Minnesota fans surprise Troye Sivan with blue hearts at State Theatre
October 18, 2018
"First of all, who did this?"
Pop artist Troye Sivan stood on a raised platform, staring out into the crowd at the State Theatre. He'd just finished singing "Postcard" from his lovely new album Bloom. A few voices met his question with screams, and he giggled into the mic.
Earlier in the evening, Sivan superfans Alicia Grafft and Elul Adoga showed up to his Minneapolis concert with a stunt in mind and cut-out blue hearts in hand. "Please hold this up during Postcard," each one read, the message and their social media handles inscribed by hand. The objective: a crowd-powered surprise for their fave.
Once "Postcard" rolled around, those who'd been passed hearts fired up their phone flashlights and held them behind the paper, creating blue lights visible from stage. Adoga and Grafft only brought about 200 hearts, but they did their best to spread them around the 2,000-seat theater.
Why make blue hearts? They've long been a signature emoji among Sivan stans. He titled his first album Blue Neighborhood, and one of the tracks is called "Blue." Adoga and Grafft got the idea from a recent 5 Seconds of Summer concert, where fans held up purple hearts during "Ghost Of You." Adoga says they first hoped to pass out actual postcards, but paper ended up being cheaper and simpler.
Nevertheless, the hearts were a feat. Grafft and Adoga hatched the plan on Monday night, two days before the show. "I couldn't find any paper," Adoga says. "I went to every single store in downtown, but I couldn't find any. We were both stressed." The internet eventually saved the day; another fan volunteered blue paper from home.
Sivan, a magnificent performer throughout the night, couldn't have sounded more delighted by the stunt. "All of a sudden, I looked up and there were all these blue lights," he told the crowd. "Thank you very much." Later, he'd ask, "Isn't there a thing where Minnesotans are really nice? This is hands-down the kindest crowd [of the tour]."
Likewise, Adoga — a fan since Sivan's YouTube days — seemed thrilled by his response. "I didn't think he would talk about it," she said. "I knew he would see it. But [the fact that] he acknowledged it makes it even more special than it already was."
