Troye Sivan has become known for his very personal approach to music. Over the course of his career, Sivan has opened up about his life through his lyrics. His musical talent has helped him develop a large and loyal fan base around the world.
This success in music led to Sivan making an appearance on Saturday Night Live in 2018. Sivan was about to release his sophomore album "Bloom" and performed two songs as the show's musical guest.
Sivan spoke about performing on SNL being a dream-come-true for him. However, that also came with some nerves. Those nerves would be heightened when a keyboard malfunctioned during the dress rehearsal.
Troye Said The 'SNL' Crew Made Him Feel Very Comfortable Behind-The-Scenes
In 2018, Sivan sat down with Vanity Fair to break down his fashion looks over the years. During the video, he reacted to a photo of him performing on the SNL stage.
"Immediately, a panic shoots into my chest any time I see a photo or video from that night," Sivan said. "It was easily one of the most surreal experiences of my entire life and one that I am so, so, so grateful for."
"I've wanted to perform on Saturday Night Live for as long as I can remember basically," he continued. "The moment where you get the phone call that's like, 'SNL's just offered you a slot,' I really don't know how to describe it. Imagine something that you've had actual dreams about, dreams at nighttime, not just daydreams during the day, this is something that played on my subconscious."
While Sivan was nervous, he said that crew behind-the-scenes did a good job at making him feel comfortable.
"The SNL crew were absolutely incredible in making people feel super relaxed," he said. "I think they know that artists are most likely freaking out in that moment and are really amazing at just calming you down."
"The nice thing is the set is a lot smaller than you think it's going to be. I just remember imagining that I was just performing for the 50 people in that room in front of me rather than God knows how many people were watching it on TV. I still don't want to think about that."
Sivan said that he looks back on his time performing on SNL as a "personal triumph."
"For me, it's a triumph, a personal triumph," he said, "because I used to think about how badly I wanted to do that and ask myself the question, Literally what would I do though? How would I process those nerves? Some people perform better on nerves, I find that I don't."
Troye Told Elton John He Dreamed Of Performing On 'Saturday Night Live' For Many Years
Sivan spoke with Elton John for Out Magazine in 2018, where he reflected on his SNL performance.
"I just want to tell you that "My My My!" is one of my favorite singles of the year," John told Sivan. "I don't know why that wasn't a huge number one hit, because it's fabulous. I also watched your performance on Saturday Night Live, and it came across really well."
John asked Sivan if he had a good time performing on the show. Sivan explained how overwhelmed he was to do SNL and the many years he spent dreaming of that moment.
"It was probably the single most overwhelming experience of my life," Sivan said. "It was always my dream to play on that show, and every time I'd think about it, my hands would start sweating. I'd think, I don't know what I'm actually going to do if I ever book it. There were a couple of moments during rehearsal when I was thinking, What if I just fainted right now onstage? Would I get to go home?"
John then empathized with Sivan's fears and shared some of his own experiences.
"You would have gotten a lot of headlines if you'd fainted," John said. "I died a couple of times, according to the press, and it's great for record sales. The odd faint here and there might be OK for your career. Just make sure you faint into the arms of someone beautiful."
Sivan said that his nerves began to fade away once the live show began.
"Once we were live, a switch flicked," he said. "In the past, nerves have been an issue for me, but with this I knew they were going to be there and I was ready for them. Right as Jessica Chastain said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, Troye Sivan!,' I felt all of the things I thought I'd feel -- my heart was racing, my hands were sweating, my knees were kind of weak. But I just remember smiling to myself and thinking, There it is."
Troye Told Ellen That He Was Nervous About His 'SNL' Performance After A Keyboard Malfunctioned In Rehearsal
After the SNL appearance, Sivan was a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and talked about his nerves leading up to the performance.
"I was so scared," Sivan said. "Saturday, we get soundcheck, made it through that. Dress rehearsal, the time before you do it live, and one of our keyboards just completely went kaput and it was a disaster."
However, Sivan said that this actually helped loosen him up and get rid of his nerves once the live show began.
"I think what happened was, when we were doing the live show, I was like, I've been through the absolute worst-case-scenario," he explained. "So I just felt like I had nothing to lose, I was just focused on having the best time."
Sivan continued, "I had been waiting for that moment my entire life and I didn't want to let something as small as that get in the way of it. So I ended up having the best time. It was so much fun."
