Troye Sivan Releases “Rush” Remix Featuring PinkPantheress and Stray Kids’s Hyunjin
BY gitika sanjay (she/they)Ever since Australian dance-pop singer Troye Sivan attended Dua Lipa and Versace’s La Vacanza unveil in Cannes, he has shared a newfound admiration of K-pop - specifically, Korean singer Hyunjin, one of the eight members of the hit group Stray Kids. Hyunjin, who has since been named a Versace Global Ambassador, was seated with Sivan at the event - and Sivan has since been clear about his admiration for the popular idol.
Post-Cannes, Sivan shared a compilation of videos featuring Hyunjin to his public Tiktok account, synced to his new single Rush. Sivan wrote “Anyone know how to reach this man :///” under the edit, much to the joy of fans of both artists, but the response was not all positive. While the video was clearly intended to be a lighthearted joke, followers of Stray Kids accused Sivan of taking advantage of Hyunjin’s popularity. Sivan spoke about the incident in an interview with Apple Music, stating that some viewers responded extremely harshly to the video. “I got a lot of nice messages,” Sivan said, “like, a lot of people being like, ‘this is cute’, but I also got a lot of death threats and stuff like that. So, I’m pulling the brakes on that.”
Recently, however, Sivan posted another Tiktok about Hyunjin. This time, he dueted a video of Hyunjin performing Stray Kids’s S-Class, writing “Wow absolutely love this guy. would love to sing w him one day.” Viewers weren’t sure what to make of the video until Sivan announced a new remix of Rush, featuring Hyunjin and 22-year-old singer PinkPantheress.
Rush was Sivan’s first release of 2023, and it immediately made its mark. It’s a song made to dance to, and celebrates all of Sivan’s self-proclaimed favorite things: as he told British GQ, he loves “people, community, and sex,” and most importantly he “really, really love[s] to party.” The lead single to his upcoming album Something to Give Each Other, Rush is an ecstatic summer anthem inspired by nights spent dancing at Melbourne’s gay clubs. The song features a consistent, house-type beat underneath Sivan’s trademark falsetto, and it’s nearly impossible to sit still when listening.
Hyunjin and PinkPantheress are the perfect addition to Rush; each brings a unique sound to Sivan’s hit. The rework offers a new second verse from PinkPantheress and vocals from Hyunjin on the pre-chorus and chorus. PinkPantheress’s clear, high voice compliments Sivan’s, and the pair blend beautifully with Hyunjin, who is known for his smooth, airy timbre and versatile tone. The response from fans was overwhelmingly positive, with the only repeated complaint centering around Hyunjin’s lack of solo parts. “Hyunjin needed more than one line but other than that, it’s good!!” commented Instagram user @b11carrola. Listeners also were clear about their desire for further collaborations with the Stray Kids member: under Sivan’s post celebrating the remix’s release, @illuminaldii commented that fans “need an MV and an extended version please,” and several others requested Sivan release more joint songs with Hyunjin.