Gandalf Narrates Troye Sivan’s New Music Video

Perhaps the most surprising and prestigious addition to the project is a voiceover courtesy of legendary actor Sir Ian McKellen. The collaboration holds personal history for Sivan, who acted alongside the Oscar-nominated icon back in 2010 during a stage production of Waiting for Godot when Sivan was just 14 years old. Now, more than a decade later, Gandalf himself lends his timeless, theatrical resonance to narrate the pop star’s latest visual endeavor, bridging the worlds of high-stakes Hollywood acting and contemporary dance-pop culture in a way few other artists could orchestrate.

Speaking on the creative philosophy behind his newest musical offering in press materials, Sivan explained how the realities of club culture and physical spaces influenced the sonic landscape of the track. "Dance music sounds very different on a dance floor than it does coming out of your laptop speaker," Sivan reflected, discussing the hypnotic architecture of the song. "The repetition becomes almost hypnotic, and I wanted to play with structure in that way." This deliberate focus on rhythmic immersion and club-ready dynamics positions "Party" as a natural evolution of Sivan’s ongoing exploration of electronic dance music, marrying sophisticated pop songwriting with the sweat and pulse of underground nightlife.

"Party" serves as the immediate follow-up to She’s the Best, the title track of Sivan’s upcoming full-length album, which is scheduled to land on October 9. The new record arrives on the heels of his critically acclaimed 2023 studio album, Something to Give Each Other, a commercial and cultural milestone that cemented Sivan’s status as a global pop powerhouse, driven by massive viral hits like "Rush" and "Got Me Started." When Sivan announced the upcoming LP last month alongside its title track, he proved that his Rolodex of high-profile collaborators extends far beyond the recording studio. The video for the album’s title track similarly featured A-list star power, enlisting fellow Australian actor and Boy Erased co-star Nicole Kidman to bring a dramatic flair to the project’s visual era.

As the countdown to October 9 continues, "Party" offers fans a compelling glimpse into the sonic and aesthetic direction of She’s the Best. By anchoring his contemporary dance sensibilities to a foundational pop classic by Madonna, recruiting cinematic heavyweights like Gordon von Steiner, and honoring formative professional relationships with icons like Sir Ian McKellen, Sivan continues to curate a pop universe that is as deeply personal as it is grand in scale.