Troye Sivan launches a new chapter with “She’s the Best,” the first single from his upcoming fourth studio album, accompanied by a music video co-starring Nicole Kidman. Directed by Gordon Von Steiner, the video also arrives as Charli XCX makes a brief vocal appearance at the end of the song. Sivan will release the album She’s the Best on October 9.
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The video places Sivan inside a club filled with drag performers, including Sasha Colby. Kidman watches from the room while sipping a drink as Sivan performs the track. By the end, the two appear together as Sivan performs in drag. Von Steiner previously directed Sivan’s videos for “Rush,” “Got Me Started” and “One of Your Girls,” all connected to his 2023 album Something to Give Each Other.
Kidman and Sivan already share a connection through Boy Erased, where they met in 2018. Sivan later described Kidman as someone who represents the feminine energy that inspired the new project. He sent her the song along with visual references for the video before she agreed to take part.
“She’s the Best” focuses on an unnamed woman and the small details that make her fascinating to Sivan. He described the song as a collage inspired by several women and feminine people in his life.
Sivan wrote the track with George Daniel, Jack Antonoff, Leland and Kaelyn Behr. Sivan, Daniel and Antonoff handled production alongside Styalz Fuego. The collaboration marks Sivan’s first time working with Daniel, drummer for The 1975 and Charli XCX’s husband.
Charli appears briefly at the end of the track. Sivan explained that her presence carries personal meaning for both him and Daniel because of their close relationships with her. The cameo also fits the broader focus of the song and album, which Sivan connects to the women and feminine people who have remained constant throughout his life.
The new material also shifts Sivan away from some of the subjects that shaped his earlier songwriting. He described “She’s the Best” as the first song where he stopped examining himself so closely and stopped writing about men. Instead, he turned toward the women who have surrounded him throughout different periods of his life.
Sivan describes the album as a record shaped by contrasting emotional states. Some songs capture the intense energy of the past few years, while others focus on solitude, longing and his private thoughts. He sees the project as layered, organic and alive, with both chaotic and introspective elements contributing to its overall direction.
