Troye Sivan Discusses Getting Nicole Kidman for His Video and His Thoughts on ADÉLA’s Hit

Troye Sivan discussed his admiration for Nicole Kidman and his new album, She’s the Best, in a Friday (Oct. 9) interview with Billboard.

During the conversation, Sivan explained why he wanted the Oscar winner to star in his “She’s the Best” music video and shouted out ADÉLA’s hit “Nicole Kidman,” which recently reached a new peak at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sivan began by singing a portion of the Slovak star’s lyrics.

“Nicole is — I haven’t spoken to ADÉLA about the song — but I think maybe for the same reason she wrote that song,” Sivan said. “Nicole represents something, I think, to so many people that is kind of unexplainable. There’s an energy there that’s so captivating. She’s such a good example of the women I’ve been obsessed with my entire life.”

ADÉLA recently shared similar thoughts with Billboard and acknowledged how it feels wild to have Kidman—who has voiced support for the song named after her—in her corner. In his interview with Billboard, Sivan similarly expressed how present and engaged the actress was throughout the production of the “She’s the Best” visual, noting he was initially convinced that Kidman would not be able to show up on the day of the shoot because she is so in-demand.

“I was like, ‘I’m going to believe it when we wrap the video,’” Sivan recalled. “It’s Nicole Kidman! Something’s going to come up. Every time my phone would go off, and it was her name, I was like, ‘F–k, here it is.’”

The interview arrives on the same day as Sivan’s new album, She’s the Best, which follows his Billboard 200 No. 20 full-length Something to Give Each Other released three years ago. He stated that one of the project’s cornerstones is celebrating women like Kidman whom he has spent his life admiring.

Sivan added that he made one of the songs, “Canada Dry,” to capture a specific feeling of pop music that he loves, describing it as slinky sexy.

“I feel like Addison (Rae) does a really great job of it,” he noted. “Janet (Jackson) is sort of the queen at it, Kylie (Minogue) is amazing at it.”

Madonna is also honored on the LP as Sivan samples her Billboard Hot 100 topper “Music” in his single “Party.” He praised the Queen of Pop for making it very easy to clear the rights to the track, which was fortunate given how much he wanted to include it.

“Before you hear the ‘Music’ sample, there’s this almost vacuum where the track cuts out and cuts to me breathing, as if I’m heaving on a dance floor,” he explained to Billboard. “Then ‘Music’ by Madonna creeps in, and in my head, it’s like I’m on the dance floor closing my eyes, having one of those moments where I feel like I’m ascending. I had this story in my head, and then I got so attached to it, and I was so nervous. But Madonna somehow made it very easy and said yes pretty much right away.”

Sivan also addressed whether he cares about releasing songs that spark polarizing opinions, specifically regarding tracks like “She’s the Best.” “No, it’s kind of what I want,” he said. “I’ve never really strived for a ‘hit’ in my career — I’ve never really had one, to be honest. I feel like a song like ‘Rush’ changed my life so much more than a song like ‘Youth’ did.

“Coming off the back of a project that was as pop as my last one, I kind of wanted a reclamation of, ‘I still don’t have interest in playing the pop game, really.’ I liked the idea of doing something that was for me.”

Billboard’s full interview with Sivan can be watched above.