He's 24, and Jewish, and gay, and an Australian! He grew up in Perth, in an Orthodox Jewish home and attended the only Jewish school there. For years he had a YouTube following much like a garage band back in the 60s, simple, beautiful sounds. He played "the shul circuit" and then burst much further since he came out 9 years ago. He now lives in Hollywood with his partner of 3 years.
He's a fascinating and complex young man with high energy, great creativity and depth.
Troye was born in Johannesburg, but moved to Perth when he was only two. He has three siblings, and his major musical influence was Amy Winehouse, another Jewish pop star, with whom I would have liked to have had a conversation. Troye co-wrote the song, "Seventeen" with Leland, and they spent months working on an episode and its followon with an older gay man. “I went out looking for love when I was seventeen / Maybe a little too young, but it was real to me.”
When the New Yorker asked him about his status as an icon, he downplayed his role. “I get really overwhelmed when I try to zoom out and get perspective on where I fit,” he said. “So my only response to that fear is to just ask myself, ‘Is this real? Is this genuine?’ And so, if that entails writing a love song or a sex song or a party song or a sad song, as long as it’s coming from a genuine place I try not to really question myself.”
But zooming out and getting perspective is exactly what I would speak about with Troye. It has to do with mission, and reading the articles about him, it seems to be one of the things an older person, maybe even as old as me, could bring along to him.
He seems to be a pensive, a deep thinker. Maybe that's from his training, or just the man God has made him to be. But I would hope he does "try to question" himself. Changes happen; life happens; what awaits us is what matters almost as much as what already happened. And we can control so much. Not the results of life, for life is out of our control, but many things we control based on our own decisions.
After all, Troye gave permission to the two gay Jewish guys who had a proposal moment during his show in October last year. It didn't just happen; he allowed it.
When 15-year-old Troye and his dad talked about changes in Judaism that might be significant, and his dad talked about homosexuality, that released Troye into 'coming out.' And that decision led to others, of course. Each decision's consequences are a result of that choice. Making good choices are required to make a good life.
So with all that, what would I talk about with Troye?
1) When you say, "it was real to me," can you tell me more about your version or your perspective on reality? I would try to talk about what makes something real, and how reality is not only shaped by our impressions of it, but also by its own substance. Things are, even if I don't accept their ultimate existence. Things can be real even if I don't believe in them.
2) He has a mad love for Nutella and a disdain for tomatoes. And hey, who doesn't like hazelnut? But I'd recommend he gets a taste for grilled tomatoes. Why? Tomatoes are the major dietary source of the antioxidant lycopene, which has been linked to many health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease and cancer. They are also a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K. Check out this link for more. And what young man wants to ponder getting prostate cancer? Nobody, and if taking a few more bits of a South American tomato will lower that risk, so be it, eh?
3) Your YouTube from 2011 was early on, and you may not even believe this any longer, but you said you believed in the coming of Messiah, and though he tarried, you would wait for him. Do you still wait for him? Do you personally believe in the coming of Messiah? I do, and I did when I was your age, and your age when you made that video, too. But as a young Jewish man, I was very surprised to learn that Yeshua claimed to be that Messiah, and that he fulfilled the requirements to be that One. Maybe you will search this out as well?
4) In fact, the changes you went through from Orthodox Jew to vanguard of pansexuality and Demi-icon in the rock and roll world would have raised eyebrows among your old mates in WA. That scandal you might have caused was worth it, don't you reckon? I wonder if you are ready to raise more eyebrows and come out as a Jew who is considering (I didn't say 'believing') if Jesus really is the Saviour? I mean, there are tens of thousands of us worldwide, even there in LA, and here in Sydney, and Israel and New York, who believe this, and who continue to live out our dreams and fill in with our own flair of life. I think you would do well with this. The #1 problem for most Jewish people in considering the possibility that Jesus might be our Messiah is the social ostracism, the rejection of our community. You well know how to handle that rejection and pain.
Troye, if we could get a few minutes to speak, I'd be up for it. What about you?
