Troye Sivan’s new song “She’s the Best” paints a fun picture of an interesting woman.

Troye Sivan’s “She’s the Best” is a low-key track that contrasts with the woman it portrays. From the get-go, it describes a party girl, but not in a chaotic way—in a cool, relaxed way. Nicole Kidman portrays this character in the music video, emphasizing the effortless energy of a woman who is simply cooler than everyone else.

The second verse is where “She’s the Best” gets particularly interesting lyrically. It goes beyond what the public sees and moves into her living situation and what she does at home. Instead of showing any vulnerability like other songs might, there is nothing messy about this girl, even in private. Her idea of unwinding is “taking incels down on the internet.” She only looks ahead, doesn’t dwell on the past, and knows how special she is—and always has. The song never portrays this woman as anything but effortlessly cool, self-assured, and sexy. The closest it gets to that is saying that she “stays perpetually tired” (which, same).

Musically, “She’s the Best” sounds simple, but the production has far more layers than I realized upon first listen. It is easy to notice how layered it is by the end, but that shift doesn’t feel out of nowhere because every section adds a new element—another vocal layer, more percussion, another synth, things like that. Even the first chorus has at least two voices layered on top of each other, which is why the chorus, when everything strips down, sounds different vocally.

Sivan features Nicole Kidman and Charli xcx in different ways, which I love. Nicole Kidman is both the star of the video and its muse, with Sivan telling Rolling Stone that she was always “a picture of the divine feminine” to him. You can also hear Charli xcx’s voice on the track. The two of them met at one of Charli’s house parties at some point around 2018, and they released their first collab that year. They have been friends and collaborators, co-headlining the Sweat tour in 2024. Sivan also cited Ariana Grande and Lily-Rose Depp as inspirations. “She’s the Best” honors the women who have shaped Sivan as an artist.

I am intrigued by the choice of “She’s the Best” as a single leading up to the album of the same title, dropping on October 9th. While I really like the song, it doesn’t feel like a pre-album single to me. It will probably make more sense in context. I’m looking forward to She’s the Best.

You can watch Sivan’s new music video for “She’s the Best” below.

Emma Platt