.
24:04
You need to go and like talk to Brandon.
24:05
Make sure that he gets one of his parties going on. Now he has to do it. He has to do it.
24:10
Yeah, I saw him last night. Oh, yeah.
24:12
Yeah, I went to the King Princess show. Oh, nice.
24:13
I was going to go to that. It was great. Yeah. Fantastic. But I saw him.
24:17
You know, he's lost his voice apparently.
24:18
So, it must be a good day for you guys. Yep.
24:21
[laughter] So, we got questions coming in from fans ask Troy, which is great.
24:25
Um, what would you say has been your proudest moment so far?
24:27
As a question from Chelsea. Oh. Um, probably two.
24:33
Uh, the first is I performed with Taylor Swift at the Rose Bowl.
24:39
We did my Mai together and Okay, that was like out of a movie. Let's talk about that.
24:45
So, you show up to the Rose Bowl.
24:47
You go through the special artist entrance.
24:48
[music] Well, first I ask for tickets to the show as a fan.
24:51
I'm like, "Hey, can I get some free tickets?"
24:53
And she's like, "Well, yeah, if you [music] come on stage and perform."
24:59
God, that's the greatest unwitting voice of all time. That's amazing. So, okay.
25:03
So, she says, "So, what?"
25:03
So, you get So, you get a text from her or a call from her, a message from her, and she says, "Yeah, we got to come perform."
25:08
And and and your stomach does what? Back flips. [music] Yeah. Totally. Total back flips.
25:11
And then um I mean it was only like we had maybe 3 days before the show was actually happening and so um sort of just went into planning mode and um she did you rehearse with her that day we sound checked but we only did it once like but she knows the song.
25:28
She knows the song and and the band knew the song um and and when they played it and they're not your band when they played your song in that environment and they unveiled it for the first time in a sound check like that at the Rose Bowl.
25:37
I mean that's just crazy. It was nuts.
25:39
It was really I mean her band is obviously like ridiculous. Insanely talented.
25:43
So, um they had it so down and it sounded like exactly like Guys, guys, just stop for a second. Something's not right. Imagine.
25:50
Um and they I mean they like embellished a little and made it sound like Rose Bowl ready, you know? Yeah.
25:57
Um and [music] and then we we just sort of like choreographed our strut like which way we were going to go first and then which way we were going to go next and and then that was it. And we did it.
26:08
[music] I thought I was going to faint though when I cuz I did like the Destiny's Child popup thing, you know, introduced and you came up out of the stage. It was dope.
26:17
What's it like underneath that stage during that moment? So crazy.
26:20
I have a video from underneath there.
26:22
You're like crammed once you get on like a slide and you slide down to the front of the stage. What?
26:27
So they put you on like a little train, like a miniature train, and you go on these tracks, you slide down.
26:32
This guy pulls you using like a pulley system.
26:34
By the way, this is amazing, man.
26:36
technology is alive and well in the 21st century. It's like this is 2018.
26:38
So, how do I get on stage?
26:40
What we do is we put you on a tiny piece of a plank of wood with some with some wheels on it and a guy is going to pull you along to the thing to the edge.
26:50
And then all of a sudden though, then it gets like high-tech cuz then you're standing on this elevator and I'm like listening to Taylor introduce me and she's being so compliment.
26:59
By the way, you know, by the way, you know what that sounds like, right?
27:00
That actually, hang on, that actually sounds like this.
27:02
He's one of my favorite people in the world. He's so incredible. I'm so glad he's here.
27:13
You can't really hear what she's saying cuz it's so echoey, right?
27:14
So, it's like and then all of a sudden it was like go and the elevator starts moving.
27:22
So, I like put my game face on. Game face.
27:26
You're on video right now, wasn't it? So, okay.
27:27
Up until that moment you're like that. There's a video of it. Yeah.
27:30
Oh, I was like smiling and stuff like that cuz she was saying all this nice stuff and then suddenly I'm like, "Wait, you're a pop star.
27:36
Do do the pop star face."
27:36
And so I did and then I pop up and when I first looked up I was like, "Okay, I can totally do this because the height is not unlike something that I've played before."
27:47
And it's a lowlying anyone hasn't been the Rose Bowl is one of the most amazing stadiums ever, but it is a low rise. Right.
27:53
And then though the difference is that first of all, every single audience member has on a light up wristband so you can see everybody coplay kaching.
28:02
And so I yeah I pop up and I'm like, "Okay, I can do this."
28:03
And then I start looking to the left and I'm like looking more to the left and looking more to the left and the crowd is just not ending.
28:10
And I know that it's the same on the right and I'm like, "Wo, why do I feel like really queasy all of a sudden?"
28:15
I'm like, "Let me look at the floor."
28:17
And the floor is like light up screens.
28:20
So the floor is disorientating even more.
28:24
And then I look at Taylor.
28:26
Oh, so you weren't even talking. Like I was so nervous.
28:27
You nearly pulled a whitey. No, 100%.
28:29
I was like everything was [laughter] in slow motion for like 5 seconds.
28:35
Oh, you be like on my ex.
28:37
I was like, "Please don't do this to yourself."
28:40
Um, and then though I looked at her face thinking that like looking at a person would help me.
28:44
And I looked and I'm like, "That's Taylor Swift.
28:46
This doesn't help at all."
28:48
And not just that, but Taylor Swift's looking at you and she's got this. You all right, buddy? Yeah. Yeah.
28:52
And she's singing my song and it was just like I don't know.
28:54
But then I I as soon as we started strutting and I could like move I I was completely fine and then it was it became the best moment of my life.
29:03
God bless her for asking you to come and play that song as well, man.
29:05
You know, she's got a deep address book.
29:07
We know she loves you, but still, man, that's a really cool thing. No, totally.
29:11
And it was the LA show, so it felt like a really big deal. It was cool.
29:14
Did you party afterwards? We did.
29:15
We um Well, I mean, we just like hung out backstage and had a couple drinks. It was fun. Yeah. Nice one, man.
29:20
Well, Troy is with us right now.
29:21
We're still rolling through questions, which is great.
29:22
And I love this one from Noah.
29:23
Um, in fact, I'm going to ask that after we take you right back to day one, and I want to go back and play Wild.
29:28
Um, you featuring Alysia Car and obviously, you know, a different Troy.
29:33
And I mean that with the utmost respect, but grown and matured and done different things.
29:36
So, when you listen back to a song like this, which you I'm sure remain faithful to when it comes to performing it live, how do you feel? I don't know.
29:43
I mean, it's like a mixed emotion.
29:44
It's It's a little bit like watching home videos of yourself when you were a kid.
29:49
The problem is that Good.
29:51
We'll play the good side then. Excellent. Okay, moving on. Yeah.
29:54
No, I mean it's like it's fun if if enough time has passed it becomes just like really cute and endearing.
30:01
It's still a little bit in that like ooh phase that like that's me but it's not me. You know what I mean? Oh, I'm playing it. Go for it.
30:07
Oh, I am playing it now after that.
30:09
[laughter] I am playing it and staring at you the whole time. Nice. Hey, feel [music] hey. Hey, [music] hey, hey. Heat. Heat.
31:16
[music] [music] [music] Are you [music] [music] [music] Hey, hey, hey.
33:07
[music] Ah, there she is, man. We've missed her voice. She's coming back. She's coming back. June 15th. She's coming back, man. It's exciting. Not too far away. Wow. Hang on. That's in like 2 days. That's in 2 days. That's in 2 days. She should come on here. Oh my god. That's amazing. Does everyone know that?
33:33
[laughter] Everyone's looking at each other left and right right now.
33:34
Well, if any if anyone can blow that, I'm sure he hasn't.
33:38
But if anyone can, her friend Troy can. I can't. You can.
33:39
You just said it, not me. Good boy. Well done.
33:42
[laughter] Appreciate that.
33:44
The song is called Wild featuring Alysia Car.
33:46
And we were just talking at the beginning and you were saying how, you know, it's mixed emotions around that song and how you feel about the song, but I think you got it right out the gate, man. Thank you. I appreciate it.
33:52
When I came back in, it's not so bad actually.
33:56
You know, it's not so bad.
33:58
Well, no, I played it live in Pittsburgh and I was like, "Okay, wait, this still like goes off." It goes off.
34:03
Uh, only two albums thus far with a couple of collaborations here and there as well.
34:06
So, um, and obviously you've really taken your time to get Bloom right.
34:09
Um, you never rushed out off the back of Blue Neighborhood and was like, I need to hit this really hard.
34:14
um you came, you know, you came back and when the time was right.
34:15
So, do you feel like you're on a roll out now, though?
34:19
Do you feel like you want to start, you know, amassing more music and continuing to create an amongst touring cuz the touring looks great, but there's music to be made? Yeah.
34:25
I mean, I I am really inspired by the fact that I mean, it's kind of it's like two schools of thought.
34:31
I'm super inspired by like full bodies of work, you know, that that all sit together, but I'm also really inspired by like the 2018 music industry where you can put out a song, like write a song one day and put it out the next. You can do both. You can do both.
34:43
Drake does both very well. Yeah.
34:45
So, I mean, I'm like I'm totally open to to everything.
34:48
I definitely don't want to stop writing.
34:49
Writing music is like my favorite thing.
34:51
And so, um yeah, I don't know.
34:53
Maybe I'll like put out a little EP or something like that soon. I don't know. Oh, there you go. All right. Nice. I appreciate that. Hang on.
35:01
Technically speaking, um you know, the album's going up for pre-order and pre-stream right now, so people can go and just literally right now.
35:06
So everybody who's listening and everybody who's following this conversation online, uh, you can go and check out the track listing, see the whole thing as it rolls out.
35:14
It's all up for pre, which is super exciting.
35:15
And I was actually taking a look at some of the people involved and I'm really impressed, man, because you know, you really have drawn upon the people that you personally know and admire and you haven't walked into that room and gone, "All right, and I mean this with the greatest of respect cuz why wouldn't you?"
35:27
But you haven't gone in there and gone, "Great, okay, Forel, da da da da da."
35:31
And you've stuck with some people that you feel comfortable with at this moment in your life. Why is that?
35:36
Why were you tempted to go out there and broaden your spectrum?
35:40
Well, I mean, I I was and and I did actually.
35:42
It's I just knew as well that for me to write my best, I want to be comfortable and I want to be able to speak up in a session and and say stuff that sounds crazy and whatever.
35:51
So, I I wanted to kind of like the first 3 weeks of writing this album was my core crew from like the first album.
35:58
And that was so important to me to kind of build the like sonic landscape that I wanted to work with him for the album.
36:05
And then once I felt confident in that and felt like I had a sense of identity and the album had a sense of identity, then you start having fun and then you go to the, you know, the Max Martin camp or so Ariel's on you as well, which is great. Yeah.
36:17
You start kind of playing around at that point.
36:18
And um and now you've got a little bit of confidence to play around because because you're right, it's only up number two. Mhm.
36:23
And now the bloom is done.
36:23
All important, really important statement.
36:27
Um, who is I mean surely your mind must be thinking like who can I go and just if nothing else to experiment with your sounds and who you are and see where you can go with this. Yeah. I mean I don't know.
36:36
I I really honestly like ticked off a lot of the boxes.
36:41
This Ariel was a huge one for me.
36:43
I' I've wanted to work with him for a really really long time.
36:45
And why what is it about Ariel that you love so much?
36:48
And by the way for people who don't know, let's just clear this up.
36:50
Ariel is the most one of the most amazing producers and writers and collaborators who's worked with you know notably everyone from Vampire Weekend to him to you know amazing run of of artists. So why why Ariel?
37:00
Well I think I mean I knew of him because he's produced some of my favorite songs ever and then it got to the point where it was kind of embarrassing because I started the album making process with a playlist that was like an inspiration playlist and I took that around to producers and and played it for them and was like okay so this is the kind of snare that I like.
37:18
This is the kind of vocal production that I like. Mood board.
37:21
Yeah, it was a total mood board.
37:21
And I took it to Ariel and I was like, "Wait, you did like six out of the 12 songs on this."
37:29
And they were different artists as well.
37:30
It wasn't like it was one album or whatever.
37:32
You know, he's a chameleon, man.
37:32
He he can adapt to a lot of different sounds and feels and vibes. Exactly.
37:37
And so, um, he was also the first person that that said to me like, "I get it and I see what you're what you're trying to do here and I think it's going to be sick. Let's do it."
37:45
So, um, yeah, that was sort of how we started working together, but it was like a dream for me.
37:51
Is the album from that mood board, from the moment that you presented those ideas of how you wanted this to be, this second album, is it faithful? Totally. Yeah.
37:59
I mean, maybe not obviously so because [music] I was pulling very specific elements from each of these references, but um, but I mean, even like the the Janet Jackson reference that I was talking about, maybe you wouldn't be able to pick that right away, but I I know what's in there.
38:14
You know what I What was the influence behind the good side then?
38:17
The good side was the Smiths.
38:17
Um we were just like When did you discover the Smiths? Not that long ago.
38:22
That was a crazy thing as well.
38:24
Who introduced you to the Smith? My boyfriend.
38:26
Your boyfriend's got taste. Yeah. No, he's the best. Um Wow. So I don't know.
38:30
I mean like I I went on such a I was in a real like discovery period during tour and then in my time off between tour and starting the second album. Yeah.
38:39
And so I was really excited to just like try apply myself in that way.
38:43
The Smiths So, how deep have you gone into the Smiths? I mean, fairly deep.
38:46
I'll find the exact the lyrics, man. Oh, no. Okay.
38:50
So, that was not that was not It was It was the guitar double vocal. Yeah, it's Johnny.
38:55
It's the That's what we sort of like pulled from.
38:57
It's the sadder songs that they wrote. Trying to find one.
39:01
It's just like, oh my god, this one here. Last time. Last night I dreamt. Unbelievable.
39:14
Reel around the fountain.
39:17
It was Please, please, please let me get one. Oh, that's what it is.
39:19
Oh, I have to play a little bit of that through my phone.
39:22
Unless we got an assistant, but I don't know how deep we've gone into the Smiths, but you you've made me think we absolutely should.
39:27
Tomorrow, maybe I'll just play nothing but the Smiths.
39:28
It'll be a really cheery day for everybody. Yeah.
39:33
But please, please, please. Right.
39:33
And what the Smiths say is is that you should wallow in your misery. Yeah, which I do anyway.
39:43
Which is totally normal at times in your life, right? Oh, yeah. You can hear the guitar. Good times for a change.
39:53
[music] [singing] God, he's amazing.
40:00
I mean, politics aside, please [music] let me let me let me let me get what [music] I want. Nice. Beautiful, man. You're smart, dude. Thank you.
40:26
[music] [music] [music] Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey.
41:10
[music] [music] Hey, hey, hey.
41:35
[music] [music] [music] [music] [music] Heat. Heat. Hey, [music] hey, hey. Here [music] you go.
43:37
[music] [music] [music] Very [music] melancholy too. The end. That little harp feel. That's Ariel. It's so beautiful, man. I love it. Yeah. Let me try something. Ah, you're a smart dude.
44:33
Will you like do that and email it to me, please?
44:35
[laughter] That was so pretty. It was lovely, man.
44:37
Well, because you know that's what happens when inspiration strikes a chord and allows you through your talent and ability to to make that chord real. Yeah.
44:47
So, it's actually like, wow, man, this has moved me and and I and I want to be able to to take it into a place that's personal for me. And you've done that.
44:55
And I think the good side is a benchmark for you and I think this album is going to be such a great moment for you.
44:57
I'd imagine that potential possible hopeful EP aside, you'll be faithful to this.
45:04
And I'm looking at your tour dates and I mean it's you're going in. I'm going in. Yeah.
45:07
And that's just the US so far.
45:09
Um I want to go everywhere.
45:11
I wonder what the Smart Financial Center in Sugarlands like.
45:13
Have you been there before?
45:15
I don't know if I've been to Sugarland before. I don't think I have.
45:19
Do you practice how you're going to say the name of the place you're in?
45:22
It's important you make a connection.
45:25
Well, Sugarland, for some reason, anytime I'm like at home listening to my music, imagining how I'm going to perform it live, I always go to San Francisco.
45:33
Like in my head, I'm always like San Francisco.
45:38
And this time, I'm trying to think where you're playing in San Francisco.
45:41
I'm doing two shows in San Francisco.
45:42
Well, that's because you keep visualizing San Francisco.
45:44
Maybe that's what happened. The Secret.
45:46
You are at the Masonic both times. Yep. The Rosland in Portland. The Paramount Seattle. Mhm. [clears throat] Classic. Yeah, classic. The Greek. The Greek. Yeah.
45:58
Sack that off and jump up to the bowl. Yeah, I know. Come on, man.
46:01
Let's get real next time.
46:02
No, you got to work up to it. Oh, I see.
46:04
I love this new I love the attitude of pop stars these days, man.
46:07
They're like, I got to still do the work. You could play the bowl. You could. Yeah. I mean, maybe.
46:12
But it's Dude, if you feel like you you won't appreciate it unless you take a step to the Greek. No. Yeah.
46:16
I mean, it just makes it all the more sweeter when that kind of stuff happens.
46:20
Plus, the Greek is a good room. Oh my god. Yeah, I love the Greek. The Greek is fun. Yeah.
46:25
In Australia, arenas straight up. I don't know yet. Got to be. I don't know.
46:29
I mean, dude, you could play the I I'm pretty sure we did arenas last time we were there. Yes.
46:33
You're going straight into Sydney football stadium. I don't know. Come on, man.
46:37
I'm not sure what we're doing. Come on, man. 101. What are you doing? What are we doing here?
46:39
Listen, if I could just paraphrase your life today. Yeah.
46:44
Born in an environment unsure of where you stood in the world. Mhm.
46:47
[clears throat] Found art. Mhm.
46:49
found an ability to express yourself, allowed you to dream, dreamed it up, found your team, made your music, found your audience, manifested your success, took it to places you never dreamed of, you thought, but you've been dreaming them. Mhm.
47:04
You, Ariana, album comes out, Taylor Swift, Rose Bowl.
47:09
What are we doing if we're not putting you in the Sydney football stadium? Wow. What are we doing? That's a strong pitch. It stops now. Yeah. Sweet, man. Rod Lever it is. Come on, man. then what are you doing?
47:20
But I mean it's like it it's been such a long process. You know what I mean?
47:22
And so I have no qualms with with waiting it out and I'm in I'm in this for the long run. You know what I mean?
47:29
Physically take as long as long as you want, but dude, start dream that. Yeah. Yeah. No, for sure. That's already happened. Yeah. I'm God. Can you imagine it?
47:37
What would you start with? Oh, I have no idea.
47:40
What would you start with?
47:40
What would you start with if it was right now?
47:44
Um, what song would I start with? Yeah. In the stadium.
47:46
It's It's not out yet, though.
47:50
But the track listing's out. I'm not going to 17. This song 17.
47:53
Yeah, it's not out yet, but it's on the album.
47:55
Uh there was one last question which I promised I would ask and I didn't and I want to make sure that I do because I don't want to be a dick. Yeah.
48:01
Uh this one here from Noah.
48:01
Would you ever collab with Shawn Menddees? Yeah. Yeah, totally. His arm's amazing. Yeah.
48:08
I mean, he's so he's like one of the nicest people.
48:13
He's so nice in pop, I reckon. Thank you for everybody. # Ask Troy.
48:17
Thank you to Troy Savvine.
48:17
You've been such a great guest as always.
48:18
It just feels like it feels like home for me having you here in the studio. It's just brilliant.
48:24
And today's world record featuring Ariana Grande is called Dance to This.
48:26
It's a very special record.
48:26
We're going to finish like we start and we'll catch you again as we get close to August 31st.
48:31
Please don't be a stranger.
48:31
Let's catch up again, bro. For sure. Thank you. World St. Low's world record. [music] [music]