Bloom has been called Sivan's "sex album",[5] as well as "darker", "more
guitar-driven" and "more danceable" than his previous material.[6][7] It has also been described as containing material about defiant
gay expression;[6] the first song, "Seventeen", is about a sexual experience Sivan had with a man he met on
Grindr.[6] Sivan wrote most of the album with American musician
Leland and Canadian musician
Allie X.[5] The album's production was primarily handled by Bram Inscore,
Oscar Görres,
Oscar Holter and
Ariel Rechtshaid.
"
My My My!" was released as the lead single from the album on 10 January 2018, and was accompanied by a music video directed by Grant Singer.[8] The second single "
The Good Side", was released nine days later. It is an
acoustic track about a breakup, with Sivan explaining that the song is an open letter to an ex-boyfriend.[9] The title track "
Bloom", a song about
anal sex, which was promoted by the hashtag "#BopsBoutBottoming" that was trending on
Twitter,[10] was released on 2 May as the third single.[11] "
Dance to This", featuring American singer
Ariana Grande, was released on 13 June as the album's fourth single.[12] The fifth single, "
Animal", was released on 9 August.[13] On 14 June, Sivan announced a
Target special edition would be released featuring two new songs, "This This" and "Running Shoes".[14] The album was released on 31 August 2018 by
EMI Music Australia and
Capitol Records.[15]
Bloom received widespread critical acclaim. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album has an
average score of 85, based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[18]
Giving the album a perfect score, The Independent's Douglas Greenwood wrote, "Making perfect
pop isn't easy, but Troye Sivan is a star who's done his homework. With one foot in pop's past and another in its present, Bloom is a record that could turn its considerate maker into one of mainstream music's most revered and fascinating talents."[22]AllMusic critic Neil Z. Yeung stated that "Bloom is an unambiguous statement from Sivan, clear in its intent to celebrate the highs and lows of
queer love through the eyes of a proud pop star in the making."[19]Annie Zaleski from The A.V. Club opined that "Bloom's beauty and gifts reveal themselves gradually over time."[20]
Writing for The Guardian,
Alexis Petridis stated that "the results are characterful", elaborating: "Bloom is done and dusted in 35 crisp minutes – a time at which some pop albums are reaching their mid-point – and feels like a coherent, artist-led album rather than a bet-spreading collection of songs designed to hit every popular musical base."[21] Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone said, "Well beyond the already stellar dismissal of
heteronormative storylines in pop love stories, Sivan finds a wealth of ways to bring about fresh reflections on age-old themes with undeniable charisma."[28]The Line of Best Fit writer Claire Biddles stated, "Bloom is an exceptional pop album, but maybe more importantly it's a beacon for queer people who struggle to reconcile our neuroses – societal and personal – with our potential for joy and love."[29]
Bloom debuted at number three in Australia, making it Sivan's second highest-charting studio album in his home country.[40] It opened at number four on the US
Billboard 200 with 72,000
album-equivalent units, including 59,000 pure album sales.[41] It is his highest-charting release and best sales week to date on the Billboard 200.[41]
^Sheffield, Brittany Spanos, Rob; Sheffield, Rob (14 December 2018).
"20 Best Pop Albums of 2018". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 December 2018.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
^"Czech Albums – Top 100".
ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 36.Týden 2018 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 11 September 2018.